Marshall Mc Cann Architects

Marshall Mc Cann Architects RIAI & RIBA award winning architects specialising in energy efficient, passive & contemporary houses

Founded by Martin Marshall and Roisin McCann and are based just off the main Ballymena – Ballymoney road near Cloughmills and Dunloy. Not only are Marshall McCann Architects the 1st Passive House Architects in Northern Ireland to design, build and live in a Passive House, here at Marshall McCann Architects, we are also creative problem solvers that questions established thinking in everything that

we do and strive to create robust solutions, challenging problems economically, environmentally and socially. We are committed to working closely with you, collaborating in the design of your building with your end-users in mind to deliver better, cost efficient designs, with low running costs, delivering the highest value to you, whilst delivering on our design principles; placemaking, innovation, efficiency, sustainability and elegance. Roisin is a registered architect, with over 10 years’ experience in practice, mainly in design and planning issues (outline and full planning) – and has one of the best planning appeals rate in the northern planning office (ie gained approval on many sites that were previously refused). Within a few years of graduating, Roisin quickly got promoted to Director in one of the north coast’s largest practices, before deciding to take on a new challenge, and setting out on her own. In her position of Director, Roisin was Project Architect on a wide variety of schemes; house extension, refurbishment, one-off houses, housing developments, retail units, & hotels. Roisin studied architecture at Queens University Belfast, receiving one of the highest marks in her year, and has had work published in newspapers and architecture magazines. An international Architect said about her work ‘I look forward to reading about more of her work in the future’. Martin started out as an architectural technician before studying for his BA Architecture at the Art College Belfast, where he finished 5th in his class and is a certified passive house designer. He has worked for 3 of the top architecture practices in Belfast, with over 12 years’ experience in practice, working on award winning projects up to £105 Million. Martin has vast experience in technical issues, with a particular interest in environmental and thermal performance. To further his knowledge in the finer details of environmental construction and there cost implications within the design process Martin decided to work for a PassivHaus registered builder so he could design more cost effective buildings. Martin has also trained with Passive House Ireland in 'thermal bridging' calculations. He has worked on several Zone Carbon Houses, including his own house, which has been designed to meet both Passive House and Zero Carbon standards. He is the 1st to design, build and be living in a Passive House in Northern Ireland. He has decided to experiment with his heating system for the 1st year, tracking and evaluating actual running costs v’s installation costs. When he gets PV's installed and air source pump in he will have no energy bills; no electric or heating costs!!

“This is the window that told us; this is the house for us”Nothing unusual about this statement, per se.Except said wind...
06/09/2026

“This is the window that told us; this is the house for us”

Nothing unusual about this statement, per se.

Except said window was in an outhouse, that 15 years on, was still only used as storage; and even then, only occasionally.

So what was special about this window?

The view.

The new replacement dwelling is now being built around this view, where this window once stood.

Modelling the whole house, to frame this view – or a variation of it – over and over again. So that the homeowners were constantly reminded of the joy in the place they live.

Get in touch if you are thinking of extending, renovation or building.

Fantastic conversations at the RSUA Conference entitled ‘Home Truths’. Discussing all things housing: from small scale r...
04/09/2026

Fantastic conversations at the RSUA Conference entitled ‘Home Truths’.

Discussing all things housing: from small scale rural, to villages, housing developments, Irish cities & Danish cities.

Couple of take-aways:
One of the most important questions was ‘How shall we live?’

Streets are the most important social space we have - as people HAVE to use them, the fore can interact with other people. Whereas squares or garden spaces are a choice if you use them.

Also, Sarah Featherstone’s thought provoking graphics on how much of our village spaces are given over to cars was, frankly, horrifying!

Thank you to all at the RSUA for inviting Roisin, looking after her so well and providing the opportunity for the debate.

Fantastic conversations about all things housing - from one-off small scale houses, our larger rural houses, to village ...
04/09/2026

Fantastic conversations about all things housing - from one-off small scale houses, our larger rural houses, to village and city scale.

Thanks to all at The Royal Society of Ulster Architects for organising and looking after us so well.

What makes for a beautiful hotel?I am partial to a little hotel break – summer, winter, autumn. It doesn’t matter to me...
02/09/2026

What makes for a beautiful hotel?

I am partial to a little hotel break – summer, winter, autumn. It doesn’t matter to me.

But some hotels are more ‘for the winter’; some a summer hotel. A few, I enjoy no matter the time of year.

But what is it that makes an hotel beautiful, luxurious, or beckons to us?

Obviously the facilities make a difference; the pool, the spa, the restaurant.

But its more than this.

It is the culture of the hotel.

The soothing nature. The space. The calm. People watching. The spa-like scents.

The spaces you can move to; to match your mood.

And whilst we do design hotels; hotel design can also be used as inspiration for our houses.

What is your favourite hotel and hotel space?

Many people think an architect’s role is to design, draw, and make a building stand up.But one of our biggest roles is i...
29/08/2026

Many people think an architect’s role is to design, draw, and make a building stand up.

But one of our biggest roles is in making decisions & reducing your risk.

Decision fatigue is real for clients. It’s where the stress often comes.

But a good architect will make most of these decisions for you – calling you in for the ‘big’ ones. And presenting options to you, to sign off.

In this photo, alone, there has been 100’s of miniscule to bigger decisions made – all of which are done for you, without your input. These decisions are intentional – most of which are NOT brought to your attention, as we have already made that decision for you.

That’s why you employ us. That’s why you have to trust us.

Door opening position. Door swing. Ironmongery. Door colour. Door material.

Glass sidelight. Position, size, width, height. Material. Colour.

Landscaping. Planting. Step colour, size, spacing, material.

Stones. Colour, size, sourcing. Should it even be stones?

Garage. Location, size, height, finish. Colour, material. Location and size of doors.
Sourcing of doors. Thermal properties. Mechanism of doors.

Roof of garage. Flat, pitched. Flat roofing material. How do we get rainwater off? Rainwater goods.

Tiles. Colour. Material. Pattern. Texture. Sheen. Set out position. Grout – grout lines, colour, spacing.

Sliding door. Position. Size. Material. Mechanism….

The list goes on. We couldn’t possibly highlight each of these decisions one-by-one.

But you should be safe in the knowledge that each design decision is intentional; started off with high level thinking, before drilling down into the detail.

If you want us to help make decisions for you, in your house, office, hotel, community building; get in touch. It’s what we do.

We are known for our healthy houses….but we also support health & well-being in all it’s forms.Over the years, we have s...
28/08/2026

We are known for our healthy houses….but we also support health & well-being in all it’s forms.

Over the years, we have supported our local community and sporting organisations, to include Henry Joy McCracken's Moneymore GAC with the masterplan for their new training pitch facilities, changing rooms extension and gym facilities.

If you, your community or sporting organisation are thinking of building, upgrading or master planning, get in touch.

Join us at the annual The Royal Society of Ulster Architects Conference, where Martin & Roisin will be discussing sustai...
25/08/2026

Join us at the annual The Royal Society of Ulster Architects Conference, where Martin & Roisin will be discussing sustainable rural housing; how to create a home that is more sustainable, the love we, as a population have for rural housing, what sustainability means to us, and a little case study for those who want a little more facts.

Open to everybody interested in building, housing, design & sustainability – not just architects.

They will be joined by Eilidh Izat from Izat Arundell, Sarah Featherstone from Featherstone Young, Claire Bennie from Municipal, David Browne from RKD Architects, & Oliver Schulze of Schulze+Grassov.

What makes for a really amazing building?The design, goes without saying.The build; of course.But there is one element t...
22/08/2026

What makes for a really amazing building?

The design, goes without saying.

The build; of course.

But there is one element that is often overlooked; the ex*****on.

This is more than just the design and the build. This is the detail BEHIND the build. It is connecting the dots between the design and the build.

Ensuring that tile grout lines, line up. The pattern of tiles extend through spaces.

That vista lines are in the correct place ie directing your eye to the correct line and point.

That the hierarchy of materials is correct; architraves are proud of the tiles, that connect with the floor tiles, that connect with the timber flooring.

And the way the timber flooring is laid out, the way it ‘greets’ you, as you enter the room, matters to the feeling of arrival.

This is the ex*****on. The details matter. Get it right, nobody notices. Get it wrong, everybody does.

Why do some spaces, rooms, houses feel, or seem, ‘nice’ and others a little ‘off’?What makes for good architecture, good...
20/08/2026

Why do some spaces, rooms, houses feel, or seem, ‘nice’ and others a little ‘off’?
What makes for good architecture, good spaces?

Sometimes its to do with the ‘mood’ we are in, or the weather, & depends on how we want to feel at that given time ie it’s cold outside, so we want to ‘cosy up’.

But some spaces, some rooms, for some reason, never really feel purposeful, or calm, or inviting. Why?

It’s often to do with perception. The view you can see from any given place.

If a space is too open, too big, there is too much to take in. Our eyes are darting around the space, trying to make sense of it; not able to focus on any one detail. We may feel small and insignificant; maybe even insecure. You maybe even feel that the space is barren or devoid of character.

In contrast, a similarly sized space can feel welcoming, inviting, intriguing, when your views are bounded and you can understand the detail. The space is more defined; with breaks in the ceiling lines, the floors, or the walls. Light, dark, solid and void all create intrigue, purposefully pulling your eye into another space; allowing your eyes to rest. These spaces tend to feel more restful, intriguing, encouraging you to explore and move around the corner, to see what is there.

It’s knowing when and how to use these principles is important.

Sometimes we want to feel small and insignificant in a space; for instance in a theatre, a church.
Other times we need to feel cosy and enveloped in the space (eg in a TV room).

If you would like to understand more about how to create beautiful spaces in your building, contact us to see if we can help.

Currently in Planning is another sporting project; this time for our neighbours St Brigids Gac Cloughmills who are plann...
11/08/2026

Currently in Planning is another sporting project; this time for our neighbours St Brigids Gac Cloughmills who are planning new changing facilities, gym and, eventually a hall.

If you are part of the thriving St Brigids community (Up the Biddys!), give us a like, follow or share.

Or, if you have a community or sporting project you would like to talk to us about – drop us a DM, an email, or give us a call.

Address

38 Kilmandil Road
Dunloy
BT449BH

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+447736446300

Website

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