New home design in Northern Ireland
How our architects for new houses in Belfast will make the most of your site
You’ve found your building site. Now what?
Maybe you’ve secured a plot with outline planning permission and you have a head full of ideas.
Maybe you’ve bought an older property and intend to start again from scratch.
Or perhaps there’s a family home that’s served its time and you’re ready to replace it with something designed entirely around how you live now.
Whatever brought you here, you’re at the point where the decisions you make will shape your home for years to come.
This is your chance to build a new home from the ground up that really feels like yours
Not a house on a development, not someone else’s compromises, but a home that works for you.
That probably feels daunting. It’s also one of the most rewarding things you’ll ever do, provided you have the right people guiding you through it.
McCann Moore Architects has helped homeowners across Northern Ireland (and the Republic of Ireland) design and deliver new homes ranging from 2,000 to over 7,000 square feet.
Whether you’re building on a greenfield site, replacing an existing property or reimagining a family plot, we bring over 60 years of combined architectural expertise to the process, as well as a track record of creating homes that are anything but ordinary.
Ready to talk about your site?
What you get when you work with us on your new Belfast home
A new home isn’t just a building project.
It’s a series of decisions – hundreds of them – and the quality of your finished home depends on them.
We help make sure every decision you make is well-informed. That starts with understanding how you live.
Not just how many bedrooms you need, but how your household moves around your home.
Where you gather, where you retreat, how light and space should feel in the rooms you’ll use most.
A sympathetic home design
From that point, we work with your site, not against it. Every plot has its own character: orientation, topography, neighbours, views, and planning context.
A home that responds to that will feel just right, in a way that a transplanted design never can.
What you end up with is a home designed specifically for you, on your site, built to a standard that reflects the investment you’re making.
Not a modified template.
Definitely not a developer’s best guess at what you want.
“We hired McCann Moore Architects to design a family-friendly contemporary home and couldn’t be happier with their design. They really listened and understood what we wanted and needed for our lifestyle and put shape and practicality to our ideas, while also introducing us to new concepts. Their communication was excellent, always willing to meet, receive a call or answer an email, which is always a comfort at a daunting time. They were also very accurate with their proposed deadlines.”
How a new home design project works with McCann Moore
Every project is different, but the journey follows a shape that our clients find reassuring. Knowing what comes next, and what’s expected of you at each stage, makes the whole experience less stressful.
It starts with a conversation
As with all our projects, from house extensions to new homes, we draw anything, we need to understand what you’re working with and what you hope to achieve. That usually begins with a call, where we talk through your site, ideas, priorities and budget. There’s no commitment at this stage. It’s all about finding out whether we’re the right fit for each other.
Design development
Once you decide to appoint us as your architects, the exciting work begins. We study your site and start developing a design concept (in close collaboration with you). We’ll think about the big stuff: where the house sits on the site, how the spaces relate to each other, where the light comes from, the views out. We work through options with you until the design feels right, not just on paper, but as a place you can imagine living in.
Planning permission in Belfast
We prepare and manage the full planning application on your behalf. This includes all the drawings and supporting material the local authority requires. We know what planning departments across Northern Ireland expect, and we design with that knowledge from the outset, which usually means fewer surprises and a smoother path to approval.
Getting the details right
With planning secured, we develop the design into the detailed technical drawings and specifications that your builder will work from. This is the stage that protects your budget and build quality. The more precisely everything is specified, the more accurately it can be priced.
Construction and oversight
Once your builder is on site, we stay involved if you want us to. We carry out regular inspections, review progress and make sure what’s being built matches what was designed. If questions or issues come up during the build (and they always do) we’re there to resolve them quickly and keep things on track.
Not quite ready to start your new home design?
If you’re earlier in your journey and still exploring what’s possible, our free guide walks you through what’s involved when you work with an architect on a residential project.
It’s a useful starting point when you don’t feel quite ready to pick up the phone.
New homes we’ve designed
Every site and client is different. Every home we design reflects that. Here are two projects that show what’s possible when you start with a blank canvas.
South Belfast split-level new home
A new, split-level home in one of Belfast’s leafy residential suburbs. The clients had acquired a site with an existing property that no longer justified its plot. Working closely with them, we designed a home that makes the most of the site’s orientation and setting, while sitting comfortably alongside its neighbours. The result is a contemporary family home that feels both distinctive and completely at ease in its surroundings.
New home designed around a walled garden in Hillsborough, Co Down
Set in one of Northern Ireland’s most desirable areas, this new build was designed for generous family living with a strong connection between inside and out. The clients bought a garden site on a hill in an existing large plot. The new house is orientated towards the courtyard garden, set into the site’s natural contours, creating a home that feels private and considered.
Let’s talk about your new home design project
If you have a site, an idea – or even just a question about where to start – we’d love to hear from you.
Every new home we’ve designed started with a conversation. There’s no commitment at this stage.