Situated in the heart of Temple Bar, Urbana - a trader’s market - occupies two existing buildings, once home to a clothing warehouse. Numbers 43 and 44 Temple Bar are the remnants of neighbouring 18th century buildings which, in the early 20th century, were gutted and tied together by the insertion of a steel frame and concrete floors. This unceremonious, idiosyncratic, formal and, undoubtedly, cheap wedding is the primary inspiration to the current manipulation of the buildings.

The existing shell and structure, as found, were so formally strong that our concept hinged around expressing the building’s industrial character in cohesion with its new function and the modern insertions this new use would necessitate. These new additions create a constant play between new and old in the fabric of the building, intentionally reflecting the spirit of the brief - a simple idea with undertones of the past in a contemporary setting. The constantly changing palette of materials gives a vibrant atmosphere, hopefully sympathetic to the market and its environs.