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| House in Rathmines, Dublin 6 | To find out more please contact the project director |
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Architect's Description The house is located at the end of Effra Road, a quiet street in Rathmines, on a site formerly occupied by the garages and rear gardens of two houses on the corner of the adjoining street, Grosvenor Place. The street is fronted by a series of semi-detached dwellings that vary in style and material and the house completes this frontage, while also providing a transition to the side elevation of the houses on the corner of the adjoining street, a type of bookend building.The form of the house is in two blocks. The first is a three storey render volume containing the living spaces and the second is a brick volume containing the service and circulation areas. The use of the materials of brick and render in combination accentuates the existing elevational rhythm of the street. The brick volume is set back to allow for a set of concrete steps which rises up to the main entrance level of the house, 2 metres above the street. The Entrance Hall accesses staircases to the upper and lower floors and also leads directly into the open plan Kitchen /Living/Dining room at this level. The open riser stairs allow a large window above the entrance door to illuminate the Entrance Hall. The Living/Dining room, with high ceilings and large windows, provides a bright and spacious living interior which opens onto a terrace that overlooking the rear garden. The house has been designed to cater for possible future needs by providing a ground floor entrance access via a ramp to the side of the house. This allows the current house to be easily split up into a ground floor unit and a duplex unit over. The use of materials in their natural state – sand and cement render, brick, mill finish aluminium rainwater goods, concrete entrance stairs and hardwood windows provides a contemporary form on a street of traditional house types. Client's Description Calm, peaceful, bright, relaxing and contemporary were some of the initial descriptions given to my Architect for the design of my new home. What came next, completely and surprisingly surpassed my hopes and expectations. The large windows flood the rooms with light. The open stairwell illuminates the Entrance Hall and Landing. The main Living/Dining/Kitchen area is continually bright throughout the day. In winter, the sun warms the entire space, while in summer the room is transformed by opening the large doors to the terrace and allowing a cool breeze to enter. The terrace cleverly catches the last of the evening summer sun while listening to the gentle rustle of the large mature chestnut tree. The house is deceptively spacious for its size. At less than 2,000 square feet, it seems much larger. No space is wasted – the freestanding wall rising up in the stairwell holds niches that are used for coat storage and book shelves. It seems to capture the imagination of passers-by; if the number that stop and gaze is anything to go by. |
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