House Reconfiguration

Dublin 4, IE

This deep and intricate mews site is in need of reordering to unlock its full potential. An existing two-storey house has been previously extended in an ad-hoc manner. Faced with adjacent developments underway, its owner has developed a brief which is founded on securing maximum daylight, re-organising sleeping, living and dining accommodation while maintaining space to develop her interest in lush planting.

This proposal involves removing previous extensions, paring the site back to the original terraced structure and then constructing a series of new spaces, both to the front and rear. The staggered property line is exploited to provide a series of pocket courtyards. Each courtyard space relates to a new room; bedroom, dining room, WC etc. The varying positions of these courtyards flood the deep plan with natural light, of varying quality, throughout the day and allow effective cross ventilation.

Concept/ August 2009