North King Street mixed use building, Dublin
This scheme for 82 apartments aims to produce a building which has a calm modesty. The building sits 'solid' on the ground and has a sense of weight and permanence. Design features are deliberately avoided in an attempt to regain the quiet monumental presence of adjacent warehouse buildings. This scheme seeks to interpret this language using a rational load-bearing structure, setting up a loose rhythm of openings across the facade - a non-stylistic expression, a type of neutrality which can accommodate both sleeping and living spaces. There is a vertical emphasis to the elevation, traditional to Dublin street architecture. A series of large doorways provide access from the street to the apartments. Common gateways and arches provide access to the protected courtyard. The street wall is 530mm thick and is constructed of brick and timber with large sliding shutters which offer security, privacy, and environmental and acoustic protection from the busy streets. The courtyard walls by contrast are constructed of brick, steel and glass.
North King Street mixed use building, Dublin »
Balcony detail
Photographer: Ros Kavanagh