House in Dublin - Detail
Issue 1/2
January 2011
Text Detail
Images Detail
The residential district on Anglesea Road in southwest Dublin is characterized by traditional terraced housing in brick. Edged by granite walls, the gardens extend the length of the site toward the river Dodder. Implanted on a narrow dead end lane, the new residence is the architect’s sensitive response to this idyllic private atmosphere: a glass pavilion offering views in all directions rests on a granite base organized as introverted atrium house that is inserted within the garden walls.
The two different parts of the residence have distinct qualities of light. On the upper level, where the Vierendeel truss calls barely any attention to itself, the different types of glass and the layers between the double-skin facade function as a filter and bring about a soft, subdued light. The residents must merely adjust the blinds to attain the desired degree of privacy.
On the plinth level, daylight enters obliquely through floor-to-ceiling glass panes complemented by skylights on both long sides of the glass pavilion, which also accentuate the shadow gap between the two volumes. A central atrium punctuates the building massing; through it light also enters the building’s interior. Toward the lane the granite masonry gives way to ribbon-like horizontal openings that direct sufficient light into the adjoining spaces yet maintain the dwelling’s overall introverted character. Due to the danger of flooding posed by the nearby river, the ground storey is in large part raised, with the exception of the protected living area, which, correspondingly, has higher ceilings than the other spaces.