V A U L T E D H O U S E
Sandymount, Dublin
Best House Award - RIAI Irish Architecture Awards Ireland 2018; Overall Winner - Irish Concrete Society Awards 2018; Special Mention - AAI Awards 2019; Nominated for EU Mies Award 2019
The project involves the re-making of a two-storey semi-detached dwelling and shop in Sandymount village as a family home. A large extension, part two-storey and part one-storey, is built to the side and rear, connecting the house to a generous hidden garden. Exposed painted blockwork piers at four metre centres support fair-faced concrete vaults that define each of the ground floor living spaces, stepping down in section towards the rear of the site and culminating in a sunken living space in the garden. The ground floor is finished in a terrazzo that refers to terrazzo elements found in the existing house, with reclaimed parquet floors defining certain areas. Board-marked concrete beams express the vaults externally. The external walls are finished in a rough render and the new windows are aluminium. The language of the extension continues into the garden where a covered external dining space enjoys the evening summer sun.
Photography by Alice Clancy