Iveagh 2

Iveagh Gardens is a south Dublin suburban housing development originally built by the Iveagh Trust between 1926 and 1936 in order to provide affordable rental housing. The original architects were O’Callaghan and Webb of Dublin, and the building contractor H. and J. Martin. There are a number of different house types in the estate, but they are generally laid out in short terraces, the majority arranged around a single looping access road. The houses themselves are of a simple, arts and crafts influenced design, of good quality construction and characterised by their red brick, wide sash windows, and steep slate roofs.

Our clients required additional space for a growing family, but did not wish to relocate from an area which, apart from its picturesque qualities, has also fostered a strong local community. Our brief was to provide a generous kitchen and dining space to the rear of the original house, also freeing up space for working from home. An additional bedroom was also required, and this was to be provided at attic level with the provision of a dormer attic conversion. This latter requirement provided the biggest challenge in relation to planning permission, but we were eventually successful in making the case for the provision of the first dormer in the estate.

Our design started with the removal of an existing rear extension, from which we salvaged bricks for reuse. Although these bricks were not a perfect match for the soft red bricks of the original house, the raw aesthetic of the design was easily above to accommodate this practicality. This aesthetic choice also permitted the use of unfinished terracotta blocks, concrete flooring and exposed ceiling joists internally. The dormer is finished externally in black-stained timber, harmonizing with the original roof slate.

The extension is set out in 2 horizontal bands. The first, closest to the original house, provide a space for utility and heating system elements, access to the garden, and a glass-roofed patio which also permits generous daylight to the adjacent spaces. The second band is a simple rectangular space housing the new kitchen and dining spaces. We chose not to use the full width of the site in order to maintain side-passage access to the rear garden, and to allow for a window in the side of the extension adjacent to the kitchen table.

Internal finishes are characterised by the use of birch plywood joinery to articulate the spaces and provide cabinetry and seating, and also by the characterful selection of lights, tiles and fabrics throughout the house.

Finally, the project also involved the full fabric upgrade of the existing house in order that it would meet a sufficient standard of energy efficiency for the installation of a heat pump heating system.

Note that this project is recently finished and not yet photographed, so just phone photos for now!