The proposed Duke St / Anne St South Public Realm Improvement Scheme reached a significant milestone recently as it was granted Part 8 planning approval at the April meeting of the Dublin City Council. Reimagining Dublin’s primary retail core as a more welcoming, modern and beautiful space was the design intent. The design, developed by […]

As part of the EPA Climate Change Lecture Series, City Architects were invited to present examples of our Climate Resilient Design Work at The Round Room at The Mansion House, Dublin on 19th April 2023. A lecture entitled ‘Ocean Circulation, Tipping Points and the Public Climate Debate’ by Professor Stefan Rahmstorf, Professor of Physics of the Oceans […]

The proposed redevelopment of the existing Constitution Hill Flats has reached a major mile stone as the Part 8 planning application for 124 homes has been lodged and can be viewed on: https://consultation.dublincity.ie/central-area/part-8-redevelopment-of-constitution-hill-flats-du/ Design Team Project Managers/Feasibility Masterplan City Architects Division, Dublin City Council Architects Grafton Architects Landscaping Brady Shipman Martin Structural & Civil Engineers ARUP M&E Services Engineers ARUP […]

This year’s annual architectural festival Open House will take place across the city from Friday 14th to Sunday 16th October.  It is a unique opportunity for citizens to explore, understand and re-discover the architecture of their city through over 150 free events and tours, including buildings not generally accessible to the public. This year Dublin […]

The Ballybough House Pilot Amalgamation is a demonstration pilot project to carry out a retrofit within a Protected Structure. Ballybough House was designed by housing architect Herbert Simms in the 1930s. It is one of 18 similar remaining complexes that have provided housing for generations of Dubliners over the past 80 years. It represents one […]

We’re looking forward to Open House Dublin 2021 which is organised by the Irish Architecture Foundation and there are plenty of Dublin City Council buildings you can see up close this year: Ballybough House: a pilot project to provide an energy efficiency retrofit in a Protected Structure Newly completed terrace of homes at Margaret Kennedy […]

Multi-disciplinary design teams started working earlier this year on the renewal of two estates in the north city centre: Constitution Hill and matt Talbot. Built in 1968’s, Constitution Hill Flats consists of three five-storey blocks, containing 90 homes in total. The site is located along Constitution Hill, with the recently opened Broadstone Plaza to the […]

Corban Walker’s exploration of minimal home sizes opened on 24th June 2021 at Diamond Park, Dublin 1.  A public discussion was held to mark the exhibition’s launch.  Panellists were the artist Walker, Orla Hegarty (UCD), John O’Connor (Housing Agency), Sinead O’Carroll (The Journal), Amy Donohoe (Dublin Live) and Ruairí Ó Cuív (DCC Public Art Officer).  […]

This week on the blog we have a guest article from our colleagues in DCC Parks on the creation of a new public park on Bridgefoot Street in the Liberties where building materials are being re-used to form landscape. Without further ado: Those that are following the progress of the Liberties Greening Strategy will be […]

Dublin City Council is progressing an ambitious plan to rediscover and reinvent the historic College Green as the major public space at the heart of the city. Following the unsuccessful application to An Bord Pleanála (ABP) in 2018,  Dublin City Council held a series of trial traffic-free events in College Green including Summer Sundays, Culture […]

The Mansion House, the official residence of the Lord Mayor of Dublin City, has been in continuous recorded occupation since 1715. As a national monument it is historically and architecturally significant as a rare example of the early 18th century Queen Anne style architecture in Dublin. The early 18th century staircase off the main entrance […]

Last weekend saw the 15th Open House Dublin festival, and the first Open House to take place online. Organisers the Irish Architecture Foundation  gathered a fantastic collection of virtual tours, films and interviews for the online festival that Dublin City Council were delighted to be part of. While It’s a pity that people missed out […]

City Architects have been overseeing an ongoing programme of conservation works to the Georgian buildings that form part of the Parnell Square Cultural Quarter development on behalf of Dublin City Public Libraries. The works have received funding support from the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and have been designed and managed by the […]

The Department of Culture, Housing and the Gaeltacht has published a discussion document, Places for People,  https://www.chg.gov.ie/app/uploads/2019/12/npa-consultation-report_english_web-december-2019.pdf as part of a public consultation process on a proposed new National Policy on Architecture. A new National Policy on Architecture is an exciting opportunity for people to contribute their ideas to create the conditions for a high […]

Renewing and redeveloping older housing complexes in the city is a key area of the Council’s work on housing. This week we are giving an overview of the work on estate renewal projects managed in City Architects by Team 4.  This work programme covers projects that are intended to be delivered by the Council directly […]

City Architects is currently overseeing the 1930s Wing Refurbishment project at the Hugh Lane Gallery. Recent assessments carried out on behalf of the Gallery have identified a requirement to carry out extensive renovation and refurbishment works to the nearly ninety year old galleries, including, amongst others: improvement of the thermal performance of the building envelope; installation of […]

Rutland Street National School (formerly the Pro Cathedral School) was constructed between 1910 and 1912, as a response to the lack of school places and the conditions of existing school buildings in the North East Inner City.  Designed by Aislin and Coleman Architects, it is an early example of modern twentieth century construction, with a […]

Thanks to everyone who made our Drawing Workshop during Open House Dublin such a fun event. We were joined by a great range of young participants who brought great enthusiasm to the afternoon. Thanks to our colleagues at Pearse Street Library and Archive who invited us and made everything work smoothly and our guest assistants, animators Amalia […]

On the weekend of the All-Ireland Football Final, the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Paul McAuliffe, was delighted to welcome his counterpart and friend the Mayor of Kerry, Niall Kelleher, to stay in the Mansion House. Mayor Niall Kelleheris the first guest to stay in the newly added formal guest quarters on the first floor of […]

The 14th annual architectural festival Open House will take place across the city from Friday 11th October to Sunday 13th October.  It is a unique opportunity for citizens to explore, understand and re-discover the architecture of their city through over 140 free events and tours, including buildings not generally accessible to the public. This year […]

City Architects has recently completed the procurement of a Design-Build Contractor Framework for delivery of apartment and housing developments using ‘Modern Methods of Construction’, i.e. 2D Panelised or 3D Modular or Volumetric Construction. The Framework consists of six Contractors who will tender for projects with an estimated construction value in excess of €15 million (excl. […]

The new housing project at Cornamona Court, which recently commenced on site, is being constructed as part of Dublin City Council’s ongoing programme of delivery of new homes. Introduction The redevelopment of Cornamona Court in Ballyfermot was identified by Dublin City Council as part of our delivery of new housing under the Housing Strategy 2020. […]

The Mansion House is ready for its new Lord Mayor in residence with a significant phase of conservation works having recently been completed by City Architects. All works were carried out by Dublin City Council’s in-house Joinery Team in July 2018. Dublin City Architects are a Grade 1 Accredited Conservation Practice. The conservation team oversee […]

New technologies are enabling innovation in construction all the time. For conservation work, new surveying technologies give us new insights into our historic buildings. A recent collaboration with the City Council’s Surveying and Mapping Division to carry out a detailed drone survey of the roofscape and the interior of the rotunda of City Hall has […]

St. Teresa’s Gardens is another key City Architects social housing project to recently start on site. The 54 homes under construction are the first phase of a significant and complex area regeneration plan for the Dublin City Council-owned St Teresa’s Gardens site and adjacent privately owned lands known as the Bailey Gibson and Player Wills […]

St Bricin’s Park, Arbour Hill is a mid 1960’s development comprising of 68 bedsit units. There are three blocks of bedsits each two-storey high.  The Structural Engineering section is providing design services in conjunction with internal and external consultants led by Architect James Walsh of Low Energy Design (Blocks 2 and 3). Block 2, Load Testing […]

Dublin City Council and the O’Devaney Gardens Community Consultative Forum will be hosting a workshop regarding the regeneration of O’Devaney Gardens.

Image credit : Paddy Cahill   The 13th edition of Ireland’s largest architectural festival ‘Open House’ will take place across the city on Friday 12th October – Sunday 14th October.

Who are we? The Structural Engineering Section forms part of the City Architect’s Division. The Section sits within Housing and Community Services and provides Structural and Civil design on a cross departmental basis. 

Rutland Street National School (formerly the Pro Cathedral School) was constructed between 1910 and 1912, as a response to the lack of school places and the conditions of existing school buildings in the North East Inner City.  Designed by Aislin and Coleman Architects, it is an early example

Crampton Buildings forms a small city block with frontage onto Crampton Quay overlooking the river Liffey. Here are some images and notes about the extensive renovation works completed in 2016.

There has been discussion and reportage in the media recently on Dublin City Council’s flat complex regeneration plans, with particular focus on complexes built between 1930 and 1950. To clarify, Dublin City Council has not planned the demolition of any of the blocks designed by Herbert Simms (aside from those already being redeveloped as part […]

Kevin Street Library is set in the south city centre and first opened to the public in 1904. As a flagship branch of Dublin City’s library network it stood as a cornerstone for the neighbourhoods it served, connecting people to each other and to their community. The Library was

The South East Area office commissioned the services of the City Architects Public Realm Team to design a public realm improvement scheme for the Ranelagh Triangle. The project brief was to reconsider the memorial to Deidre Kelly, local historian and activist, which, had ongoing issues regarding maintenance and suitability and to improve the existing public […]

  Numbers 9 & 10 Fitzwilliam Street Lower, two Georgian houses on the Record of Protected Structures, have been carefully renovated and restored to provide supported temporary accommodation for people who are experiencing homelessness.

above: Cherry Orchard Avenue, Adston Ltd. Building Contractors, handover November 2017 image by City Architects     Last week Dublin City Council (DCC) took possession of 24 new houses at Cherry Orchard Avenue, constructed by Adston Ltd. Building contractors, and most of the families have already moved in. This scheme is one of the four […]

  “Open House Dublin (OHD) is Ireland’s largest architecture festival, inviting all citizens to explore their city. It works through a simple but powerful idea: showcasing outstanding architecture for everyone to experience.”  – Open House Dublin 2017 –

  Above: McKee Park; City Architects, 37 homes, completed Sept 2011. Image Credit: Donal Murphy Photography     Last week we gave you a general overview of the City Architects Division and the work that we do. This week we’re focusing on Housing, the area which makes up the lion’s share of our current programme.

The first images of the design for the Parnell Square Cultural Quarter were presented as part of an update to Dublin City Council’s Culture Recreation & Amenity Strategic Policy Committee  last week.

The Rates Office, former Newcomen Bank, is one of Dublin’s finest eighteenth century buildings which enjoys a unique setting on Cork Hill opposite City Hall at the entrance to Dublin Castle. City Architects & the Heritage Officer are currently coordinating the preparation of A Conservation Management Plan with the support of the Heritage Council under […]

During Dublin City Architects recent and ongoing research of The Aungier Estate we discovered what we believe to be one of the earliest surviving original 1893 Charles E. Goad’s Fire insurance plans of Dublin City centre. The historic fire insurance plans were found right here in Dublin City Council Offices on Wood Quay.  The plans […]

  A walking tour of the Aungier Estate, organised by the Irish Architecture Foundation, took place on Thursday 9th July. Tour guides included Nicki Matthew, Architectural Conservation with Dublin City Council, and Marc Richie from the conservation office in the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. The tour sought to highlight the origins of […]

Dublin City Council through City Architects has been building links with Singapore, a city that applies a strong design focus in urban development. City Architect Ali Grehan was invited to Singapore recently to see the impressive work being done by the Urban Redevelopment Authority and share insights about Dublin’s design approach. In addition to making […]

The Mansion House was host to last week’s seminar on to mark the buildings tercentenary.

  The Sacred Space exhibition is concerned with the contemporary making and unmaking of sacred space in Dublin.

Here’s a good in-depth report on the Mansion House by RTE Nationwide which aired this week.

Alongside Hidden Rooms, November also saw two presentations from City Architect Ali Grehan on design in the city.  The first took place in Shanghai at the Pc-House Modern Design Awards, where she presented an outline of house typologies in Dublin, from the earliest ‘Dutch Billies’ right through to contemporary schemes such as Thornton Heights and […]

Light is something we all take for granted, but once captured it offers a new dimension to how we see things, and the spaces we inhabit.  Kevin Street Library is about many things but primarily about the light.

Congratulations to Dublin City Council’s Engineering Department on the Rosie Hackett Bridge being voted Best Engineering Project of the Year in the Engineers Ireland Awards by the Irish public. The Rosie Hackett Bridge by Dublin City Council, Roughan & O’Donovan, Sean Harrington Architects and Graham Projects Ltd is the newest bridge overlooking Dublin’s riverscape.

Last weekend’s Open House event may be regarded as a high point in the on-going awareness raising initiative that the City Architects Conservation team have guided on Aungier Street – the first planned-suburb of the modern city commenced in 1660 outside the precinct of the medieval Castle.

Aungier Street plays host to two of the undoubted highlights of this year’s Open House Dublin programme.  On Saturday and Sunday (18 & 19 October) members of City Architects’ Conservation Section will be giving guided walking tours of the area.  While, for those who can’t make those tours, 9/9a Aungier Street will be also open […]

Last month saw the opening of the new tearoom in Harold’s Cross Park.  The new cafe, operated by Noshington Café, sees the reuse of an existing structure, dating from 1943, which had been unused for many years.   The cafe will be open 7 days a week throughout the year and is located at the western […]

The Lord Mayor, Christy Burke and the City Architect, Ali Grehan launching the Dublin House project on the site of 29-30 Fishamble St., Dublin 8 on July 21st 2014 for more, see dublinhouse.ie

Plans for the proposed regeneration of Dolphin House are now available to view.  The part VIII proposal includes the construction and refurbishment of 100 homes along with associated public realm works.

     One of our current projects here at Dublin City Architects is the administration of the Built Heritage Jobs Leverage Scheme.  This scheme aims to assist the conservation of historic buildings and structures by providing both part funding and the expertise of local authorities. 

This week it was announced that the architectural blog Built Dublin, will be put on ‘indefinite hiatus’.  Described as ‘a love letter to architecture and public space Dublin” the site was started over 26 months ago by freelance architecture researcher and writer Lisa Cassidy. 

We’re looking forward to hearing about the potential of Green Roofs in our city on May 28th at the latest talk presented by the Irish Landscape Institute.

While conducting her own research into the history of Parliament Street, Colette Adanan, who works here in City Architects, happened upon some interesting facts about the colourful history of Dublin’s first coffee houses.

    Minister for Housing, Jan O’Sullivan recently announced the provision of €68 million in funding for the construction of social housing.  This is the first such government investment in many years and will result in 449 new homes across the state. 

Beyond Noise and Silence – Listening for the City Part III – Environment 14.00 -17.00pm Thursday May 8 2014 Wood Quay Venue, Dublin City Council Civic Offices, Dublin 8

These pictures show the finishing touches being applied to the new homes at Thornton Heights, Inchicore.

  Saturday 12 April 2014 saw Kevin Street Library reunited with its cupola.

 Beyond Noise and Silence is a programme run by the Council’s Arts Office, and their most recent event in the LAB on Foley Street gave fascinating insights into how the city can be understood through sound. 

The Wood Quay venue was packed to capacity on Thursday 13th February for the City Limits conference. 

A joint Dublin City Council, Office of Public Works project is underway to improve the public realm and visitor experience at Kilmainham Gaol.

Dublin has an incredible wealth of historic ironwork and this weekend there’s a great opportunity to learn more about it.

Dolphin House is the largest single flat complex in the Dublin City Council area. It was built in the 1950s.

  Wouldn’t you love to create your own home in the heart of Dublin City – for yourself or your family? Dublin House is an initiative by the City Architects division of Dublin City Council to promote the potential of small-scale residential development in inner city and inner suburban areas. It is aimed at people […]

  Often over-looked, Aungier Street is one of the great neighbourhoods in the historic core of Dublin and has a fascinating history. This project promotes revitalisation of the area through understanding its historic value as a district and its quality as a place to live, work and visit. This week a new online publication is […]

Dublin Civic Trust have announced a major one-day conference assessing the role and significance, past, present and future, of the historic squares of Dublin.

UPDATE: Details of the Cork Hill Public Realm Design Workshop confirmed The details of the workshop below are as follows: Date: Friday 15th March Time: 10.00am Venue: Wood Quay Venue, Dublin City Council Civic Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin 8 Contact: email design@dublincity.ie to reserve a place

‘Cities that value and apply design in how they think, plan and act are more attractive, humane and competitive.’ (extract from City Architects World Design Capital 2014 bid feasibility report, April 2010). “What do City Architects do?” is a question that I get asked often.

We are currently seeking three interns for suitably qualified job-seekers to participate in internships in City Architects in the following roles:

It’s nice to see Palace Street public realm works recently completed – a good example of how a relatively small project can greatly change the quality of experience.

McKee Court, designed by City Architects, is a development of homes for senior citizens close to McKee Barracks and Phoenix Park. The scheme, which has been shortlisted for a Chambers Ireland Award for Excellence in Local Government,  consists of 38 apartments (36 x 1-bed and 2 x 2-beds) and a small community facility on a steeply sloping triangular […]

T.P Nolan, Ushers Quay, photo by Come here to me! Continuing with talking about questions put on the pivotdublin.com blog by recent guest curators le cool Dublin, we come to the question of dealing with neglected or under-used buildings and respecting urban character by preserving old signage.

  The latest guest curator of the pivotdublin.com blog, le cool Dublin, posed a number of questions about developments going on in the city in their final posts. Here on the City Architects blog we provide some hopefuly useful answers in this and the next few posts. First up was the question of markets.

Paul Keogh Architects’ Sean Treacy House has been shortlisted for the People’s Choice Award in this year’s RIAI annual awards. 

Opened in 2011, Rathmines Square is a mixed-use development which provides a state of the art public leisure centre together with residential accommodation on Rathmines Road in Dublin 6. Designed by the award-winning Donnelly Turpin Architects, the project is managed by the South East Area with input from the Culture, Recreation & Amenity Department with […]

  During 2010 and 2011 final year students in UCD School of Architecture carried out a study of Mountjoy Square in association with the Council’s Conservation Officer.

The Mansion House, the official residence of the Lord Mayor of Dublin City, has remained at the centre of Dublin’s civic hospitality for 300 years.

Kevin Street Library bade farewell to its cupola earlier this month, temporarily.

Following on from our last post, here are some images of the original building of the markets. Great to see how this solid landmark building rose out of the ground…

Happy Christmas and all the best for the New Year from Dublin City Architects!

  The National Disability Authority has launched new design guidance with the aim of promoting the accessibility of heritage sites

Welcome to the Dublin City Architects blog. This will be a place where you can find out about issues affecting Dublin’s urban form

City Architects Division has recently supervised emergency repair works to the roof of Aldborough House, a protected structure. The building was the last great town house

The Precinct Improvement Projects (or PIPs) are a programme of improvement works in housing schemes run by the Council’s Housing Department.