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 […]

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 […]

As we approach the halfway point in 2022, we thought we would give a brief update on a selection of the projects we have been working on this year. We will cover some of these projects in more detail once they reach completion but in the meantime here are some highlights showing the range of […]

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 […]

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).  […]

While housing makes up the majority of Dublin City Council’s building projects, the Council also has a significant collection of civic buildings that require development, redevelopment or maintenance: libraries, galleries, fire stations, historic buildings and monuments and leisure centres to name a few. The City Architects team, work on behalf of the departments responsible for […]

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 previous blog posts in this series focused on the main work areas of each of the teams in City Architects. Here we are highlighting some of the larger, more strategic developments that City Architects have been working on. The first of these is a development masterplan for lands at Emmet Road in Inchicore, site […]

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 […]

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 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 […]

Another key stage in the development of Parnell Square Cultural Quarter has been reached with the granting of planning permission for the Quarter which will be anchored by a new City Library. Permission was granted for the plans prepared by the design team led by Grafton Architects and Shaffrey Architects on 1st May 2019. The project to […]

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 […]

Pigeon House Power Station has recently featured in Open House Dublin on Saturday the 13th of October. City Architects would like to thank all of you who participated in Open House Dublin and braved the elements in what was a very wet day that failed to dampen the enthusiasm for the 13th annual event. City Architect’s and […]

Images by Ros Kavanagh Dublin City Council are proud sponsors of Open House Dublin and Sealawn Lodge and the restored St Anne’s Follies are some of the of the fine examples of Architecture to explore on Saturday the 13th of October with free guided tours by expert volunteers. More information on the Open house Tour can […]

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. 

Detailed plans for Parnell Square Cultural Quarter, which will be anchored by a new City Library, were presented in City Hall, today, Monday 10 September.

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.

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

  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.

Dublin City Council has presented and exciting and creative design renewing College Green as a civic space in the heart of Dublin. This new pedestrian priority space will significantly improve the quality of the city’s public realm.

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 success of the ‘Shopfront Improvement Scheme’, piloted in 2015 by Dublin City Council, has seen the scheme expand to a wider area in 2016.

  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 […]

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

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

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.

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 […]

For the past year, the homeless services provided by Dublin City Council have been based at Parkgate Hall, Conyngham Road.  Here, a number of previously dispersed services are available to those in need as part of an integrated hub.  In advance of their relocation to Parkgate Hall, City Architects carried out a number of alterations […]

A multi-disciplinary team led by Grafton Architects and Shaffrey Associates have been chosen for the redevelopment of the Parnell Square Cultural Quarter.  The announcement was made today by Dublin City Council and the Parnell Square Foundation.  

     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. 

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.

Billed as Ireland’s largest construction and property conference, The 2014 Better Building Conference took place on Wednesday 9 April in Croke Park. 

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

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.

There will be a free lecture by Kathleen James-Chakraborty at Rathmines Library at 6.oopm on Monday 4th November

  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

We thought we would share this film of a recent project at the historic City Markets building by the Way Wiser Collective.

Recently the ground floor reception rooms and the Lord Mayor’s apartment at the Mansion House have been re-lamped with LED bulbs – one of a number of energy saving measures completed at the house over the past 12 months, initiated by City Architects and supported by SEAI

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.

City Architects and the City Archaoelogist’s office will be giving two walking tours around the historic Aungier Estate (centred on Aungier Street) on Wednesday August 22nd, as part of Heritage Week 2012.

  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 Dangerous Buildings section has been dealing with the danger posed by two buildings, Nos. 5 and 6 Benburb Street, following a fire which broke out on St. Patrick’s Day.

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.

English Heritage recently produced useful guidance on looking after vacant historic buildings, aimed at helping owners prevent unnecessary damage, dereliction and loss of significance.

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

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