RIAI | Irish Architecture Awards

Citation

Dublin, Over £100,000

The simplicity of this scheme in its use of a very small palette of materials and in its layout is its greatest strength. The detailing of the house type, together with the judicious use of feature elements, gives it a strength not commonly found in public housing projects. The layout provides a secure environment and a succession of spaces to give the residents a sense of place, regrettably scarce in housing layouts in any sector at this time.

Architects' Description
The adjacant Wyatville Estate was arranged so that houses did not face the road, but literally turned away from the public thoroughfare. It was a primary objective to rectify this situation. Four "own-door" apartments flank the entrance, serving to visually extend the street into the site by careful detailing of the entrance corners. Eight houses, arranged in a crescent, overlook the amenity green space, providing benign supervision of this area.

The site narrows considerably along the east boundary, and at the rear, seven houses and four "own-door" apartments are arranged around an intimate courtyard. The intention of the site strategy was to provide distinct identities (street, crescent, courtyard) for the different parts of the site, while maintaining a common architectural language throughout.

Clients' Comment
Dun Laoighaire - Rathdown County Council is delighted with the completed housing schemem at Davitt Park, Wyatville Road. The 1.8 acre site was purchased in a semi-derelict condition in 1995, at which time Wyatville House was gradually becoming derelict and was a source of constant anti-social behaviour for the adjoining estates. The completion of Davitt Park has eliminated these problems. It was a further objective of the County Council that the mature treesbe preserved where practicable. This objective was upheld, and the estate benefits greatly from this aspect, and also from the 0.8 acres of open space / amenity area provided.