Hasta La Ideas

Red brickwork and perforated metal panels bring an industrial feel to this compact infill home in Dublin, which has been completed by Irish architecture studio Gró Works.

Located on Dublin’s southern perimeter, the home by Gró Works was designed to reflect both the nearby Victorian redbrick terraces and the more “utilitarian” quality of the backstreet it overlooks.

“The materiality and design language intend to strike a balance between the robust, utilitarian rear lane that it abuts and the ornate neighbouring terraces,” explained the studio.

Responding to its location, the organisation of the home was reversed, with bedrooms placed on the darker ground floor and a large living space above to benefit from natural light.

A door concealed in the ground floor’s perforated metal cladding leads directly from the street into a sheltered porch and bin store, allowing entrance to the home proper to be set back.

Once inside, a small entrance area leads to the two bedrooms and a bathroom, with a staircase leading directly up to the open-plan living, dining and kitchen area. A workspace has been placed behind a slatted wooden screen.

Two large skylights and an almost full-height window illuminate this space. To the northwest, a small covered balcony overlooks the home’s entrance, partially wrapped by vertical metal louvres.

Contrasting the metal ground floor, the upper storey is finished in red brick, with a Flemish brick bond interspersed with vertically laid sections to “add a novel twist”.

Internally, the concept of “robust” materials is continued, with the structure’s blockwork left exposed and painted white for the walls, complemented by metal window frames and wooden flooring.

“The structural steel frame, blockwork walls and roof timbers are exposed, expressed and celebrated where possible. Joinery pieces, warm oak floors and linings are layered upon this frame to add comfort,” explained the studio.

“Custom joinery pieces allow for every corner of the dwelling to be used efficiently and practically,” it added.

Due to space limitations, utility and plant areas are housed in an external forecourt, and the home was granted planning approval without car parking requirements.

“We believe that the project provides a potential prototype for city living where public transport and public amenity are ample,” said the studio.

“Given the need for housing provision in all shapes and forms, this may offer one solution for similar urban brownfield developments.”

Gró Works is based in Ranelagh, Dublin, and is led by Donal Groarke and Ultan Ó Conchubhair.

Other projects in Dublin recently featured on Dezeen include a pastel pink extension to a 1930s home by Courtney McDonnell Studio, and an angular, aluminium-clad writer’s hut by Clancy Moore Architects.

The photography is by Fionn McCann.

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