Four walls seven gardens
Four walls sharply define spaces, an interior of rooms and an exterior of gardens. The house responds to the curving urban corner within an established urban grain. The design provides a sense of enclosure within a garden. At ground level, it is inward-looking towards planted courtyards; the living rooms at first floor enjoy sunlight and air. Our clients are keen gardeners and enjoy the different characters of the seven gardens.
Four walls seven gardens
Four walls sharply define spaces, an interior of rooms and an exterior of gardens. The house responds to the curving urban corner within an established urban grain. The design provides a sense of enclosure within a garden. At ground level, it is inward-looking towards planted courtyards; the living rooms at first floor enjoy sunlight and air. Our clients are keen gardeners and enjoy the different characters of the seven gardens.
The project is a compact urban house designed for a couple downsizing within the Clontarf neighbourhood. Rather than conceiving the dwelling as a discrete object set within a garden, the house is organised as a continuous domestic landscape, in which internal rooms and external garden spaces are treated as equal architectural elements. Positioned on a compact brownfield mews site at a curving urban corner, the house is carefully aligned with the established urban grain while achieving a sense of generosity disproportionate to its footprint. Four defining walls confirm this grain.
The project is a compact urban house designed for a couple downsizing within the Clontarf neighbourhood. Rather than conceiving the dwelling as a discrete object set within a garden, the house is organised as a continuous domestic landscape, in which internal rooms and external garden spaces are treated as equal architectural elements. Positioned on a compact brownfield mews site at a curving urban corner, the house is carefully aligned with the established urban grain while achieving a sense of generosity disproportionate to its footprint. Four defining walls confirm this grain.
These walls organise a sequence of interior rooms and seven distinct gardens, creating a strong sense of being enclosed within landscape despite the urban context. At ground level, private rooms look towards planted courtyards, while first-floor living spaces enjoy sunlight and sea-glimpsing terraces. The building is recessed and enclosed by a stained timber fence to avoid the impact of a two-storey volume at the street edge. The house turns the corner and progressively steps back, acknowledging the grain of adjoining mews developments and forming a contextual bookend to the site.
The project is a compact urban house designed for a couple downsizing within the Clontarf neighbourhood. Rather than conceiving the dwelling as a discrete object set within a garden, the house is organised as a continuous domestic landscape, in which internal rooms and external garden spaces are treated as equal architectural elements. Positioned on a compact brownfield mews site at a curving urban corner, the house is carefully aligned with the established urban grain while achieving a sense of generosity disproportionate to its footprint. Four defining walls confirm this grain.
These walls organise a sequence of interior rooms and seven distinct gardens, creating a strong sense of being enclosed within landscape despite the urban context. At ground level, private rooms look towards planted courtyards, while first-floor living spaces enjoy sunlight and sea-glimpsing terraces. The building is recessed and enclosed by a stained timber fence to avoid the impact of a two-storey volume at the street edge. The house turns the corner and progressively steps back, acknowledging the grain of adjoining mews developments and forming a contextual bookend to the site.
Publication
Access a PDF from Architecture Ireland about the Four walls seven gardens project below.