by Raymund Ryan

This is the fourth part of a four-part series on the Printworks in Dublin, which in summer 2001 won the Silver Medal for Housing from the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI).

In two houses built in Dublin's inner suburbs, Derek Tynan has used his evolving collage-like technique, of what might be termed heterogeneous rationality, to impressive effect.

The first involves the renovation of the private Edwardian Roebuck Library by visibly grafting a new balcony, a minuscule kitchen, and a timber-slatted outhouse onto the host form and then by erecting next to it a new brick pavilion with clever internal stairs.

The skew between the two forms (glazed to reveal some steps), the slippage of floor and window heights, and the jaunty vault of the new roof sets up a mutually respectful conversation.

Nearby, in an until-now dilapidated mews lane, he has inserted the two-story Rathmines house that manipulates its bipartite plan (thin strip for service rooms, fat for patio, principal bedroom, and living space) by virtue of double-height spans and an unfolding circulation loop with two (nonidentical) staircases.

Reconfigured by Architectural Invention

Both houses are planned about dualities which free up and then influence the other. The library and its adjacent structure are detailed so that the viewer is gently aware of new sills and metal doorframes and an illuminated linear storage unit.

The Printworks in Dublin, by Derek Tynan Architects, has won the Silver Medal for Housing from the The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland. Photo: John Searle Interior of the Rocha design studio, on the ground floor of the Printworks building, with inserted ceiling. Photo: John Searle   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.