This street is situated 5 minutes walk above Dalkey village and is made up of two storey-detached houses on the higher southern side, while the northern lower side has a collection of dormer bungalows with various additions to the rear. Our site is set on the lower side of the street and slopes steeply down to the north providing views over Dublin bay.

The old house, like many on the street, took no advantage of the view or aspect. The living room, dining and kitchen had no access to the outside so there was virtually no connection with either front or rear garden. The very rigid [cellular] floor plan mitigated against re-planning and as the house needed significant improvements we decided to remove it from the site.
The new house was designed to maximize the qualities of the site and accommodation in the brief while retaining the single storey street frontage. We raised the ground floor by 1.2m to exploit panoramic views over Dublin Bay from the upper level. Kitchen and dining are to the south with a loggia for shelter and privacy. To the rear a large living room and roof terrace look north towards Howth.

On the lower level to the south [street façade] we cut out a sunken court so that the 6 cell bedrooms, based on Le Corbusiers monastery at La Tourette, have privacy, light and fresh air. Although these bedrooms are small, the user has a variety of spatial environments elsewhere in the house to rest and play.

This level stretches back to meet the slope of the site and holds the master bedroom and den on the north side. A main bathroom, plant and utility as well as a top lit TV room sit in the centre of the lower level.