Dawson Street Mixed-use Development

Built as part of Joshua Dawson's 1700s grand plan for the lands east of Grafton Street, PKA's remodelling of 51a, b & c Dawson Street is an exemplar in the adaptation and reuse of protected structures.

Amalgamated in the early nineteenth century, the properties were in a dilapidated condition when purchased by our clients in 2016 and their overall condition did little justice to their location on one of the most important streets of Georgian Dublin.

PKA remodelled the three houses from top to bottom: providing suites of serviced offices on the upper floors of 51a and b; upgrading the ground floor retail / restaurant units; and converting the top floors of the Dawson / Duke Street corner into a stylish duplex apartment.

At first floor level the three units were combined to accommodation our client's company headquarters; The Duke Street corner's sixties' 'picture window' was replaced by a contemporary steel screen modelled on the adjacent Georgian sashes.

The dilapidated condition of 51c facilitated the insertion of a two-storey duplex apartment; with its own front-door from Duke Street leading to an en-suite bedroom at second floor level, and a double-height kitchen / dining / living room above.

The programme of conservation works included major structural repairs, restoration of remaining elements of historic fabric, wet and dry rot treatments, as well as the installation of new facilities and services.

The philosophy underpinning the project is that that protected structures must evolve if they are to last, and that the combination of contemporary interventions with conservation of the historic fabric that the project has delivered makes an architecture that is richer than either on its own.

Client: Private
Value: Private

Size: 1,305 sqm
Reference: On application
Design: 2016
Completion: 2019