Sycamore Street Mixed-Use Building, Temple Bar

The Sycamore Street mixed-use development forms one side of Meeting House Square, the flagship public realm element of the Temple Bar regeneration project undertaken by PKA in association with Group 91 Architects.

Forming the west side of the square, PKA's mixed-use development comprises two elements: the four-storey Eden building has two floors of acting / rehearsal space above a ground floor / mezzanine restaurant; the second block - the Studio Building - lines the northern side of the proposed east-west pedestrian route that was intended to connect Temple Bar Square to the remodelled Olympia Theatre.

Designed to accommodate the Gaiety School of Acting, the Eden building's acting and rehearsal rooms overlook the square, with administration and service rooms on the Sycamore Street side. The top-floor dance studio is a double-height space, with a feature window and projecting rooflight. The restaurant has a fully glazed elevation to the square that opens onto an outdoor terrace on sunny days. The second building was designed to house the Irish Film Archive, with a commercial unit on its ground floor.

In response to the specifics of its location, the building has different expressions on each facade: a render and limestone-clad facade with metal windows and feature rooflight addresses the square; the brick-faced elevation to Sycamore Street echoes the historic brick architecture of Temple Bar.

The Temple Bar Framework Plan is acknowledged as an architecture and urbanism project of international significance. The mixed-use building and the uses it houses - coupled with the square's weekend market - are major contributors to Temple Bar's internationally recognised vitality.

Client: Temple Bar Properties
 Ltd.
Value: €1,250,000
Size: 785 sq.m.
Reference: Ms. Laura Maghey, CEO, Temple Bar Properties
Design: 1991
Completion: 1995