Mariners Mews, Dun Laoghaire

This small mews house on a corner site is in an old part of Dún Laoghaire that is a conservation area. The County Development Plan has strict requirements on the development of mews sites and the challenge in this project was to balance these rules with the client’s desire for a modern house full of daylight. The design achieves this through a generous courtyard providing sunny outdoor space with an open plan living and dining area at first floor level that maximises the light and views from the site. Strategically placed rooflights allow glimpses of the spire of the Mariners Church, now the National Maritime Museum, as you ascend the stairs.

The first floor timber cladding is larch, blackened using a traditional Japanese preservation technique of charring it with fire. The process involves charring the wood, cooling it, cleaning it and preserving it with a natural oil. Today this process, called Shou Sugi Ban, is an environmentally friendly way to preserve timber and (paradoxically) make it fire resistant. Chemical preservatives, paints and retardants are therefore unnecessary.