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Curiosity Collab.: A Public House in Temple Bar

Part 2 Project 2013
Philip Ryan
Dublin Institute of Technology | Ireland
This thesis in an exploration into ‘The Mystification of the Architectural Method’, that has resulted in a re-evaluation of the very value system, ethics and morals promoted within architectural education and the conventional practices within the profession itself.

Using the veil of a public house, the project proposes a civic school. It houses the ‘The Dublin Project’, an initiative by DIT, Dublin City Council and Design TwentyFirst Century (D21C) to make a positive change in the city of Dublin tackling challenging problems facing the capital. It is proposed that such the success of such academic programme relies on public engagement and participation at all stages, not just in its inputs and outputs, but also its processes. The building returns academia and the profession to active and constructive debate within the public sphere.

Through research undertaken, a position was formed against how we build today and how we might build in the future. Thus, the selection of the derelict and dilapidated site at Essex Gate, within Temple Bar, is most poignant. The site not only makes a commentary on the values expressed in the existing built urban fabric, but to demonstrate a sustainable and ethical way in which we may build.

To accommodate the potentially varied programme, an approach was undertaken that allowed for adaptation of spaces and their furniture layouts, but also of the building itself. This strategy proposed a building that was designed for disassembly and re-assembly which would allow the building to adapt both to the site proposed if the context or needs of programme drastically changed but also at potentially different sites in the future. Furthermore, an importance was placed on choosing natural and sustainable materials that could be utilised throughout the building in a modular fashion.

Taking such an extensive and in-depth approach to the design called for a serious technical understanding of the building’s construction that could only be achieved through collaboration with other disciplines. This formed a partnership with Mark Pringle, an architectural technology student, whereby only through tackling the mutual topic of designing for disassembly could the architectural concept be truly explored.



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