Back to Front - infilling the backlands of Dublin's Victorian suburbs

Join architects Metropolitan Workshop as they present their recent housing project, Annesley Gardens, Dublin, on the occasion of its recent shortlisting for the prestigious EU Mies Awards 2024.

Annesley Gardens transformed a backland site into a residential street of 20 homes. Located in an architectural conservation area the contemporary architecture successfully integrates into the sensitive context not only in terms of its scale but also in its expression and brickwork detailing influenced by the surrounding Victorian architecture.

The event will consist of a 40 minute presentation followed by a Q+A session. The presentation will explore the housing scheme Annesley Gardens in Ranelagh, including exploring the design process from early concepts to the detail design. The project will also be set within the context of Metwork’s research on low rise high density housing.

The event is free and open to all interested in hearing about the design of housing in Dublin city today.

This event is presented by Metropolitan Workshop with the support of the Irish Architecture Foundation and the Irish Architectural Archive.

Metropolitan Workshop

16 years ago we set out to practice architecture differently. We wanted to make more useful, more beautiful, more inspiring buildings and places, but to do this we knew that we had to find a better process that harnessed the full spectrum of society’s talent. We could see that there needed to be greater recognition of the power of collaboration and creative exchange in the design process and that this needed to change before architecture and urbanism could evolve. Our goal was to take on complex and challenging circumstances and turn them into more virtuous conditions for better outcomes. Our aim was to engage with the public to ensure that projects were better grounded and would succeed more sustainably. As designers we wished to put end users needs first, to understand them more fully, and to resolve issues through design rather than wish them away. Put simply, we wanted to establish better, more inclusive processes which would result in better more inclusive places and buildings. Over the past 16 years and we found many others who also think this way.

People make places make people.

Speakers

Jonny McKenna

Partner, Metropolitan Workshop

Joined in 2006. BSc BArch MA (Urban Design) RIBA.

Jonny is partner, architect and urban designer with expertise in large scale, residential-led masterplanning. He is particularly interested in designing and building homes to meet the housing shortage. Since joining Metropolitan Workshop in 2006 he has been involved in multiple large-scale architectural and masterplanning projects culminating in the practice being named Building Design’s Masterplanning practice of the year in 2017. He has led several development frameworks including Dun Laoghaire Harbour Masterplan, Swords Masterplan, Swindon Delivery Plan and Kildare Town Renewal Plan.

Jonny has significant experience leading multi-disciplinary teams on large scale projects such as Clonburris for South Dublin County Council which is a masterplan for circa 1800 homes, Fresh Wharf for Countryside Properties (Circa 900 homes), Farrankelly (SHD for 425 Homes), Mariavilla (SHD for 450 student rooms) and Stillorgan (SHD for 100 homes with 600 student rooms). He is currently working on the delivery of social and affordable homes in Balbriggan (circa 800 homes) and St Teresa’s Gardens (circa 600 homes) as well as town renewal plans in Leixlip and Celbridge. He is a member of the RIAI Urban Design Committee, the RIAI Design Review Panel and sits on Dublin City Council’s Strategic Policy Committee for Planning and Urban Form.

Denise Murray

Studio Lead, Metropolitan Workshop

Joined in 2019. BSc Arch, BArch, MArch MRIAI.

Denise has more than 20 years experience and has worked on a range of projects from public buildings to complex, urban projects in Ireland, the UK and France. Housing has been at the heart of many of these projects. Working with private and public sector clients, she has a particular interest in urban regeneration and engaging with multiple stakeholders to create successful places.

She has delivered a number of award-winning schemes in the UK that have set a high benchmark in terms of how the design has been developed in close consultation with stakeholders and the public. Denise is also on the RIAI Housing Committee and is a Design Fellow at University College Dublin.