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The Printworks

• Location: Temple Bar
• Architect: Derek Tynan Architects
• Completed: 1994

This project, consisting of 10 apartments and 4 studio/retail units, was one of the first mixed use developments to be completed under the urban framework plan, and was intended to develop certain principles of the plan, notably the creative use of existing building and gap sites to provide a significant increase in the resident population.

 A raised court acts as a semi-public space, mediating between three different buildings and provides access to the ten apartments. This model intensifies the residential use of the characteristically narrow city centre blocks, while simultaneously providing commercial and retail ground-floor space. Embracing the concept of “Living Above the Shop”, this mixed use project won the Architectural  Association of Ireland’s Downes Medal in 1995, not least because it offered a new model for city-centre living, with apartments arranged around a courtyard at first-floor level.

The outwardly modest facades of this deep-planned mixed-use building are entirely appropriate to the scale and diversity of Temple Bar. The unexpected glimpse of the interior courts from the public domain contributes a layer of interest and excitement to its dignified urban expression.