PORTFOLIO
DANIEL WRIGHT
BUILT PROJECTS
COLLEGE PROJECTS
EMPLOYMENT
COMPETITIONS
PAGE
CONTENTS
DALY HOUSE l KINSALE
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O ROURKE HOUSE l KINSALE
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HOSTEL l COMERAGH MOUNTAINS
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APARTMENTS l VIKING TRIANGLE
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COMMUNITY BATHS l CAHIR
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HIKERS SHELTER l COPPER COAST
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MARINE MAMMAL CENTER l BOATSTRAND
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THESIS: POROUS EDGE l KILLBARRY LANDFILL
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RRA l KINSALE
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GCA l ENNISKEANE
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CCN l CORK CITY
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RIAI COMPETITION l WATERFORD CITY
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IAF ARTSCAPE COMPETITION l ARDS, DONEGAL
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DALY HOUSE l KINSALE My clients wished to build a compact, economical home on a site near the sea in Kinsale. The house is planned according to passive principles. A balance is struck between large and small openings, the fenestration is dominated by the simple geometry of the square, and adjacent openable panes with a vertical emphasis. Extensive floor to ceiling glazing on the south and west facades catches sunlight, and views of the wooded glade, and even a glimpse of Kinsale harbour, down the valley. To this end the upstairs loft becomes a lounge to grant this fantastic birds nest of a room, with views over tree tops and a vast vaulted ceiling, a place in the families daily life. The simple form of the house minimises it’s impact on this scenic landscape, as does it’s location in the base of the valley. In deep winter the sun rarely reaches the valley floor, so a void was concieved in the heavily glazed southwest dormer corner to catch some winter sun from above. Entry is behind a cedar clad ‘spirit wall’, with it’s high ceiling it acts as a transition between interior and exterior.
O ROURKE HOUSE l KINSALE I was asked to design a new home for the O Rourkes. This application came in light of the refusal of an appeal to an bord pleanala, on an adjacent site. This was a fantastic challenge for me, eventually liasing with all parties lead to an ideal solution. From the site, views of Kinsale harbour were available to the west while to south, views of the surrounding, pastoral valley. Visibility from the road, a designated scenic route, and from the harbour were important considerations. The house was conceived as two elements. A prominent, crisply rendered south facing, pitched roof Living block. Contrasted against a stone clad, west facing Sleeping/family block, with low pitched roof set into the hillside. This language is borrowed from the local farmsteads, where often a proud and well proportioned dwelling house sits among lesser outbuildings, anchoring it in the landscape. The design was limited to a single storey, this initially considered a problem actually facilitated the creation of quality spaces. For instance vaulted ceilings in all major rooms, revealing an exquisite glulam roof structure. Further to this, the ground plane allows most rooms privileged connection to the surrounding landscape. A recessed porch donates a blurring of the critical threshold between living room and valley - ocean vistas at the climax of the western axis.
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HOSTEL l COMERAGH MOUNTAINS The site for this hostel was Mahon Bridge, in the foot hills of the Comeragh Mountains. The hostel was to act as a temporary home for the many hikers and outdoor enthusiasts who enjoy the mountainous hinterland. My response was a slender timber tower, with dorms elevated above a communal enclosure on the ground. The fundamentals of tower design became apparent early in the design. The pursuit of a slender tpwer exposed the tensions between aesthetic and economy , thus began much adjusting of the ratio between floor plan and circulation core. Early designs were overly concerned with form. This pursuit of an organic form, lead to the pinecone. The regularity of two floor plans, when alternated provided an overall impression of irregularity. The final design would discard this innovation in favour of a floor plan dictated by the minimum unit of the hostel, the bed. Ascending to a place of peace and perspective the ‘summit’ in this instance the dorm/ bed lead the design. This is evident in the final design, the staggered layout of beds offers views, but also a gentle sense of territory and privacy within each niche.
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i - Photographs of model ii - Concept sketch, tower floor plan iii - Initial concept for pinecone tower
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APARTMENTS l VIKING TRIANGLE The site for this project was a confined corner site, at two sides the neighbours had greedily punctured their party walls with windows. As well as keeping a distance from these openings I felt the whole scheme should address this context by being a translucent and porous structure. This lead to an exploration of polycarbonate as a building material, and in the second half of the project, the integration of light moderating brise soileil was investigated through model making.
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It was important that the new building would respect the neighbouring ecclesiastical buildings, A public space is created by stepping back at the corner to allow for the appreciation of St.Patricks Cathedral’s facade. Placing my new building perpendicular to the gable of St. Olafs, with it’s intricate stained glass window, allows this axis to dominate this new public space (fig. I).
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i - Gable of St.Olafs, new scheme on left ii - Concept sketch: circulation/outdoor spaces iii - View of apartments from St.Patricks
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i - Facade Section ii - Site Section iii - First floor site plan
COMMUNITY BATHS l CAHIR This project fills a missing tooth in the terrace of Castle street, Cahir with a community swimming pool and diving platform. The recreational brief aspired to promote a healthy lifestyle. My goal was to reinstate bathing as a ritual connecting mankind with the natural world. The timber framed polycarbonate enclosure is designed such that it’s regular structure casts a wicker net of apparently organic shadows upon the water. The high rubble stone walls surrounding the site already suggested a container to be filled, bathers floating at this level, would have views over the wall, down toward the river and Cahir castle. A one metre set back from, accommodates the depth of the columns, an infinity pool detail in between. This strip also ensures privacy for the neighbours.
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The pubic plaza was designed as a sensual space for the towns people. Oversized steps line the south end of the square creating a limestone sun trap. Below the bottom step a stream trickles, soothing tired feet. Spaces are carved out of the new concrete plinth, a swimming club, a juice bar, and offices open onto the plaza. Between these are recessed reflection pools, fed by babbling cascades, seemingly from the overflowing pool above (fig. I).
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HIKERS SHELTER l The brief for this project imagined the creation of a new coastal trail along the copper coast from Tramore to Bunmahon. Along this trail students were challenged to locate and design a pavillion. The focus was sensitive intervention in a special ecology and landscape. Before design began, a group work project identified appropriate sites in each town land using bespoke mapping techniques. In Annestown the surrounding coastal pasture is the habitat for the rare chough, a red listed bird species. Therefore sensitivity of both shoreline and surrounding pastures led to a design which was grafted onto the existing car park and the monolithic, battered, sea wall.
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COPPER COAST NATURAL HERITAGE AREA The pavillion is opportunistically Anchored to existing man made forms, a familiar survival tactic in this dynamic realm. The design arises out of an obstacle on the path, a steep bank. The structure is imagined as a threshold or bridge between the lower datum of hard landscaping and the windswept fields to the west. A lower level, cast in situ concrete, with vertical timer shuttering, sits seemlessly upon the sea wall, identified only by it’s colour and novel surface texture. This stereotonic ‘cave’ offers shelter from the wind and rain, and a chance to sit, and allow the eyes to adjust to the gloom, and glimpses of the path and the horizon. The upper level is constructed from the timber shuttered used to build the base. Up here shelter is provided from the rain, while winds and views are filtered through the slatted larch enclosure. Thus while the geometry, texture and colour is continuous. A distinction is made with solidity, light and dark.
v i - Ecological mapping of site ii - Species Recorded on site iii - 1:100 Section through pavillion on existing sea wall iv & v - 3D Renders
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MARINE MAMMAL CENTER lBOATSTRAND A windswept peninsula at Boatstrand, Co. Waterford offered the perfect site for an interpretive centre and research base for the ‘Irish Whale and Dolphin Group’ and the ‘Irish Seal Sanctuary’. This centre is co-located with the local fishing fleet at Boatstrand to facilitate sharing of information and infrastructure. An existing cluster of concrete buildings,comprising a bungalow holiday home, outbuildings provide a base for the elevated addition. The new glass roof structures allow for new spaces with uninterrupted views of the horizon. They are also to act as ‘open caskets’ for cetaceans who end their lives on Irish shores. A series of outdoor pools provide for the rehabilitation of injured or orphaned seals.
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i - Complex viewed from the sea ii - 3D of vertical additions iii - Site section, across headland iv - 3D render of complex as seen from coast road v - 3D render showing suspended whale skeleton vi - Section of typical facade
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How can the architecture of peripheral zones form a connective tissue between the fragmented islands of constructed and existing environments, generating a symbiotic composite?
THESIS l KILLBARRY LANDFILL The site I choose at the beginning of the second semester addressed many of the topics raised in the thesis such as disconnection, the obsolete pastures of suburbia, waste and pollution and the ambiguity of the ‘natural’ landscape. It is a brown field site which lies in the wake of kilbarry landfill park. A triangle of scrub and scrap metal isolating the new park/old landfill from the city. My research had produced a demanding wish list for sites such as this one, to act as portal, filter, habitat, recreational amenity, energy production, waste management and finally unite and educate adjacent communties. In the masterplan i created this was achieved by applying a diagonal grid within which land was assessed as to be rewilded or developed. The result is a matrix of over lapping and intertwinned routes surrounding spaces functions are either buffered or juxtaposed to allow these compact and diverse land uses to harmonise. Case studies of utopian cities studied in the thesis showed a value in the landscapes of the hinter land. at these permanent edges priority is given to functions such as recreation, schools and hospitals. I selected an educational/recreational/light infrastructure brief. The main brief consists of internal/sheltered/external spaces to ride, learn about and house horses. Complementary functions on site: Anerobic digestion: organic waste from the surrounding communities, along with horse waste would be digested to create biogas, electricity and excess heat for greenhouses. The wetlands destroyed when the landfill was created 40 years ago would be reinstated where possible with in the scheme, to create habitats, attenuate or filter water.
KILLBARRY LANDFILL
Ground Floor Roof Plan
1:500 Ground floor
1:500 Roof Plan
KILLBARRY LANDFILL GATEWAY EQUINE PARK Site Section
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& WETLANDS
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EMPLOYMENT RICHARD RAINEY ARCHITECTS During the summer of 2007, I secured a position as an intern at Richard Rainey Architects. It taught me much about typical building construction, regulations, planning permissions and various software.
GERALDINE COUGHLAN ARCHITECTS Beginning in 2008 I have been employed on a freelance basis by Geraldine Coughlan. I have completed various projects for Geraldine up to the present, most of these involved creating rendered 3ds of residential projects, other work included assisting in the preparation of planning and construction drawings, and model making.
CARR, COTTER & NAESSANS
SW ELEVATIONCHAPEL 1:100
SITE PLAN 1 2 3 4 5 6
1916 MONUMENT PLAZA PORTICO PARKING R00F GARDEN LOADING BAY
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Glasnevin 2016 Memorial Chapel Competition
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The site for this competition was adjacent to the existing 1916 memorial.In CROSS SECTION THROUGH CHAPEL 1:100 our design the chapel and the monument were concieved as being two seperate rooms, accessed from a new piazza uniting this necropolis. A glazed perforated copper and oak lantern illuminates the chapel. Oak inserts line this massive concrete structure; a band of secret doors at ground level for storage, celebrant access/exit and coffins, and over these a band of acoustic panels. Paralell to the main journey to the center of this carnvernous chapel is a spiral upward from a discrete external courtyard to the summit.
SW EL
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SITE PLAN 1:100
CROSS SECTION THROUGH CHAPEL 1:100
SW ELEVA
SITE PLAN
CROSS SECTION THROUGH CHAPEL 1:100
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SW ELEVATIONCHAPEL 1:100
1916 MONUMENT PLAZA PORTICO PARKING R00F GARDEN LOADING BAY
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SITE PLAN 1 2 3 4 5 6
GROUND PLAN 1:200 9
1916 MONUMENT PLAZA PORTICO PARKING R00F GARDEN LOADING BAY
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PLAZA PORTIC ENTRANCE HALL CHAPEL PUBLIC WC OFFICE STORAGE SACRISTY LOADING CELEBRANTS ENTRANCE STAIRS TO ROOF GARDEN
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SITE PLAN 1:100
2013 Primary Schools Ideas Competition SITE PLAN 1:100
SECTION BB1:200
This competition sought to explore the future of Irish Primary Schools.The final design is a flexible prototype, traditional classrooms, face outward and enclose the heart of the school . This heart consists of a general circulation zone uniting all functions and allowing for spill out spaces and novel spaces for study and play. Within this space are four unique functions, a library, general hall, special needs unit and reception. these objects puncture the roof datum allowing light to flood the generous circulation areas.
WEST ELEVATION 1:200
NORTH ELEVATION 1:200
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v SECTION BB1:200
SECTION AA 1:200
NORTH ELEVATION 1:200
i - Cross section ii - Siteplan iii - Coffin procession iv - Roof top gardens v - Interior of Chapel
WEST ELEVATION 1:200
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*SHORTLISTED PROJECT
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RIAI COMPETITION l WATERFORD CITY
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This project recycles a typical celtic tiger apartment block into a viable piece of an urban community. The design places emphasis on block interior as a space for residents, with partial day time public access. The existing cells are almost exclusively one or two bed, by vertical growth these can become family homes, to this end quality outdoor spaces are provided. In keeping with this ambitious diversification of is the creation of annexes, to act as mulitgenerational units. Existing functions in block such as the delapidated squash courts are relocated to an empty street frontage, other long empty retail spaces become cooking schools and work spaces.
iii i - Colour coded diversification of units ii - Exploded Isometric of typical retrofitted bay iii - Existing and proposed siteplan iv - thumbnails outlining site strategy
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IAF COMPETITION l ARDS ‘Site 3’ contains an interesting border between a man made lawn area and the woods. In places this border consists of a gradient from mowed rye grass to meadow, to scrub and finally, primordial forest. Our proposed structure straddles this divide, creating an intermediate duo of spaces looking forward into the dark forest and back toward the beach across the open lawn. The pavillion celebrates the journey of park visitors into the forest and back in time.
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The stairs leads up to viewing platforms, one overlooks the lawn and beach beyond, the other is set into the tree tops. These stairs are linked by a landing, which also accomodates circulation at the lower level. The stairs are concieved as an articulation of the duality of the site, one is solid and encloses a space, constrasted against this is it’s lightweight twin, consisting of an array of minimal timber columns supporting the stairs. Together they form an implied cube. The plans and elevations are porous, allowing for glimpses of the landscape and the infiltration of flora and fauna underneath the platforms. This results in a sustainable, multifunctional use of the site. The light weight stairway accomodates an existing Rowan tree on the site. The pavillion as a composite of the existing qualities of the site and our need for play, exploration and shelter.
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i - Cross section ii - Ground floor plan iii - Approach to pavillion from lawn iv - Long section v - Roof plan vi - Side view from forest edge
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THANK YOU
Daniel Wright danielwright776@gmail.com +353872103874