Cork Street Vocational College - Infrastructure as Learning Space by Ronan Healy

CORK STREET VOCATIONAL COLLEGE INFRASTRUCTURE AS LEARNING SPACE

ronan healy

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Education is not solely the dissemination of information but primarily a social act made vital through human interaction. It is conscious, deliberate and communal. People are educated not solely through the discipline of a pedagogue but also by the inculcations of society. To build a vocational college should be to make a site that fosters active interaction and negotiation between different people; a living organism that navigates the boundaries between public and private space in an urban environment and engages with the broader community. “Education, therefore, is a process of living and not a preparation for future living.” – John Dewey To create an easily accessible educational resource requires the cultivation of a permeable and convivial urban grain to promote the propinquity of civic dwellers and pupils.

A heterotopic space floating atop the waves of squalor in the 13th Parisian arrondissement. Cleansing and absolving, a utopian phalanstère which could grow legs, settle anywhere and be content.

Setting the Scene - Slide 1 Finished in 1933, the project was commissioned by the Salvation Army as part of a programme to transform social outcasts into spiritually renewed workers. Le Corbusier had worked with the S.A. on previous projects in this programme including ‘Palais du Peuple’ (an extension annexed to a homeless shelter in 1926) and the ‘Louise-Catherine’ (a barge-hostel constructed in 1930). The Cité is located in the largely industrial 13th arrondissement of Paris. The 13th Arr. is positioned between the 5th (one of the oldest and wealthiest districts of Paris), and the 12th (home to the major train station ‘Gare de Lyon’). At this time in Paris, homelessness had become an epidemic after the influx of disabled First World War veterans and a large gathering of ‘clochards’ was often to be found under the bridges of Paris. The Salvation Army cleverly recognised the opportunity to proselytize the destitute through a work to live programme.

A Salvation Army poster advertising the Cité de Refuge

The Ship and the Sea - Slide 2 Within the Salvation Army Le Corbusier found a social and philosophical compatibility due to their strong hierarchical authority and strict programmatic ideals. At the confluence of their attitudes on reform, design principles, and willingness to undertake technological experiments, Le Corbusier discovered the perfect laboratory for his research. Inspired by the Narkomfin block he aimed to create a kind of Fourierist Phalanstère (a building designed for a self-contained utopian community) which was a direct prototype for his Unité project in the 50s. However, due to its location on an awkward 1700m2 site with openings onto two streets, Corbusier was forced to try multiple approaches until he found the final form: a single long block with serrated edge entablature and a processional entry through attendant outbuildings. 4

1:2500 Map of Paris indicating Corbusier’s Salvation Army Projects. Red = Cité

Social Control - Slide 3 In the project, Corbusier enforced a programmatic layering of spaces to encourage a dynamic coexistence of activities. This was the early stages of his ‘Machine for living’ philosophy. The Cité provided shelter for 5-600 homeless people, along with kitchens, restaurants, social workers, doctors and most importantly an ‘engine room’ of segregated workshops where the tenants were expected to earn the money required for their board. Throughout the building the male and female residents were kept apart by a central divided circulation core with two separate stairwells. Comparison - Slide 4 For comparison, George Wilkinson’s general scheme for the Irish workhouse can be examined due to its similar capacity, and segregation, albeit in the horizontal plane. Screening Process - Slide 5 At the entrance of the Cité was a multi-stage screening process that protected vulnerable residents. Each arrival was subject to a processional journey through this buffer zone, passing through the guard station, gangway, orientation room and receiving hall. Environmental Control - Slide 6 Cité de Refuge was the first chance for Corbusier to test a concept that epitomised his modernist ideas of the new age: the idea he called ‘respiration exacte’. This was essentially a hermetically sealed environment which was to be regulated by an early form of mechanical air conditioning. However the technology was not properly installed, resulting in severe overheating due to the large expanses of south-facing glazed curtain wall. Corbusier however, was unyielding about the lack of thermal control and it wasn’t until after the Second World War that the curtain wall was replaced by a brisesoleil.

The Narkomfin block, a source of inspiration for Corbusier

This building is a perfect example of how a project can efficiently provide many different functions within a single self-contained unit. The social condenser theory practised by Le Corbusier in the Cité is based on the premise that through the intentional overlap of programmes areas of collision can be created which allow for otherwise disparate social communities to interact. This idea resonated with me in regard to how a vocational college could be designed. However I felt that the Cité lacks a connection to the immediate community; the buffer zone - although essential in the context of the project - forms a conspicuous disconnect between the building and the general public and is an inherently exclusionary device. This was something which I strongly wanted to avoid in my own design.

Timeline of vocational education in Ireland

In 1545, after the dissolution of the monasteries in Ireland by Henry VIII, the Liberties of Thomas Court and Donore were granted to the King’s Irish justiciar: William Brabazon. Brabazon was the chief agent of King Henry’s monastic suppression and is ancestor to the Earls of Meath. His newly acquired land became known as the ‘Meath Liberties’ and even today, traces of his family’s lineage can be seen in street names such as ‘Brabazon Street’ and ‘Meath Street’, located in the centre of the Dublin Liberties. By the 1670s the Brabazon family had established an agricultural market space in the area known as Newmarket. This area and its hinterland soon became home to French Huguenots who, fleeing religious persecution, arrived in the late 17th century. The Huguenots contributed substantially to the local textile industry and helped to bring economic prosperity to the area. The areas industrial success continued until the mid-20th century when a rapid decline in local trade resulted in the exodus of the majority of local factory businesses. This massive haemorrhaging of local employment levels has manifested in the dereliction of many sites across the Liberties. In a bull-headed attempt to turn Cork Street into a major traffic artery, Dublin City Council implemented a contentious road widening scheme after the compulsory purchase of 145 properties in 1998. The new wide road, as well as a bypass of the Coombe Road, was completed in 2002 and is largely considered to have had a negative and divisive effect on the area. Cork street was originally a narrow street with low buildings 2 or 3 storeys high. Neighbours were once able to hang out of their windows and talk to each other across the street. This connected one side to the other and generated a strong sense of community. The communal sense of street was shattered with the enlargement of Cork Street and the new interstitial space drove a wedge between the community. The original grain which tended north south, connecting to Meath Street, Francis Street and the heart of the Liberties was broken and the community cast asunder - scattered to both halves of the street. It is obvious that any public building project on Cork Street has an implied obligation to infiltrate and rehabilitate the community domain.

Site analysis showing the Coombe bypass overlaid over the previous layout

1. Dublin Street Atlas & Guide. 6th Edition

2. 2014 OS Map

3. 1876 Map

4. 1756 John Rocque map

5. 1610 John Speed map

Analysis of the age of school leavers in the area from the 2011 census is very revealing of the desperate necessity for vocational education on Cork Street. In many regions*** nearly 50 percent of the population have left school before the age of 18. Low education levels in the region*** mean that the current trend of unemployment may be perpetuated unless occupational training can be provided. The zones which are particularly at risk are mostly social housing and the older residences of the Liberties where rates of under 18 school leavers are as high as 47 percent. This contrasts dramatically with the more modern apartment blocks where percentages are much lower, at around 8 percent. In his seminal publication ‘Back to the Street’ Gerry Cahill states that cities are both fixed - by the people that live there - and transient by the people that come there to work or relax. He maintains that both are imperative to city life and that ‘without one there is no dynamic, only decay’. It is therefore essential for an educational institution to blend the transient components -students and teachers - with the fixed -local residents - to sustain a vibrant urban environment. Cahill encourages rehabilitation over redevelopment, believing that it is better to revitalize and preserve the natural diversity of a city than to demolish large swathes of it. He upholds that in order to achieve this ‘each building must become subordinate to the overall plan’ and greater emphasis should be placed on the district rather than on any single building. Due to the sparsity of remaining historic fabric in the immediate area, Newmarket stands out as an urban artefact and is an essential site for preservation. Down a short lane connected to Newmarket resides an early 18th century house of considerable scale and sophistication reputed to have been built as a dower house by either the 4th or 5th Earl of Meath. Remodelled in 1894 as a school and mission hall by Victorian architect George Palmer Beater, it survives as perhaps the sole remnant of the ‘Dutch Billy’ typology in the area.

Mapping of education levels in the area. Figures in white are number of people leaving education at <18 over total population

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Photo journey from the bottom of Meath Stret to Number 10 Mill Street

‘Components of a True City’ by Leon Krier

With the local urban community left fractured by the depredations of road engineers, and large swathes of the region derelict, it is clear that Cork Street is in urgent need of rehabilitation. These wounds can only be repaired by reconnecting the urban community at ground level. I aimed to create a simple intervention that used modest pieces of ordinary city as much as possible to assimilate the project into the urban fabric and to avoid the risk of generating an alien or intimidating institutional landscape. It was imperative to me that my vocational college would be comprised of smaller elements to help establish a human scale and to encourage interaction from the locals. In my early research I came across the German term ‘Gesamkunstwerk’ which translates as the entirety of a work of art and implies the synthesis of multiple components. This became a driving philosophy for me throughout the design process and acted as a catalyst for the composition of my initial strategies. After analysing the local education levels and finding them to be deficient in many areas , I realised that I needed to involve the community in the college right at their front doors. I began to think about temporary structures and how they could encourage participation through the staging of free workshops outside where people lived. My initial urban proposals: ‘Permeability’ and ‘Axis’, attempt to address the requirement for the dispersal and infiltration of renewal projects amongst the community.

Purple = preservation and adaptation of existing buildings Red = modification of existing buildings Blue = addition of temporary workshops Yellow = landscaping.

‘Permeability’ uses the existing IDA buildings as the vocational college, creating a porous membrane to the street with a covered pedestrian route which cuts through the compound and further links Newmarket to Cork Street. It proposes the constriction of Cork Street along the Coombe bypass to just two lanes and the landscaping of the reclaimed land for the benefit of the college. ‘Axis’ looks at the connection from Meath Street to Newmarket and its environs. In this proposal the old townhouse on Mill Street and the depot buildings behind it serve as the southern limit of the axis. The new route re-establishes the historic North-south grain and aims to retain the spirit of neighbourliness and direct contact found on a traditional street over the more hazardous environment of Cork Street where cars feel comfortable to bully their way through the streetscape. Both schemes propose the removal of the railings beside O’Donnell and Tuomey’s Timberyard project to allow for free movement to and from Meath Street. By placing the urban community ahead of Cork Street, the annihilating effects of the road engineering scheme are diminished.

Of my initial urban strategies I felt that ‘Axis’ was the proposal that responded most aptly to the site conditions. The acupuncture-like approach to building in Cork Street was something that captivated me and provided a fascinating stimulus for my design. However, this strategy was not without its challenges. How much can you disperse a project before it becomes too diluted? How do you prevent a distributed project from taking on too much of the city and rupturing out of its manageable bounds? I set about trying to define a set of parameters that would govern the locations of the buildings in my project. A flowchart diagram helped me to rein in the extents of the initial proposal and solidify an effective positioning system. In ‘Back to the Street’ Gerry Cahill states that corner sites have always been an important aspect of the traditional street because of their unifying quality and this was something I wanted to explore in my design. By using holes found in the existing urban fabric I was able to locate a series of corner locations that could act not as bookends to the street but as the jewels that punctuate a pearl necklace, saturating it with vitality.

Block 1 Located at the convergence of Meath Street and the Coombe this block houses the workshops and has start-up units on the ground floor. Its position at the gateway to the bustling Meath Street marks it as an ideal location for enterprise units as well as providing a burgeoning market for the sale of any goods crafted in the vocational workshops. Block 2 Tucked into the cavity left at the joint of Weaver Street and Brabazon Street, it consists of a series of standard, flexible use classrooms. Block 3 Can be considered the main hub of the project and wraps the end of the warehouse block on the south side of Cork Street. At interim stage this contained a library, staff offices and facilities, the students’ common room, classrooms and a restaurant/café. Block 4 Home to another start-up unit as well as classrooms. It is thought that along with Block 3 this block would inject life into the Newmarket area, introducing a student presence into the largely industrial environment. Block 5 The 18th century townhouse at number 10 Mill Street. It is proposed that this building would be restored and act as the principal of the college’s house with the adjacent Mission Hall to be used as a conference/meeting room.

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Block model of site strategy 5

A primary objective of my project was to bind the buildings together with an overarching theme in keeping with the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Gesamkunstwerkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; way of thinking. I wanted it to be clear upon arriving at the college that these dispersed buildings were somehow linked. The main questions I asked myself were: how does a visitor know when they are in the college? Are these buildings linked by something visual/qualitative like using similar paving underfoot or having trees planted outside each block? Or are they brought together by something more quantitative/statistical, such as maintaining a constant distance from a central point or keeping the buildings all the same height? I thought about how people currently pass through the streets and how existing patterns of movement had been destroyed by the Coombe bypass. Most of all I thought about how I could engender interaction between passing members of the public and the buildings. The solution I arrived at was to modulate the existing building line to both invite and arrest movement at street level. By stepping some of the buildings out and overhanging other parts of the project the public could be engaged through passing interaction. This has the effect of charging the intermediate spaces and due to a careful arrangement of building forms has the consequence of creating a point inside each block where the entire project is visible. The shift in grain across the site from the fine residential makeup of the Coombe to the coarser industrial area of Newmarket allowed for a great freedom in the variety of scales used in the project. This permitted me to extrude Block 4 to a six storey height that relates to the Timberyard as well as to a disused distillery tower that exists nearby. By locating a tall building in Newmarket the most elevated point in the area - a link is created from the building to the wider city context; views to the Dublin mountains can be taken advantage of, whilst still maintaining a link to the immediate surroundings at the towerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s base.

Sketch plan of site variations

As a 3 sided building with faces to Meath Street, Cork Street and the main axis as well as being the point in the project at which Cork Street is bridged, Block 3 was a crucial part of the scheme to develop. It exists as an exception to the previously established system of building into corners, and prior to interim review stage was at risk of draining out too much into the backlands. This would have detracted from the strength of the constructed axis and therefore meant that the hub had to become inward-looking. Using the existing level change from one side of the site to the other I carved out the ground to form an intimate public courtyard. I included a smaller shortcut passageway as an alternative to the main entrance on Cork Street and aligned this with the brick distillery tower to serve as a minor link from the axis to the courtyard.

Evolution of Block 3 in plan

Drawing inspiration from Peter Marki’s La Congiunta building in which visitors are forced to walk around the building to find the entrance, I sculpted a hard, concentrated face to the bounding streets to establish a sense of curiosity about what lies behind. This effect is then reversed inside the courtyard, holding the site together through its introversion. By placing the library building facing on to the courtyard a calm and cloistered environment is created, safe from the looming presence of Cork Street. At the interim stage, solid Siza-like stone construction served as a placeholder for the civic sense of material presence that I wanted to create; timber cladding was used to create softer aspects of the project.

Perspective of courtyard space from minor entrance

La Congiunta, Giornico

The interim review yielded constructive advice from guest tutors John Tuomey and Shane O’Toole. The project seemed to pique their interest and was described by Tuomey as being “very alert… a delicate proposal yet surprisingly robust”. They were concerned however that the motive of varying the building line was being overstated and that the desired effect could possibly be achieved in a more subtle manner. They were also questioning of how Block 3 interacted with the vacant site to the immediate west. They felt that the courtyard space could have a more cooperative relationship with the site if their shared edge could become porous. The project was compared to the train stations of London which situate themselves at urban corners, providing access to a unified system which is not immediately apparent at street level. 47

1:200 Elevation from Cork Street (overleaf)

1:500 Plan of scheme (and on previous page

Photographs of 1:200 model taken at Block 3 and Block 1

Sketch of updated Block 3

Elevations taken from each side of tower

Post interim review and in response to the comments of the critics I felt that some crucial adjustments needed to be made in order to progress my project further. The previous resolution of Block 3 had proved to be an inadequate solution to the site as by turning its back it failed to connect to the greater site. To solve this problem I stretched the existing courtyard, dividing it into two sections, retaining the smaller, more intimate space near the library, and creating a more open, active space beside the restaurant/cafĂŠ. The new, larger court would now connect to and extend an extant lane which runs perpendicular to Cork Street past the distillery tower, making a link through the site to the edge of Newmarket. This path creates frontage on the distillery tower side and helps to form an end to the block. At Block 4 the height of the tower increased to seven storeys, allowing for the addition of an extra classroom and establishing it further as a visual marker for the project. This landmark quality made it the most appropriate place to begin to devise the projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tectonic identity. Looking back at my early investigations, the idea of a light structure rather than the former heavy stone walls appeared to align itself more with the original concept of almost temporarily plugging holes in the city. I decided to move forward with thin steel framed structures that gracefully floated above the ground. Realising that the city at eye level is a very different place to that overhead, it was important to me that the reception areas of each building be of a different nature to the rest of the building above. To create a firm connection to the street I decided to construct the receiving areas out of load bearing in situ concrete, creating a carved podium upon which the filigree steel frame could delicately perch. There is an embodied flexibility in this method of construction, the steel top could theoretically be detached and replaced in any configuration and even removed entirely leaving only a petrified shadow on the ground.

New Museum, SANAA, Manhatten

Much like SANAAs New Museum project in Manhattan, I wanted to use a mute expression of materiality as a method of distilling the surrounding city. By articulating my buildings as pure, ghostly insertions, the interstitial spaces can be illuminated, sharpened to a point of hyper clarity. In order to incorporate the project into the area, it was imperative to express the materiality in a style that related to the local industrial vernacular. I decided that the steel structure in the tower (150mm box sections spaced roughly 4 .5m apart) would be expressed on the exterior, and the internal elements would be made of prefabricated timber panels for their economic and almost mechanical nature and yet also to add a natural softness to the classroom environment. The relief effect created by this double skin would be accentuated by 40mm diameter cross bracing that cast a shadow back onto the layer of white acrylic sheeting and all the connecting bolts would be ground down to a smooth finish.

Maison Latapie, Lacaton Vassal

Roof Build-Up 180mm Prefab panels (15mm birch plywood, vapour control barrier, 150mm high performance insulation, 15mm OSB) DPM 25 x 25mm Timber battens 15mm Plywood Bitumen felt

Wall Build-Up 150mm prefab panels (15mm birch plywood, vapour control barrier, 125mm high performance insulation with wire chase, 15mm OSB) attached to sole plate on flooring joists DPM 25 x 35mm Timber battens 5mm White acrylic sheeting 150mm Hollow box section steel structure with 40mm diameter cross-bracing

Floor Build-up Birch plywood 180mm Floor joists 100mm Cellulose insulation Cork strips 150mm Tongue and grooved larch planks

1:10 Detail of classrooms in tower

Visual research

Collage of industrial building materials

Externally I developed a tripartite expression of materials. Starting with the human scale at ground level where the building relates to the pupils, the locals, the teachers and the workers. It is conceived as a robust concrete extension of the street and is primarily concerned with doors, windows, benches and other elements of human interaction. The second constituent of the material composition is the industrial scale. Here, a corrugated white acrylic rain screen acts as a precisely engineered form of the indigenous industrial syntax. The materialâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s texture and economic nature is harmonious with my design motives and bridges the gap between the concrete and steel structural systems, obscuring their seam. The final part in the composition is the extruded steel structure which sits on top as the tower as a pinnacle of knowledge and learning. The stratified organisation of this element juxtaposes effortlessly onto the more free form plinth below.

1:100 Study section through tower

Due to the timber construction of classrooms with their birch plywood lined walls and larch planked floors laid across timber joists, the transfer of sound was a concerning issue. By introducing cork strips underneath the floor boards and mass between the joists in the form of cellulose insulation, any impact noise is eliminated and acoustic resonance is greatly negated. At the reception level a fine aggregate polished screed containing copper pipes for heating is laid over impact sound insulation to make a solid floor that reduces excess noise and warms up the room. Each level of the extruded steel structure is glazed at both the north end where the circulation core skewers through the building and at the south end of each classroom space. Consequentially, every classroom can be cross ventilated by pulling air through the circulation core and out of opening sections in the south faรงade.

1:100 Elevation of tower

Indiustrial buildings around Newmarket

1:500 Final review plans 1. Reception 2. Start-Up Unit 3. Library 4 Classroom 5. Restaurant/Cafe 6. Kitchen 7. Principalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s House 8. Board Room

1:500 Section A-A

1:200 Section B-B

1:200 Section C-C

1:200 Section D-D

Exploded plans of tower

1:100 Final review section through tower

1:25 Construction details

RONAN HEALY

EVIDENCE OF THE PAST: NUMBER

MILL STREET

In 1545, after the dissolution of the monasteries in Ireland by Henry VIII, the liberties of Thomas Court and Donore were granted to the King’s Irish justiciar: William Brabazon.1 Brabazon was the chief agent of King Henry’s monastic suppression and is ancestor to the Earls of Meath. His newly acquired land became known as the ‘Meath Liberties’ and even today, traces of his family’s lineage can be seen in street names such as ‘Brabazon Street’ and ‘Meath Street’ located in the centre of the Dublin Liberties. By the 1670s the Brabazon family had established an agricultural market space in the area known as Newmarket. In the following decade, Mill Street was laid out parallel to the Newmarket plaza and consisted of mostly residential buildings. The area soon became home to French Huguenots who, fleeing religious persecution, settled in the Newmarket and Weaver’s Square area in the late 17th century.2 They contributed substantially to the local textile industry and helped to bring economic prosperity to the area. Number 10 Mill Street was constructed in the early 1720s by the Brabazons as a townhouse in the ‘Dutch Billy’ style and as an axial terminus to Mill Lane, the interstice which connects Mill Street with Newmarket just south of the Coombe (Figure 1). John Rocque’s map of 1756 indicates number 10 as a square planned building at the foot of Mill Lane, stippled to indicate a ‘dwelling house’ (Figure 2). In 1818, after nearly 100 years in the hands of the Earls of Meath, the house was acquired by the Christian Brothers who subsequently opened a school on the property catering for 500 young boys.3 This was to be the second Christian Brothers school in Dublin and in 1837 was referred to by Protestant rector Rev. G. Dwyer as one of the most perfect schools he had been in in all his life.4 After the lapse of the Christian Brother’s contract, a new lease was agreed upon between William the 11th Earl of Meath and Rev. John Sweeney for the Mill Street property and its contiguous land. Under patronage of the Irish Church Missions, a Protestant alternative to the typical Catholic mission school of the time was installed by the philanthropist Daniel Molloy in 1852.5 This was a charitable organisation or ‘ragged school’ dedicated to the free education of destitute children and competed zealously with the Catholic schools of the area such as those founded by Margaret Aylward through the proselytizing of orphan and deprived children in a local phenomenon known as ‘the battle of the souls’.6 In a move that replaced the existing lower class and smaller scaled neighbouring houses, the Victorian architect George Palmer Beater was commissioned to build an extension to number 10 in the form of a gothic revival style mission hall constructed during the 1880s. Sadly, in 1891 the town house was altered to be rendered consistent with the neighbouring gothic style of the mission hall. The top floor and roof were removed entirely and a hipped structure was erected in place of the original doublefronted gable roof.7 At some point the house returned to its residential origins and in the1901 census a cabinet-maker, John Gibson and his wife Lilla, are listed as residents of the house, alongside five elderly Protestant widows.8 The house is also renowned as being home for 41 years to well-known Dublin character ‘Bang Bang’.9 In 1981, the Department of Posts and Telegraphs bought the building as part of a tract of property which contained a telex exchange. They had no strategy for the preservation of the building and as a result the house was broken into and vandalised several times during the early 1980s. Today most of the openings have been sealed with concrete breeze blocks (Figure 3) and the roof which was found to be in a dangerous condition was replaced with a steel and timber frame flat roof in 2005.10

Figure 1. A model showing the Mill Street house in relation to Newmarket and Meath Street. Photo: author, 2015

Despite its derelict condition, number 10 Mill Street stands as the single most important surviving house in the Dublin Liberties. It is the sole remnant of the double gable fronted house type in the area and represents the very last of a style which once filled this part of the city. Senior lecturer of architectural history in Trinity College, Christine Casey, describes the house in ‘The Buildings of Ireland’: On the adjoining Mill Street is an early 18th century house (No.10) of considerable scale and sophistication reputed to have been built as a dower house by either the 4th (d1707) or the 5th (d1715) Earl of Meath. Remodelled in 1894 as a school and mission by G.P. Beater it terminates an axial vista from Newmarket and Mill Lane. Tall and relatively narrow, of 5 bays and 3 rendered storeys over basement, with a gabled brick porch and brick top floor with a gabled centrepiece. Originally it had a pair of curvilinear gables, flush sash windows and an attenuated Corinthian door case crowned by a vigorous swan-necked pediment. The interior was vandalized in the 1980. The rooms were wainscoted and the stair had three fluted and twisted balusters per thread, Corinthian newels and a richly carved apron to the landing.11

Figure 2. Rocque’s 1756 map. Number 10 is highlighted with red circle. Drawing: John Rocque 1756, available online [http://bit.ly/1IK6TfZ]

Figure 3. The house as it stands today. Photo: author, 15/04/2015

Before classical taste began to infiltrate Dublin at the turn of the 18th century, the city looked much akin to Amsterdam or any other continental city with a gable fronted streetscape. The popularity and refinement of the housing style known as ‘Dutch Billy’ houses increased with the influence of Huguenot settlers and supporters of King William III (1650-1702) who gave his name to the style.12 The movement remained fashionable until the 1750s when developments at the hands of Gardiner and Fitzwilliam began to promote the flat Georgian parapet as an alternative, and most of the city’s idiosyncratic gable fronts were either built up to match the sober flat parapet architecture or were demolished.13 ‘Dutch Billys’ can be found behind modified façades on Capel Street, Thomas Street, Molesworth Street, South Frederick Street and many other sites around central Dublin which makes their absence from the current skyline in their original form quite startling. Internally, timber panelled walls, corner fireplaces and low barley sugar balustrade staircases are typical features which mark the style.14 ‘Dutch Billys’ were in fact an evolution of the vernacular triangular gabled house type of 1600s Ireland with a Dutch veneer applied. Roof ridges were laid parallel to the street front and along the centre line of the house. A secondary ridge crossed the primary line perpendicularly and at the same height, creating a cruciform truss in plan. The primary roof ridge was usually supported on one side of the house by a chimney breast shared by two houses across the party wall. The chimney was subsequently set diagonally to the rest of the house with openings for corner fireplaces on each floor. The cruciform roof ridge results in equal gables to the front and rear and additional gables along party walls.15 Dutch articulation called for curvilinear gables, stepped and topped off by small triangular pediments. Number 10 Mill Street is an especially notable example of this style of architecture due to its doubled cruciform roof, resulting in two gables at the front face and necessary to allow for its impressive five bay width. The 19th century remodelling of number 10 features decorative elements which disguise its early 18th century origins. These include a projecting porch with pointed gable and decorative brick work; a red-brick pedimented feature of similar gothic design jutting out at roof level and yellow brick chimney

stacks. The remodelling however, was not purely decorative and there is also evidence that the primary cause for any alterations was a considerable structural intervention required after a storm in 1839 severely damaged the original roof of the old house.16 At the rear of the building, clasps for iron tie bars can be seen at the level of the replaced floor which confirms prior issues of instability. Nonetheless, a number of features survived from the earlier house post modification. Although the 18th century doorway was removed, its distinctive long oak panelled door was reused in the extruded porch and is visible in photographs as recently as the 1980s (Figure 4). The windows that currently reside on the top floor belong to the 19th century alteration; however the basement, ground and first floor sash windows were kept as surviving 18h century elements, with weight boxes flush with the external brickwork, a typical feature of Dublin houses before 1730 parliamentary regulation which decreed that windows should be set back from the reveal to the width of one brick (thought to be a defence against the hazards of fire).17 The historic door case that did not survive the alterations was a very distinguishing feature of the house. Observable in historic photos taken prior to the 1891 alterations the entrance was constructed for the most part in sandstone (Figure 5). It consisted of a pair of fluted Corinthian columns on pedestals, which gave the door an impressive height, and supported an entablature with a pulvinated frieze and dentilled cornice surmounted by a swan necked pediment finished with rosette scrolls. In the centre was a small pedestal for a bust which may never have been carved. A cementitious render was applied over the house soon after it was reconstructed; an article in The Irish Builder, dated May 15 1893, reports that while the brick-work was left exposed immediately after the re-modelling, it was â&#x20AC;&#x153;now covered in plasterâ&#x20AC;?18. It is not clear why the render was added, except perhaps due to the irregularity and lack of glazed finish (which would have been desirable at the time) on the surviving storeys of the 18th century house. During the vandalism of the 1980s the interior of number 10 was completely disembowelled, and scavenged of the majority of valuable historical material. The typical early 18th century stairs which comprised a ramped handrail supported by exquisite balusters, part fluted and part twisted in a barley sugar design were desecrated by thieves and the balusters, alongside the lead from the 19th century hipped roof were stolen. After a fire in March 1983 completely eviscerated the mission hall addition, the Department of Posts and Telegraphs bricked up the windows and doors. This was unfortunately undertaken without any architectural supervision and the extremely valuable 18th century window fittings, weight boxes and sashes were all lost, replaced by concrete blocks. Due to the stolen lead in the roof, the interior was also left exposed to water damage for the ensuing decades until it was finally sealed in early 2005 under a Section 5 declaration of exemption which also insisted on bracing the upper floor from within with iron girders.19

Figure 4. Number 10 Mill Street at the height of the vandalism. Photo: Willie King, 1984

Figure 5. The finely detailed door case prior to the alterations of 1891. Photo: unknown author, unknown date [Patrick Healy collection, south Dublin libraries]

While most of the 18th century fabric of the house has been lost, in particular internally as a result of general neglect and externally as a result of the radical 19th century alterations, the building still stands as a very significant and rare example of the ‘Dutch Billy’ typology and one of impressive scale and original quality. Its association with the Brabazon family and the Earls of Meath as a reputed dower house and the involvement of Victorian architect George Beater in the reconstruction of 1891 provides a significant wealth of historical interest. The building’s cultural and social importance lies in its role as the second Christian brothers school in the city as well as its subsequent establishment as a ‘ragged school’ for the Irish Church Missions and its participation in the ‘battle of the souls’. Today, only the shell of the adjacent mission hall and a few attached fragments of former 19th century facades give any indication that number 10 was once part of a terrace row. Although the 19th century relics are of considerably less architectural significance that number 10 they are nonetheless still important because of the sparse historical fabric that remains in the immediate area. The state of the building as it stands today reflects the economic decline of the area which began during the second half of the 20th century. Despite its proximity to the city centre, the area is poorly connected and feels isolated and distant. Recently however, a weekend market at Newmarket alongside its Meath Street cousin have helped in the rehabilitation of the Liberties. The new Teelings distillery development along the east side of Mill Lane as well as the British and Irish Modern Music (BIMM) school which opened recently in the nearby Warrenmount convent building have brought vibrancy and life to the area. It is egregious that the Department of Posts and Telegraphs allowed the house to deteriorate to such an extent without intervention.

The issue that arises with regard to the conservation of number 10 Mill Street is whether to restore the building to its original 18th century state or to that of the 1891 alteration. This concern is a sensitive issue and requires careful consideration before any restoration can begin. This is where documents such as the Burra charter can be examined to provide guidance as to the best course of action. The charter states: 3.2 Changes to a place should not distort the physical or other evidence it provides, nor be based on conjecture 19. Restoration is appropriate only if there is sufficient evidence of an earlier state of the fabric. 20

The oldest records that exist which reveal the appearance of the house are illustrations from The Irish Builder dated 1880 and 1888 (Figure 6). These illustrations differ slightly in their realisation, which casts

some doubts over the veritable appearance. The first drawing, dated January 15th 1880, is the more artistically proficient of the pair and provides valuable information about the neighbouring buildings. The second, a sketch by Joshua Allen, appears to be more accurate in particular details despite its inferior draughtsmanship. The 1880 drawing indicates flat arches over the upper floor windows rather than the brick moulded, round relieving arches in Joshua Allenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sketch; it also articulated each floor of the faĂ§ade by the use of a string course something which there has been no evidence to support . Both of these errors are typical details of houses in Dublin at the time but are inaccurate. The drawings give an indication of the roof structure that was unfortunately removed along with all top floor walls which would have supported it. In the first drawing, the front gables appear more like dormers than full scale front-facing gables which match the height of the ridge rib. Allenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sketch shows the roof structure more faithfully and also includes the mission hall which indicates that it was built before the alterations were made. Internally, the plan form remains intact at basement level and relatively so at the upper floors. There also remains enough joinery to form a template for reconstruction. One entire section of 18th century timber raised and fielded panelling has survived and some portions of timber window and door architraves have also survived, along with evidence of plaster cornice work on the first floor ceiling.21 Currently a new development is planned for the Mill Street site that aims to construct accommodation for up to 400 students, a nursing home to cater for up to 114 patients along with offices and the full restoration and adaptation of the number 10 house as a restaurant and multi-use venue facility. The project pledges to restore the 19th century appearance externally without the cement render and to reconstruct the interior with as much retention of authentic historic fabric as possible.22

Figure 6. Illustrations from The Irish Builder. Left: unknown author, January 15th 1880/ Right: Joshua Allen, 1888.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Shaffrey Associates Architects, Architectural heritage