Geoffrey Whelan Architects (GWA) is a young, creative and dynamic practice which has been shortlisted in the Designer of the Year category at the 2021 Irish Construction Industry Awards for its work on Portobello Courtyard House, Dublin 8.
Launched in 2014, the Irish Construction Industry Awards recognise, encourage and celebrate original and innovative contractors, businesses, teams, consultants and projects that demonstrate excellence in the built environment. Specialising in both new contemporary architecture and intervention of existing buildings, GWA has been honoured with the 2021 EU Business Irish Enterprise Award for Planning already this year and is now hoping to pull off a memorable double.
“The nomination is great recognition for our whole team. It’s something we’re very proud of,” says Geoffrey Whelan, Principal Architect at GWA.
GWA was Project Architect for Portobello Courtyard House which involved the renovation and extension of a 19th century period house in Portobello. Vista connections have been made from the front to the rear of the residence via an adaptable open space and an abundance of natural light. The key client request here was to open the property to its full potential of space, light and adaptability.
Within the main house, GWA has lowered the ground floor level, creating a double height space within the original front room. This gesture adds an additional level and floor area to the existing house, creating a new studio mezzanine level filled with light. Period features have been reinstated around the main entrance door and south-facing extended size period sliding sash shutter window surrounds.
GWA made sure to maximise every square centimetre of space. A glazed gallery links the new garden room to the rear of the property, back to the main house. Re-interpreted Portobello Brick Patterns (echoing the brick detailing in the Portobello area) and minimalist glazed sliding walls form a rectangular west facing courtyard space which benefits from both south sunlight during the day and west evening sunsets.
A key feature in the courtyard space, adaptive design was the option chosen to merge both internal and external spaces completely together via a full height floor-to-ceiling minimalist sliding glazed wall system, which can be either manually or mechanically powered on activation command.
The character of the external courtyard environment has been brought inside the house. All three spaces – courtyard, gallery and kitchen / dining spaces – seamlessly merge in the same airspace. A palette of carefully-chosen same materials were used, linking inside and out. The courtyard now floods the rear of the house with daylight, northlight throughout the day, followed by west evening sunset into the recessed gallery seating areas.
As part of The Irish Architecture Foundation events in 2020, the project was also featured in Open House Dublin Video On Site Tours, which presented it during the construction stage. An onsite video tour is available to view online.
The client, Brenda Ryan, was very pleased with the finished product. Indeed, she is someone Geoffrey had got to know when he worked as Project Architect on Ryan’s Public House in Camden Street, during his time at a previous practice, Darmody Architecture. After setting up his practice in 2018, Geoffrey continued to work for some time as an External Consultant Architect for Darmody Architecture on some legacy projects he had worked on in practice there.
“I worked closely with Jamie Martin-Riveria on the project which Brenda asked us to complete onsite. As a start-up practice, it’s gratifying to see past clients like Brenda at Ryan’s Public House and others alike The CHQ Building in the Dublin Docklands, who I had previously worked closely as Project Architect with, reaching out to us.”
GWA was established in Dublin in 2018 by Geoffrey and has since grown to employ a six-strong team of architects and architect technologists. The newest addition to the team is Naomi Hyland, who the principal architect had studied and worked with in the past, and who boasts similar qualifications and experience (studying Architectural Technology in DIT and further working together at Burke Kennedy Doyle Architects).
“Our practice studio is currently based in Drimnagh, Dublin 12, but we have plans to move to a larger and more central location in the future. However, our immediate focus is on expanding our team. As well as Naomi, we’ve taken on two recent Architectural Technologist graduates, Chloe Smith and Simon Roumier,” Geoffrey continues.
“The fact that we all have a background in both Architecture Design & Architectural Technology results in the team being particularly adept at co-ordinating between Design & Detailing. I’d like to think that we have put together a very talented team which is adaptive, creative and reliable. We also have a very good record in Planning which was reflected in us receiving the EU Business Enterprise Award for Planning for 2021.”
Registered with The Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland (RIAI), the practice has a passion for design, detail and adaptability, and prides itself on its communication, project time management and team skills. The practice is Accredited in Conservation Grade 3 by the RIAI for working with buildings and sites with Conservation Areas and Protected Status. Its portfolio of works spans mixed-used commercial projects to bespoke private residences and renovations.
GWA is built upon clearly defined principles which are to understand with clarity its clients’ brief; to generate a clear vision for each project; and the delivery of your project on time and to the highest possible standard.
Geoffrey is no stranger to working on The CHQ Building in Dublin’s Docklands to which in previous practice, was Project Architect for its EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum and was recently voted Europe’s leading visitor experience for the third year in-a-row. Geoffrey is currently Project Architect on a Design Team for the CHQ’s future plans to utilise its upper levels Mezzanine Spaces of the building overlooking the River Liffey, creating a European Standard Large – Gala Dinner Venue and a Food Hall at Ground Floor.
The design challenge is to accommodate cutting-edge technology and whilst at the same time retaining and enhancing the special character of the protected structure. The conservation challenge is to retain and repair the original historic fabric of the existing structure and to insert minimalist modern fabric required to achieve the functionality of the EPIC Gala Dinner Venue and CHQ Food Hall with minimum intervention and maximum enhancement of the character of the protected structure. This project will inject even more life into the property and Docklands area and ensure its long-term survival and contribution to the architectural heritage of the locality.’
“My relationship with the CHQ team goes back to when I worked in previous practice as Project Architect at Darmody Architecture on the EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum. I continue to enjoy an excellent working relationship with them.”
A hard-working, motivated and personable architect, Geoffrey Whelan has a proven track record in the delivery of high-quality projects in conservation, cultural, retail, community, leisure, mixed-use, commercial, public realm, residential and bespoke residential. Throughout his career, he has earned a reputation for exceptional creativity, detail and functionality.
Geoffrey would like to take this opportunity to thank his fellow colleagues, clients and contractors for their continued support and recommendations.
Geoffrey Whelan Architects (GWA)
GWA Architects Studio,
Dublin 12 TF68.
Telephone: 01 4561667 / 087 2151064
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.gwa.works
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, March 2022, Vol 8 No 3
