Brick a Back

A redbrick terrace in Irishtown is folded in on itself to open a space for living. On passing though the brick wall, which is common to all houses on the street, one is generally met with small rooms lined in carpet and wallpaper. In this case one finds that very wall folded right back into the interior and garden beyond. A single volume extends visually from the front door to the rear wall of the site. Overlaid with this volume are a variety of spatial conditions, which are differentiated by the degree of enclosure and the use of two contrasting materials; red brick and white marble. Three meters – two internal and one external - are added to the length of the existing house. Each meter is either open, closed or glazed. This tripartite division of 'air, earth and sun' sets up an elemental structure, which spans the width of the house acting as the gnomon of a sundial – tracing the movement of light across the brick wall and floor. Carrera marble encases the kitchen and dining space from which light steel steps rise to the bedrooms above. This polished dining area is joined to the carved brick space beyond by a white portal - a framing device that structures the house both physically and conceptually by dividing the existing house from the new living space. A blurring of this threshold condition is achieved by positioning this window-wall at an offset from the side of the house, allowing a spatial and material continuity between old and new.