Result

Client

In an international competition, ten firms were invited to make proposals for a 5000sqm extension to the National Gallery of Ireland.

The aim of the proposal was to make a new wing which would act cohesively with the existing building and provide the required accommodation in a manner that would enhance the experience of the overall building, while creating, in overall terms, a modern gallery for the 21st century.

The site for the extension on Clare street is at a pivotal point in the city, forming a junction between the Georgian Precinct and the rest of the city centre. The proposal recognises and reinforces this set of circumstances.

The entrance portico - a stone and glass cube extends six meters above the street - signals the presence of the gallery from Clare Street and Merrion Square to the east, and South Leinster Street to the west, creating a punctuation mark between two sets of circumstances. It extends over the pavement in a contemporary interpretation of a traditional architectural device seen elswhere in Dublin, most notibaly at the GPO on O'Connell Street and at the Bank of Ireland (formally the House of Parliment) at College Green.