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2020 Programme Placemaking Project 20x20

Within 2000m

16.04.20

Our public realm is temporarily limited to 2000 metres. This restriction offers the possibility of a new relationship with our local built environment and a changing perspective on our immediate surroundings.

Within 2000m is part of Project 20×20 – A Year Like No Other, which aims to form a new overview of our relationship with architecture and with the communities that architecture serves.

This is an opportunity to discover, rediscover and uncover the often overlooked and previously unnoticed. How well do we really know our local area? Within 2000m will gather responses to this situation and share them here over the coming weeks.


Portal Bridge, photo by Raymund Ryan and accompanying drawing by Frank Lloyd Wright, Twin Bridges Project for Point Park, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1947, Carnegie Museum of Art. © Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Raymund Ryan, Portal Bridge, the Point, Pittsburgh, USA

“This is the Portal Bridge seen from The Point in downtown Pittsburgh. The Point is, geographically and historically, the origin of the city. Here the English established a fort at the confluence of rivers flowing to the Mississippi. The Point is also the starting point for Franklin Toker’s Pittsburgh: An Urban Portrait (1986). I’m currently retracing Toker’s footsteps chapter-by-chapter. Due to complex topography, The Point frequently returns into view. The design team for this 1950s Portal Bridge included SOM’s Gordon Bunshaft. In the late 1940s, Frank Lloyd Wright also made proposals for The Point. The Carnegie Museum is home to this drawing of Wright’s second design, a bravura statement for an American city nearing its bicentennial.”

Raymund Ryan is Curator of the Heinz Architectural Center at the Carnegie Museum of Art. Follow his retracing of Pittsburgh: An Urban Portrait at storyboard.cmoa.org


Ratra House, Phoenix Park, Dublin, 03.05.20 by Fergal McCarthy

Fergal McCarthy, Ratra House, Phoenix Park, Dublin

“I moved to Phibsboro just over a year ago and I’ve started accessing the Phoenix Park via a pedestrian entrance beside the Hole in the Wall pub. Ratra House, the HQ of the Civil Defence, is just inside the gate. The building doesn’t really stand out for any reason but I’ve noticed recently an extraordinary building behind it, obscured by a big gate. It has an incredible roof, like a series of waves, reminiscent of something modernist and futuristic from Russia. I did a bit of googling, nothing comes up really, it might be a lecture theatre.”
Fergal McCarthy, Artist


Steps at Parnell Road, Dublin, 28.04.20, by Kieran Doyle O’Brien

Kieran Doyle O’Brien, Steps at Parnell Road, Dublin

“My daily dog walk from my home off Donore Avenue, Dublin 8, follows the towpath of the  Grand Canal from Sally’s (Parnell) Bridge to Goldenbridge.

The set of steps in the photograph leads from the footpath on Parnell Road to the track along the south bank of the canal between Camac and Herberton Bridges. It’s at more or less mid point of a parapet wall that follows the pavement at street level. Near the top of this low wall is a continuous row of brick set in a kind of saw-tooth pattern. The wall itself appears to be a piece of landscaping intended to provide a visual link with Dolphin House flats (built by DCC in the early 1950s) on the opposite bank. 

The steps themselves, with a curved wall at the foot, are a nice architectural feature. I smile to think of their anonymous author and the pleasure they must have had designing them.”
Kieran Doyle O’Brien, architectural enthusiast, lives in the Liberties, Dublin


Dublin, 20.04.20 by Ste Murray

Ste Murray, Dublin

“I’m not supposed to be here. A long trip cut short. In this image, I’ve tried to bring together my internal and external worlds of the past month. The base photo is taken in the middle of the night; quarantined for 14 days, often sleepless with jet lag, I found myself in my dear friend’s apartment, lying in wait amongst the tungsten street-light filtering in from outside. The overlaid map is a diagrammatic remembering of my first 14 walks in this unfamiliar neighbourhood. Both are new and unexpected spaces, but the lines and limits in each feel very different.”

Ste Murray is a photographer and actor from Dublin. He works with all kinds of other makers, such as architects, theatre makers, and filmmakers, to document their projects. 


Boundary Wall, DCU St Patrick’s Campus, Drumcondra, Dublin, 24.04.20 by Nuada Mac Eoin

Nuada Mac Eoin, DCU St Patrick’s Campus, Drumcondra, Dublin

“One aspect of the amalgamation of St. Patrick’s Teacher Training College into DCU was marked physically by the construction of the new Library Building on Drumcondra Road. This building is a strong new presence on what is a busy thoroughfare, but also remains a neighbourhood high street. As a part of this development, a new pedestrian entrance to the extended campus was created, and this is now marked by an in-situ concrete boundary wall, bearing the name and logo of the college, designed by Mullarkey Pederson Architects, and carved by Thomas Glendon and Richard Healy. The script is a simple sans serif typeface, carved into the concrete, exposing the aggregate in a very exact and consistent manner. This is a modest but strong, well-executed piece, which enriches the streetscape, while fulfilling its primary task of announcing the entry.”
Nuada Mac Eoin, architect, Dublin


Grand Canal Pedestrian and Cycle Bridge, Adamstown and Gollierstown Bridge, near Lucan, 23.04.20 by Evelyn D’Arcy

Evelyn D’Arcy, Bridges, Grand Canal, Co. Dublin

“I have a choice of daily walks, each along the lesser known stretch of the Grand Canal outside the city limits at Adamstown. Depending on the day, I prefer one walk over the other. Turning left at the top of the road – townwards – my 2000m takes me to a bright red metal bridge cutting a sharp diagonal dash across the water. Turning right takes me deep into Dublin’s countryside and to the border with Kildare. This 2000m ends at Gollierstown Bridge where the sun sets the arch on fire on a sunny evening. Walking between the two bridges, along the diameter of this unexpected life bound by architecture old and new, there are little pleasures: countless birds, bees, cows, wild flowers  – and other walkers traipsing the same path, smiling hello.
Evelyn D’Arcy, Architect, Delahunty & Harley Architects 


Beaver Row Bridge, Donnybrook, Dublin, 28.04.20 by Donal Colfer

Donal Colfer, Beaver Row Bridge, Donnybrook, Dublin

“Fortunately I live close to the River Dodder. Much of 2km daily excursion time has been spent wandering along its banks. This is where I have re-encountered Beaver Row Bridge. A late nineteenth century wrought iron structure which had recently been sensitively renovated. The careful consideration of all element sizes along with their grouping and meeting is a lesson to all makers. The social distancing rules giving pedestrians a few seconds wait at each end to re-see the familiar.”
Donal Colfer is an architect from Wexford


Wall, Bow, East London, 21.04.20 by Chloe Spiby Loh

Chloe Spiby Loh, Wall, Bow, East London

This monolithic brick wall caught my attention whilst walking in my local area of Bow in London. I’m normally always rushing to or from the tube to get to a different part of the city, so up until now I have not known the immediate area around where I live in any great detail. Walking with no strict purpose and at my new leisurely pace means I now only see the details, building up my own mental map of the neighbourhood one quirk at a time. The closeness of the circle in which I now move, means that with each repetition of a route these quirks become more familiar as I take comfort in the fact that they’re there, they exist and I see them.”
Chloe Spiby Loh is a recent graduate in Architecture from UCD and now works at RIBA as their Public Programmes Manager.


Crumlin Hall, 101 Cashel Road, 27.04.20 by Michael McDermott

Michael McDermott, Crumlin Hall, Dublin

“Having moved into the neighbourhood in 2017, the first time I noticed this Hall was whilst out on a canvass with the Repeal movement in 2018. There seemed to be a derelict sadness to its presence.

I considered what it may have represented as an expression of community –  the dances, bake sales or talent contests it once housed. The glue it represented.

On my ‘Within 2000m’ walk I noticed a sign saying ‘Reception’ and enquired within as to its purpose now. It is the home to ARC (Addiction Response Crumlin), which provides “Holistic, Service User-Centred, Non-Judgemental, Professional and Caring Services’. This pandemic has brought into focus the power of care, volunteerism and the state; the truth that we are only as strong as our weakest link. It is no longer a derelict presence in my midst.”
Michael McDermott, Editor, Totally Dublin


Kilteragh House, Foxrock, Co. Dublin, 20.04.20, by Ruth O’Herlihy

Ruth O’Herlihy, Kilteragh House, Foxrock, Co. Dublin, 

My life has changed lens from vistas of the busy Georgian streets of Dublin by day to a quiet garden in Foxrock, steeped in trees with the close view of Spring passing through. The last time people in my neighbourhood wandered up and down the centre of the empty roads was probably the Big Snow in 1982 when we all woke up to an altered landscape: all thoroughfares were fully unified and levelled. In a funny way the “landscape” we currently occupy is also levelled in so many ways. On my walks in the evening as the light falls, this gem sneaks its way into my thoughts & vistas.  Kilteragh House (1905), designed in the arts and crafts style by William D. Caroe, for Sir Horace Plunkett, it was badly damaged in a fire in 1923 and then rebuilt as a terrace of houses in 1920s – Plunkett’s bedroom was in a pavilion on the roof that rotated with the sun. Its riotous roofline and stunning stonework catches the evening light in an utterly established and unalterable way – Reassuring as the ground moves around us all.”
Ruth O’Herlihy, Director, McCullough Mulvin Architects


Hay Barn, Lough Inch, Barna, Co. Galway, 21.04.20 by Frank Monahan

Frank Monahan, Hay Barn, Lough Inch, Barna, Co. Galway

“Traditional building types differ somewhat across Ireland, not least according to whatever materials were available for their construction, and this modest hay-barn beside Lough Inch in Barna is no exception. Built from repurposed oil barrels twelve concrete pillars support a pitched roof structure clad in corrugated iron. Concrete is not a traditional material in the strict sense, but this method of construction has been around for many years and is now part of the Irish vernacular landscape. I’ve noticed many gate piers formed in this way but had overlooked this an entire ‘vernacular concrete’ structure on my doorstep. A wonderful barn indeed.”
Frank Monahan, founder, director of Architecture at the Edge. 


My front door, Lanesboro, Co Longford 13.04.20, by Tracy Connaughton

Tracy Connaughton, Reimagined front door, Lanesboro, Co. Longford

“As a student architect, in the Centre for Alternative Technology, Wales, I based my final year project on Kropotkin’s fields, factories and workshops. Dreaming of a self-sufficient life where I combined a “head and hands” architecture practice with a harmonious approach to dwelling, became an idea I forgot to use. 

Our front door is also never used, facing south it throws sunlight into our home, a playroom in winter, a place to read, the cat lies here – now in our smaller world it is an opportunity, rediscovered as a greenhouse, the perfect place to bring on seedlings and forgotten ideas for a future unknown.”
Tracy Connaughton, Turner Connaughton Architects, Longford.


Magenta Place, Glasthule, 20.04.20 by Silvia Loeffler

Silvia Loeffler, Magenta Place, Glasthule

“We often keep returning to the same places to reach a state of familiarity – to know the taste and smell of a place – its colourings. I love Magenta as a place name, the locality itself, and how its colour suddenly changes a map that I would have perceived in blue, green and silver, with absolute certainty. I was just about to change this map over into black & white, to stress the limiting nature of confinement, until it occurred to me to honour my little world with a shift in perspective and a new colour boundary.”
Dr Silvia Loeffler is an artist and lecturer in Visual Culture at NCAD.


Lios na gCon, West Cork, 20.04.20, by Anna Healy

Anna Healy, Lios na gCon, West Cork,

“My evening walks are on rural west Cork roads, narrower than one might construct today, footpaths and road markings often absent. Yesterday I noticed these odd little buildings with grass roofs.  They’re low, inconspicuous in their materials, and seem to have weathered into the landscape over time.  Looking at a satellite view a ringfort is clearly visible beyond these buildings.  Some research reveals that it’s Lois-na-gCon, in the townland of Darrara, the reconstruction of a 10th century ringfort.  It’s now closed to the public, but these were public toilets and a ticket office.  An unexpected sight in a mainly agricultural landscape.”
Anna Healy, Architect


Gate, Hobrecht Strasse, Berlin, 20.04.20, by Dougal Sheridan

Dougal Sheridan, Gate, Berlin

“This is the back gate leading into a courtyard from which we access our Berlin office. We pass through it most days just taking it for granted but more recently I took a moment to contemplate it. The overlay of the metal structure of the gate is utilitarian, resourcefully crafted in its use of metal with its layer of rust resistant paint and the further rough embellishment with coloured paint- neither graffiti nor decoration but some kind of painted intervention giving the gate a composition and personality of its own. How haphazard or considered was this abstract intervention, by whom, and when did it occur? A minor untold story, traces of a moment, an anonymous contribution to the appropriation and ambiguous texture of a city. The richness of neglect.”
Dougal Sheridan is a Co-Founder and Director of LiD Architecture


Abandoned Farm, Rian Bo Phadraig, Waterford, 14.04.20 by Majella Walsh

Majella Walsh, Abandoned Farm, Waterford

“This abandoned farm lies on Rian Bó Phádraig, a 5th century ecclesiastical ‘highway’. Legend has it, that St. Patrick’s cow’s calf was stolen from Cashel. The cow went in pursuit of her calf, creating a track with her horns and throwing up stones and earth to form ‘walls’ which bound this track to Ardmore.

The vernacular buildings display the best principles of sustainable architecture. Built economically in simple solid forms round a south facing courtyard, constructed of solid stone lime-washed walls and thatched roofs, all sourced locally. The buildings nestle in the landscape, breathing with nature to which they now return.
Majella Walsh, Architect, partner, Litema Architecture + Design, Cork


Kelly’s Garage by Livia Hurley 20.04.2020

Livia Hurley, Kelly’s Garage, Dublin

“Kelly’s Garage is about halfway on a 2km cycle from where I live. It’s one of a number of mechanic pit-stops hidden in the tangle of narrow lane ways near the Grand Canal in Dublin. As far as I recall it has always been brightly painted in red, black and white. I love its stepped gable which is asymmetrical. It always makes me smile when I pedal around its corner.”
Livia Hurley is an architectural historian and a design-fellow at UCD School of Architecture


Unthink Creative Design Studio, Dublin 

Colin: Wanderer – roaming the streets of Dublin 8 at a more leisurely pace with no real agenda, opened my eyes to vast numbers of under-utilised spaces, lying waiting to be brought back to life.
Chris: Prison Break – Being confined to our homes for most of the day might feel like a life sentence. Arbour Hill Prison has been home to some of Irelands notorious offenders for over a century. Built between 1835-1848, it was one part of the military complex that included Collins Barracks.
Noelle: Out of Bounds – In more ways than one, but there will be a moment, hopefully soon, where we will play together again.
Laura: Residential Labyrinth – The 2000m restriction has opened up parts of my locality that I may never have explored otherwise.


Helen Dillon’s garden, Monkstown, 04.04.20, by Kathleen James-Chakraborty

Kathleen James-Chakraborty, Helen Dillon’s Garden, Monkstown, Co. Dublin

“From my ground-floor flat in Monkstown Valley sandwiched between two relatively well-landscaped parking lots I head out most days down Seafield Avenue for a walk along Dublin Bay.
On the left is the exterior edge of Helen Dillon’s garden.  The tulips came up last week, red-edged with yellow, and now the forget me nots are crowding out them with their insistent blue.  I increasingly appreciate the way in which the small streets opening off the north side of Monkstown Road frame the view of the water.”
Kathleen James-Chakraborty is a Professor of Art History at University College Dublin and a Friend of the IAF.


Lady What’s Her Name, Collooney, Sligo, 09.04.20, by Vanya Lambrecht Ward

Vanya Lambrecht Ward, Collooney, Sligo

“This lady sits modestly on the wall surrounding the grounds of the Church of the Assumption in Collooney, Co. Sligo. She has been there since 1843/47. She is not new to me but has appeared back into my peripheral vision from my office window.
She was said to be modelled on a girl that once occupied the small terraces that are no longer sit between our house and the church. Her lovely simple featured getting weathered by the harsh north wind sweeping through the ox mountain gap. And like so many things around the house and within the small radius we inhabit currently, wonderful details are coming back into focus.”
Vanya Lambrecht Ward is an architectural graduate, artist and educator.


Fairview, Dublin, 06.04.20, by Gareth Brennan

Gareth Brennan, Fairview, Dublin 

“Fairview curves as it follows the arc of the original northern shoreline of Dublin Bay. In the 1700’s wealthy Dubliners took pleasure rides along the route, availing of its southerly aspect across the Bay. 1n the 1840’s the view of the Bay was obstructed by the newly-constructed embankment which carried the Dublin & Drogheda Railway. In the 1920’s, after being used for land-fill, the enclosed area was developed as a Park. Until Friday March 20th 2020, the Park had been separated from the residents of Fairview & Marino by six lanes of commuting traffic, compromising access, connection & community.
Now . . . ?”
Gareth Brennan is a director of Brennan Furlong Architects, with a soft spot for the underdog.


Grangegorman, Dublin, 07.04.20, by Molly Kate Flynn

Mollie Kate Flynn, Grangegorman, Dublin 

“My name is Mollie Kate Flynn and I am 6. I am not able to go to school right now so I am going to be an architect now. I went to the park at Grangegorman yesterday to do some drawings. This is beside where I live. It was very sunny. The playground is not allowed right now which makes me sad but there is lots to see and we can go for walks. I can see the old clock tower from my house. I drew the animal heads on the old buildings, one is a cat! In Grangegorman there are lots of old buildings and also new buildings being made with builders and cranes. I like the one where the new building is built around the huge beautiful old tree because the new students will see nature from their windows.”


Spreeufer staircase, Berlin, 11.04.20, by Jonathan Janseens

Jonathan Janssens, Curved staircase in Mitte, Berlin  

“The only routine that seems to be working for me these days is my morning run. My routes of late have brought me down along the river Spree, now magically still and reflective without any river traffic to disturb the water. When I reach Spreeufer (just east of the Museum Island), a certain unassuming curved concrete staircase comes into view. Tucked away in a sunny corner, its cantilevering concrete steps are held by a single concrete element and extend in a sweeping curve, lifting you from the quiet river bank to the (normally) busy streets 5 metres above.”

Jonathan Janssens is an Irish architect working and living in Berlin. He is co-founder of plattenbaustudio. 


Lad Lane, Dublin, 07.04.20, by James PIke

James Pike, Lad Lane, Dublin

“When walking out into the city from home I have always tried to use the quietest streets and lanes. This is a view of 28 Lad Lane where I came to live when I first arrived in Dublin in January 1964. I had been invited over by Eoin MacVeigh, close friend at college in London, to do the competition for the new UCD campus at Belfield. We weren’t successful but decided to set up a practice as work was beginning to surge in Ireland. We were joined by Eoin’s cousin Paddy Delany.

This photo also shows the top floors and cranes on the site of the new ESB headquarters, on which we are now working with Grafton Architects. This therefore celebrates the 56 years of the practice.”
James Pike, Director, O’Mahony Pike Architects and Corporate Circle Member of the IAF


Steps, Adelaide Street, Dun Laoghaire, 07.04.20, by John McLaughlin

John McLaughlin, Steps, Adelaide Street, Dun Laoghaire

“Every morning I walk along the seafront of Scotsman’s Bay and cross Queen’s Road to climb these steps. They are made of local granite that was transported from Dalkey on “The Metals” where this picture was taken.

I enjoy the mish-mash of handrails and ironwork which I associate with the absent rail tracks. When I climb up the steps they lead to Adelaide Street where our office is located. There is a great view back to Dun Laoghaire Pier and over Dublin Bay towards Howth from the bottom of the street.”
John McLaughlin is director of John McLaughlin Architects and is Senior Lecturer in Architectural Design at UCC.

 


Bridge, Russian West, Leckanarainey, Co Leitrim, 08.04.20, by Christine Mackey

Christine Mackey, Bridge, Leckanarainey, Co Leitrim 

“From the front door –  count 105 steps up road to a slight hump on the road – look down onto a mass of bed rock – this temporary site holds stream water on wet stormy days and nights – eight steps ahead – turn right – side entrance to neighbours back garden (absent) – step over broken blue wooden gate – keep right – walk aside a steel fence – legs dragged high over barbed wire – scramble bum down a short stiff incline – enter the dome bridge – handcrafted cut stone – its origins, its makers, its time unknown.”
Christine Mackey    www.christinemackey.info


An Impossible Day, Shankill Castle, Paulstown, Co Kilkenny, 07.07.20, by Shane O’Toole

Shane O’Toole, An Impossible Day, Shankill Castle, Paulstown, Co Kilkenny 

“Weird days. But not the weirdest. There is a strange grave not more than 120 paces from my front door. It is hidden within a wood, on the grounds of a derelict medieval chapel, marked by one of many tilting, mossy headstones. It is the last resting place of Mary Cody. The elegant inscription records that “… She Dep[arte]d Feb[rua]ry the 31st 1782 ag[e]d 31 Y[ea]rs…” Many will die now, cruelly. But poor Mary died on an impossible day. Over the years I have lived here I have often wondered what her legend means but I have found no explanation.”
Shane O’Toole is an architecture critic and historian, and former Curator/Director of the Irish Architecture Foundation


Blossom, Portobello, 09.04.20, by Hugh Campbell

Hugh Campbell, Blossom, Portobello

Not having been able to go out much, I’ve been waiting for this view to come to me – which it does, around about this time every year. For just about a week, a profusion of pink is added to the world outside my window. Even though I know it’s coming, it’s always surprisingly fast and full-on. This year, I’ve gotten to spend more time than usual charting its rapid progress, trying unsuccessfully to photograph it and, as the evidence shows , succeeding in unsuccessfully photographing it. This year, with all usual timetables up in the air, it’s been extremely reassuring  to have the cherry blossom arrive, just like always . And I will even relish sweeping it all up when it falls.
Hugh Campbell is Professor of Architecture at UCD


Under Merrion Hall, Sandymount, 07.04.20, by Tara Kennedy

Tara Kennedy, Under Merrion Hall, Sandymount 

“When the tide covers the big wide open space that we have across the road, we ordinarily feel very conscious of the dominance of cars in our immediate surroundings. In the past week we have been rollerskating, cycling and running with abandon around empty surface carparks by the sea. Practice on various wheels has also taken place in loops around the pond under Merrion Hall, a 1973 concrete frame building sunken below the road level on Strand Road which feels sheltered on windy days. It also has a big (now) empty carpark where I have mastered steering our box bike. Noticing people reclaiming these places from cars, even if it is side by side at distance rather than gathered together, feels heartening.”
Tara Kennedy practices and teaches architecture with a multidisciplinary and collaborative approach. She works with John McLaughlin Architects and is a lecturer at CCAE


Play in the time of Corona, 06.04.20, by Sean Fogarty

Sean Fogarty, Play in the time of Corona 

The skateparks are now off limits. We could skate at home but the noise of clattering plywood would be unfair on captive neighbours. Each day, sometimes twice a day, we bring a wheelbarrow laden with skateboards, a little plastic ramp and a sweeping brush to the site around the corner from our home. Obstacles are fashioned out of loose bricks, burnt pallets and the crumbling concrete underfoot.
We are not the only ones here and as the day progresses a varied community can be observed. Dogs are walked around the carcass of a burnt out car, elderly Dubs greet each other and enquire as to the status of their respective hangovers, a gaggle of teenage boys gather to talk, laugh and make furtive transactions with other passers-by. As an urban ecosystem it is as vital, amusing and friendly as any I have ever known. I was unaware of its existence before Covid-19 but now that the city has shrunk around us I consider myself lucky to be able to share in its delights.
Seán Fogarty, Architect


Downpatrick, 06.04.20, by Ciaran Mackel

Ciaran Mackel, Downpatrick

‘Furlough: incipient delight – full of north-eastern promise’

“Downpatrick, one of a number of towns associated with Saint Patrick, is a small market town that acts as a commuter feeder to Belfast.  Once a garrison town it has a rich heritage of late Georgian and Victorian buildings that either climb the hills or snake through the flatlands that edge the river.  This image is of the former police station (100m from the staggered crossroads that is the centre of the town) – a quite beautiful building – which though now vacant, and a ‘building at risk’, is rich in restorative possibilities.”

Ciaran Mackel, founder, director of ARdMackel Architects and an IAF Connector Friend


Koralek’s windows, Berkeley Library, TCD, Dublin, 07.04.20 by Dr Edward McParland

Dr Edward McParland, Koralek’s windows, Berkeley Library, TCD, Dublin

“This is a pair of curved windows on the first floor of Paul Koralek’s Berkeley Library (completed 1967) in TCD, facing west. In her book on Dublin (Buildings of Ireland), Christine Casey calls these oriels ‘immensely luxurious’. Some of their neighbours have been replaced with new glass in three panels whereas here the entire curved oriel is in one piece. Like the surviving crown glass in the windows of the Old Library, the uneven surface of the glass adds great interest to reflections, which it distorts: this is particularly effective in winter when the leafless armature of the reflected trees allow these rippling monochrome patterns.”
Dr Edward McParland, Architectural Historian


South Richmond Street, 07.04.20, by Fuchsia MacAree

Fuchsia MacAree, South Richmond Street, Dublin

“I’ve been thinking about how much space we have without cars, and how strange it is that this has all coincided with springtime. The smells of blossom and foliage seem to hang in the air, but I’m not sure whether I’m noticing them more because I’m trying to absorb everything, or because the quietness makes room for our other senses. I’ve been taking my time crossing the road which is making me look at familiar views in a way I hadn’t noticed before. Like this view! It’s from the middle of South Richmond Street over the Portobello Bridge, down towards Rathmines Church.”
Fuchsia MacAree is an artist and illustrator


Phibsborough Shopping Centre, First Floor Carpark, 07.04.20, by Emmett Scanlon

Emmett Scanlon, Phibsborough Shopping Centre, Dublin 

“These days, windows are even more important. We look out of them from our home worlds watching passersby. We look through them on our daily walk, into living rooms longing for the days we might again cross the threshold and have a chat. Sometimes though you find windows that look back at you, windows unnoticed for decades, reflecting our daily lives back on ourselves. These windows remind us of how built things last, how they can weather all storms, how even when they are not always loved, even when people keep their physical distance, they will stand strong with us.”
Emmett Scanlon is an architect


Peter Carroll, Rainwater Rills, Stoneybatter, Dublin

Rainwater Rills, Stoneybatter, 06.04.20, by Peter Carroll“Of the 2,000 or so artisan houses in Stoneybatter – one of the densest areas of Dublin per person per square metre – one can find impressed rainwater rills at every fourth terraced house embossed into the original turn-of-the-century concrete footpaths. A circular indent receives the rainwater from the cast iron downpipe before scoring the footpath and the granite kerb with a 40mm half-round recess, always at a four degree angle to the perpendicular. A small, frequent, treasured delight!”
Peter Carroll is Director at A2 Architects.


N11 Footbridge, Co. Dublin, 06.04.20 by Keavy Lalor

Keavy Lalor, Footbridge, N11, Dublin

“This is the footbridge at RTE on the N11. It has recently become obsolete. Since the new entrance to RTE opened, there are now traffic lights & pedestrian crossings. There’s no need for anyone to use the bridge now. No need to push a bike or a buggy up the ramp on one side & down the other. No need to roll a wheely case up and across from the Aircoach stop on the other side of the dual carriageway. I’ve been wondering if a note will come through the letterbox, announcing traffic diversions early some Sunday morning on a summer bank holiday weekend. Demolition crews moving swiftly to dismantle & take it away for scrap metal. It’s not a thing of beauty, but it’s always been there. ”
Keavy Lalor is a design enthusiast with an MA in the History of Art from Trinity, she works as a Props Buyer in Film & TV.


Rialto, 03.04.20 by Una Carmody

Una Carmody, Rialto

“I live in a terraced house in Dublin 8 and the row my house is in has lovely long back gardens, with a wall backing onto the grounds of a church. The wall is, I think, concrete and stone, with these brick inserts. The gardens all have them. I have wondered for years what they are or what they are for. They almost look like there were windows in the wall which were bricked up although that is impossible. Today I looked at them anew, and a neighbour suggested that perhaps there was a decorative something or other on the other side. So now for the first time I will go and look at the other side of this wall.”

Una Carmody, is a Cultural Consultant. This period of staying at home is easily the longest time Una Carmody has not gone into Dublin City centre in her life. She looks forward to walking down George’s Street soon.


Belfast, 01.04.20 by Gul Kacmaz Erk

Gul Kacmaz Erk, Belfast

“Following two-week self-isolation after a rather surreal journey from Berlin to Belfast (via Dublin), I left home on April Fools’ Day, which happens to be my birthday. The city centre was not what I left in mid-February with closed shops, almost-totally-empty streets, generic or highly personal covid-19 notices on shop windows, a few people with covered faces keeping their distance from each other, and policemen asking teens why they are alone. This is not how I pictured 2020.”

Dr.Gul Kacmaz Erk is a Senior Lecturer in Architecture at the School of Natural and Built Environment, Queen’s University Belfast.


Westport, Co. Mayo, 01.04.20 by Orla Murphy

Orla Murphy, Westport, Co.Mayo

“I’m lucky to live on the Great Western Greenway as it passes through Westport town in Co. Mayo. This image was taken on one of my daily loops from Westport heading west towards Clew Bay. I took the photograph because usually any clear sky in the west is criss-crossed with jet streams from airplanes, en route across the Atlantic.
With borders closed and planes grounded, the skies are clear now, prompting questions about our island status, the physical connection with other countries and people, and the impact of air travel on climate change. On this day, the sky and maybe the world, seemed somehow bigger and smaller, at the same time.”
Orla Murphy works as an architect and Assistant Professor in UCD School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy.


House on Georges Street Dun Laoghaire Helen McCormack 2000m 2020

House on Georges Street Dun Laoghaire, 01.04.20, by Helen McCormack

Helen McCormack – House on Georges Street, Dun Laoghaire, Dublin

“I’m an architect from Dublin, living in Dun Laoghaire town for the past four years. Normally I spend my time practicing aerial dance, so my aim for now is to learn how to successfully complete a handstand. I love living in Dun Laoghaire as it’s beside the sea, but that means I usually walk the piers.
This morning I went for a wander up north of George’s Street where before now I have never really gone. There’s loads of lovely little streets and lanes, with houses from every period. I found a large Georgian garden square that totally gave me Glasgow vibes from when I lived there.
Just off George’s Street, I found this Georgian house with a little windy stairs up to the front door, so unusual, and I had never walked past it before. There is loads to explore I don’t think I’m going to get bored of my 2000 metres!”
Helen McCormack is an architect and former member of the Board of the IAF, and works for TOT Architects, Dublin.


Victory Works, Hackney Wick, 01.04.20 by Colin Priest

Colin Priest – Victory Works, Hackney Wick, London

“Since moving to Hackney Wick before the 2012 London Olympics, the area has experienced much change. As we self-isolate, my morning exercise walks have led me to look up, searching for the horizon line. Reading the empty sky and buildings around to discover signage, graffiti and social-distancing notices.
Today a usually tree-hidden Victory Works ghost sign near Hackney Wick Bus station struck me. Open from 1927 to 2000, manufacturing shellac, like many factories in the area its workers lived locally in sometimes confined conditions for longer than a few weeks. Returning home past house building sites; bird song.”
Colin Priest is an architect, artist and educator.
www.studiocolumba.com
@t_wickers


Above Deal Pier, 01.04.20, by Gregory Dunn

Gregory Dunn – Deal Pier, Kent

““Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside” (during a global pandemic). Although a resident of Stoneybatter for the past thirty years, I’ve inadvertently ended up trapped at Deal on the Kent coast in order to see my 92-year-old mother through the current crisis. I grew up here. My mother lives in the middle of a conservation area; Deal is famed for its wealth of Regency-period houses. The architect Tom dePaor was once here, as he looked at the jumble of roof lines, fenestration and detailing, he said: “they do Georgian differently here don’t they”.
However, I’ve chosen to highlight a Brutalist structure; Deal Pier, the town’s third, was opened in 1957 and is, remarkably the UK’s only post-war pier. Designed by Sir W. Halcrow & Partners, the 311 metre-long structure is constructed predominantly of concrete-clad steel and is Grade ll listed. In 2008, Niall McLaughlin designed a new pier-head café. Its glass and hardwood ribcage design meld seamlessly with the mid-century concrete.”
Gregory Dunn is a self-taught photographer and filmmaker and has a particular interest in the unconsidered.
stoneybutter.com
www.niallmclaughlin.com/projects/deal-pier-kent/


Tree Architecture, Sheila ODonnell, 2020 (Image credit: Sheila O'Donnell)

Tree Architecture, 01.04.20 by Sheila O’Donnell

Sheila O’Donnell – Tree Architecture, Dublin

“I was isolated at home last week, and spent time looking out the window into the garden. This Acer had just come into leaf. I was fascinated by its delicate yet strong structure, the elegance of its shape and form, and the spaces it defined. And those effortless cantilevers.
And then the afternoon sun came out and lit up the clusters of newly unfurled leaves, which glowed bright yellow, like stained glass or a Venetian lampshade. Hanging below each leaf on a tendril – invisible against the strong light – a bunch of tiny red flowers shimmered.”
Sheila O’Donnell is an architect and founding director of O’Donnell + Tuomey


Rathmines Passage, 1 April 2020. (Image credit: John Tuomey)

Rathmines Passage, 01.04.20 by John Tuomey

John Tuomey – Rathmines Passage

“These days it’s become a regular routine, a fast walk after breakfast along the Grand Canal, stopping only to count the last of the swans before they fly off for the summer, then home again to work from home. One special pleasure of the daily outing is the spatial squeeze through a narrow passage alongside Rathmines church. This convoluted laneway is the closest you can get in Rathmines to the feeling of strolling between monuments in the streets of Rome. If you look carefully you can see light at the end of the tunnel.”
John Tuomey is an architect and founding director of O’Donnell + Tuomey


Further contributions to Within 2000m will be added over the coming weeks.

Within 2000m is part of Project 20×20 – A Year Like No Other, an online initiative prompted by circumstances presented by the outbreak of Covid-19. The project will help form a new overview of our relationship with architecture and with the communities that architecture serves.

 

 



Portal Bridge, photo by Raymund Ryan and accompanying drawing by Frank Lloyd Wright, Twin Bridges Project for Point Park, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1947, Carnegie Museum of Art. © Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Raymund Ryan, Portal Bridge, the Point, Pittsburgh, USA

This is the Portal Bridge seen from The Point in downtown Pittsburgh. The Point is, geographically and historically, the origin of the city. Here the English established a fort at the confluence of rivers flowing to the Mississippi. The Point is also the starting point for Franklin Toker’s Pittsburgh: An Urban Portrait (1986). I’m currently retracing Toker’s footsteps chapter-by-chapter. Due to complex topography, The Point frequently returns into view. The design team for this 1950s Portal Bridge included SOM’s Gordon Bunshaft. In the late 1940s, Frank Lloyd Wright also made proposals for The Point. The Carnegie Museum is home to this drawing of Wright’s second design, a bravura statement for an American city nearing its bicentennial.

Raymund Ryan is Curator of the Heinz Architectural Center at the Carnegie Museum of Art. Follow his retracing of Pittsburgh: An Urban Portrait at storyboard.cmoa.org

Ratra House, Phoenix Park, Dublin, 03.05.20 by Fergal McCarthy

Fergal McCarthy, Ratra House, Phoenix Park, Dublin

“I moved to Phibsboro just over a year ago and I’ve started accessing the Phoenix Park via a pedestrian entrance beside the Hole in the Wall pub. Ratra House, the HQ of the Civil Defence, is just inside the gate. The building doesn’t really stand out for any reason but I’ve noticed recently an extraordinary building behind it, obscured by a big gate. It has an incredible roof, like a series of waves, reminiscent of something modernist and futuristic from Russia. I did a bit of googling, nothing comes up really, it might be a lecture theatre.”
Fergal McCarthy, Artist