Schueco Awards 2018 Individual House Improvement Award: Vaulted House, Dublin, by GKMP Architects

Architect: GKMP Architects

Main contractor: Darcy Bros

Specialist contractor: Senator Windows

Schueco systems/products: ASS 70 sliding system

Photos: Alice Clancy Photography

A semi-detached dwelling and shop in Dublin’s Sandymount village has been configured by GKMP Architects as a family home with a large side and rear extension connecting the house to a hidden garden. A main open-plan space accommodates cooking, dining and living. Exposed painted blockwork piers support fair-faced concrete vaults that define each of these areas, stepping down in section towards the rear of the site and culminating in a sunken living space in the garden. Each space is connected to the garden through full-height Schueco aluminium sliding doors, which correspond to the dimensions of the vaults. The shop is integrated into the house as a playroom and study while the shopfront is transformed by replacing the original glazing with a 5200mm Schueco screen composed of six separate panels.

The ground floor is finished in a terrazzo that references terrazzo elements found in the existing house, with reclaimed parquet floors defining certain areas. Board-marked concrete beams express the vaults externally. The external walls are finished in a rough render which contrasts effectively with the Schueco aluminium frames. The project uses a Schueco ASS 70 sliding glazed system with a powder-coated finish (RAL 9011 matt), supplied by Senator Windows. The screens vary from 2150mm to 2625mm high, spanning the 4000mm widths of the vaults. They are tied back to the concrete beams and exposed blockwork piers. Throughout the remainder of the house, where possible, Schueco aluminium windows, vents and fixed panels were used to tie the elements of the project together.