York Street Housing

66no. low-energy sustainable apartments for social housing at York Street for Dublin City Council.

The new building re-establishes the former street line of both York Street and Mercer Street, re-intro­duces the pattern of mews dwellings and marks this impor­tant city corner with a distinctive and appropriate building.

The architectural expression of the public faces of the build­ing is a reflection of the construction system, the apartment typology, the different uses of communal circulation and pri­vate living and the application of rhythmical elements within a coherent composition on the two main facades with el­egant tower elements where they meet at the corner.

The new building includes a number of environmental fea­tures designed to apply best practice solutions in energy efficiency and waste and water management.

A shallow depth block is used where possible with apart­ments accessed from single staircase and lift cores. The du­plex apartments above the communal facilities to Mercer Street are accessed from an open deck overlooking the communal courtyard to the rear. The mews dwellings to the Southern boundary of the site all have own door access.

The building is orientated to maximise solar gain, through glazed winter gardens. High levels of insulation are used throughout the scheme, minimising heat loss. Green Sedum roofs for water attenuation, rainwater from roofs drained into water butts for gardening and car washing.

The development achieved an A2/B1 BER.