(Image by Matt Kavanagh)
During Open House Dublin weekend I managed to attend a number of events and tours, all of which were pretty enjoyable. My highlights of the weekend both came from Henry J. Lyons Architects, who guided tours of their own slick-o-rama design studios (pictured below) and their high-profile Criminal Courts of Justice (pictured above). The Criminal Courts, completed at the end of last year, won two Irish Architecture Awards earlier this year, and for good reason too. In terms of functionality, great care has been taken to ensure each group of people using the building (judiciary, jury, public and custodians) can circulate individually, their paths never crossing on their way to or from any of the 22 courtrooms. The architects have also designed a 'double-skin' to wrap around the building, allowing for insulation/ventilation as needed, as well as keeping the inside out of view from the outside of the building, but allowing natural light and views of the outside to flood into all the courtrooms. Overall, it's a really light and airy building, huge but with great attention to the small details.
(Image found on Flickr)
As for their own studios, they've converted a Victorian warehouse and connected it to a new build by way of an atrium, flooding each building with air and light (see a recurring theme here?!). The place is cleverly thought out, and really just plain cool. By all accounts, a great place to work, and by the looks of things, it's inspiring some great stuff!
(Image found on Flickr)
As for their own studios, they've converted a Victorian warehouse and connected it to a new build by way of an atrium, flooding each building with air and light (see a recurring theme here?!). The place is cleverly thought out, and really just plain cool. By all accounts, a great place to work, and by the looks of things, it's inspiring some great stuff!
