Three modern terraced houses with Marziale facing brick

Case Study

Barclays Court

Built in the grounds of the historic Prospect House, this new residential development in Dublin used wienerberger's Marziale bricks to create harmony between past and present

Gaining planning permission to construct nine substantial new dwellings within the landscaped grounds of an 18th century property, located on the outskirts of Dublin, required the developer to not only sensitively restore the original structure, but also ensure the newbuild homes were constructed in a contemporary but respectful style.

For such a prominent and potentially controversial project, it was necessary to identify a readily available, traditional style brick to complement the masonry of the extensive old building, which was also easy to work with and would stand the test of time.

Little is known of the early history of Prospect House in Dublin, apart from the fact that it has been used as a college and, more recently, a private school for girls. When the old house and its once neatly tended gardens were acquired by a leading Irish property company, Carrickreagh Developments, the building was largely in a state of poor repair, with much work required to conserve it before any conversion could be carried out. The project team was therefore faced with a major restoration challenge, as well as formulating plans for the creation of new homes to stand alongside Prospect House that would be acceptable to the planning authorities and local community, and which would appeal to prospective purchasers.

Image of the newly restored Prospect House in Dublin surrounded by newly developed residential builds

Row of modern terraced houses using Wienerberger Marziale brick

Modern new build house with big front window

Side view of the external wall of new build in Dublin

Drawing on the wide experience of Carrickreagh Developments, with HHC Architecture heading up the design team, the reconfigured Prospect House together with new-build Barclay Court has emerged as an acclaimed residential project. Impressively it has blended two separate styles of modern home with an historic mid-eighteenth century house: making expressive use of a mellow clay brick from the wienerberger range.

By restoring the original roof of the main house along with sliding sash windows and chimneys, and with strict heritage standards being enforced Carrickreagh Developments was then given permission to build nine detached terraced, and end of terraced houses on the surrounding grounds, ranging in size, from two to five bedrooms.

The former school has been converted into six luxury apartments; two on each floor ranging in size from 81 m2 to 101 m2, with the two top floor apartments offering spectacular views over Rockfield Park.

Constructed on an area of just over one acre, the stylish new houses are very contemporary in design and feature warm yellow clay Marziale bricks from wienerberger; carefully chosen to compliment Prospect House - while creamy grey mortar was specified to provide a modern ‘edge’ to the development, but also as a nod to the cream finish of the historic building.

The row of brick townhouses hold the western boundary on the site, and have been arranged with their gable fronts addressing the open space, with the two end houses stepping forward as break-front ‘bookends’. This composition reflects the classical formality of the house, while the exposed gables relate to the gable ends of the main front block of the old house. The brick-built mews-like ‘gate house’ dwellings on the eastern boundary are set low into the rising ground to minimise impact; while raised sections frame the views of the curved gable end of the old house.

Image of Barclay Court in Dublin with blue sky

"Constructed on an area of just over one acre, the stylish new houses are very contemporary in design,

and feature warm yellow clay Marziale bricks from wienerberger"

The Managing Director of Carrickreagh Developments, Diarmuid O’Sullivan, identified Marziale bricks as the ideal material with which to execute the construction of the seven three-storey townhouses positioned alongside Prospect House, as well as the pair of two-bedroom lodges which form an entrance to the landscaped grounds.

Marziale achieves a classic appearance through variations in colour and texture that convey the impression of being a weathered, slightly distressed traditional brick. The standard face dimensions of 215 x 65mm are consistently maintained while a water absorption factor will help ensure good frost resistance and durability.

Diarmuid O’Sullivan commented: “As a company we complete a handful of high-end bespoke projects each year, and I had observed the wienerberger brick before on another new development in Dublin City centre, where it just stood out to me as something different.

“It’s a very good brick: the aesthetic and the softness of the appearance. On the Prospect House project, the tone and the feel of it gave an aged but modern look. And that traditional look was uniquely right when it was laid up against the old house where we had applied a finish of lime render. We are now intending to use the Marziale brick again on a forthcoming development – where we have some CGIs in at the moment for planning permission.”

Both the two-bedroom lodges and the five-bedroom townhouses have a traditional brick and block, insulated cavity construction with IGS brickwork support systems being employed. Pre-batched Champagne coloured mortar was chosen to complete the desired look complementing the older structure, with construction work having been completed in February 2020. Sales have since been completed on all of the properties after considerable interest from a strong market.