The festival for us architecture lovers! A number of buildings all over town will literally open their doors and let visitors in! We would normally not have this chance, so we had to grab it then and there!The festival started off on Friday but unfortunately we were in class till 5 :( On Saturday we met with John and Moni outside the Henry J Lyons architects building in Pearse street.Unfortunately I had forgotten to bring the memory card of my camera - silly me - so I have no pictures from the day! One of the architects gave us a very good tour. The design feeling can be sensed immediately coming in through the reception where you are welcomed by an amazing reception desk and a spectacular atrium with a void spanning the full height of the building. We later learnt that the atrium is essential to the correct functioning of the ventilation system. there's no mechanical ventilation in the building: the right and constant temperature is provided by computer- automated vents which opens on the north facade to let the cool air in: this is heated up by the filter and vents in the floor and goes all the way up through the atrium where it then leaves the building through other vents positioned on the very top there. The big fat chunky exposed concrete slabs act as a thermal mass, keeping the building at a constant temperature. A very clever and sustainable system! The building is used by a number of different companies, including Henry J Lyons architects and Benetton Ireland.The architects' studio are down in the basement that had been dug down to 12 meters below ground. The studio level has got lots of natural light coming from the unplanted garden on the north side. On the lower ground level there's a meeting room which receives natural light from the skylight in the roofs and has got a partition system that allows for a bigger space if needed. There's also the plotting and printing room and a model - making room. the -1 level is the car park where we could see how the building "fights" constantly against the water coming in. It was a great trip and going out passing thru that spectacular atrium again really reminds you of the importance and the effect of great designed spaces!
Second stop the Oktoberfest on the Docks! No seriously, we all wished...!
Second real stop was the Criminal Courts of Justice off Heuston station. Impressively massive circular building, a bit intimidating at first but really elegant and timeless. Designed by the above mentioned Henry J Lyons studio, the building is designed to deal with something like 400,000 cases every year!The real challenge for the architects was the design of the circulation space, as they had to provide different circulation paths for the public, jurors, persons in custody, judiciary and staff. The colour palette is very muted with ebonized ash wood and limestone floor. we got to go in one of the courtrooms: doors were heavy because they had to provide adequate sound insulation, but the architects chose the right ironmongery so they were actually light enough to open even for a person with disabilities. Inside we were told how the different seats work to let the different parts to a case work with each other. Again, sound insulation is essential and they actually managed to achieved the same insulation you find in recording studios! It was interesting to see how the different circulation paths work even in case of emergency.The glazing panels are so oriented at an angle to provide privacy and allow no visibility from the outside. the glass panels are 7 meters high giving the impression there's only 4 floors in the building,whereas there are actually 10! I like it when a building manages to trick people into thinking it's bigger/smaller than what it actually is!
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