Completed in 2000, the de Blacam and Meagher-designed Wooden Building still demonstrates real creative thinking in construction and is a very special property.
The boutique apartment block of 17 units was inspired by the timber construction of medieval Dublin. With its timber and brick facade, the former not yet quite patinated to silver, it has withstood the test of time.
Within a minute of City Hall and in the heart of the residential side of Temple Bar, it has two entrances: one on Exchange Street Upper and a second one on Cow’s Lane. As with all city centre living there is plenty of colour to be seen on the neighbouring streets.
Number 17, the penthouse, crowns the top two floors and has a sheltered rooftop terrace from which you can see almost every one of the city’s landmarks, from the Ringsend Towers in the east to the dome of the Four Courts, the Wellington monument in the Phoenix Park in the west, the roof of City Hall and the battlements of Dublin Castle, as well as Sam Stephenson’s Brutalist buildings, the former Central Bank and Dublin City Council’s office blocks at Wood Quay.
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The owner, a lawyer who worked in the Four Courts and now works for the EU in Luxembourg, first viewed the property when it was constructed. He thought it was “really beautiful” but didn’t have the funds to buy. Seven years later, he bought the apartment.
The two-bedroom, two-bathroom plus library duplex is accessed via a lift that opens into a lobby and a hall of warm honey-coloured American oak with a bedroom to either side. The double to the right has a raised window seat where there is room for two to stretch out and read the papers. The full bathroom is adjacent to the other double.
But the main attraction here is the triple-aspect long room directly in front. It comprises three separate spaces that can be opened up or closed off from each other with a large solid timber sliding door.
The diningroom is set in the centre. Running the length of it is a very narrow timbered balcony that overlooks the property’s courtyard below.
To the right is the dual-aspect kitchen, which features terracotta red units and a picture window looking north towards the river.
To the left is the lounge, also a dual-aspect space, with large glazing framing the city’s roofscapes. Here a wood-burning stove has been installed, a homely touch in a contemporary apartment building and protected by a firewall and stone hearth. It feels very restful.
It isn’t until you ascend the solid oak stairs that you catch a glimpse of the real theatre of this space. A large pane of curved glass gives you a peek at the well-planted roof terrace.
But first the space that, according to the owner, is one of architect Shane de Blacam’s favourite rooms. “I have a reputation for libraries,” de Blacam explains. “Abbeyleix, Munster Technological University, and presently designing the important new public library in Bray, Co Wicklow.”
This one merits attention. It is a lofty cube lined with American oak shelving and has a soaring ceiling height of 4.2m. It has a staircase that winds along the outside walls and windows, past shelving, and a wet room, for overnight guests, and on up to an office area that feels like an eagle’s eyrie. The next owner might consider extending the upper platform to accommodate a bed, but either way it’s lofty luxury of near double-height space.
A peek-a-boo window on its inner wall allows west-facing light to reflect through the library and on to the roof terrace. It is just one of the very subtle details that make this space stand out.
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As for the roof terrace – with a watering system designed by plantsman Morgan Sheridan for its trees, all in movable pots, a Bang & Olufsen sound system and waist-height walls to shield you from the wind and give privacy – it is breathtaking; a braggable space in which to entertain.
It also gives a unique perspective of the city’s topography: from swerve of shore to bend of bay, from the opening line of James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake, is all in view, from the bend in the river at his aunt’s home at 15 Usher’s Island that features in his short story, The Dead, to Adam and Eve’s Church of the Immaculate Conception on Merchant’s Quay, to the sea views of Dublin Port and all the way to Sandymount.
Extending to 107sq m (1,151sq ft), with a further 52 sq m (559sq ft) of outdoor terrace, the B3-rated home, which includes an underground parking space, is seeking €1 million through agents Sherry FitzGerald. The annual management fee is about €4,280.
