Garage conversion wins prize for young architect

The Irish Independent (Property Digest Section), November 12, 1999

By Con Power

A GARAGE conversion designed by a young Dublin-based architect has scooped a top architectural award. The £20,000 extension to a house in Woodlawn Park, Dún Laoghaire Co. Dublin by David Dwyer of Box Architecture came out on top in the Opus Building of the Year Awards at Plan Expo in Dublin.

The award to a humble garage conversion is completely at odds with the trend in virtually all awards competitions to single out major landmark projects. But it is particularly relevant for current trends, whereby more and more homeowners are refurbishing/extending due to the high price of buying another house.

Some 67 entries were received for the Opus awards competition seeking architectural designs that "rose above pure utility, beyond basic construction to combine all that is practical and necessary with a building that is meaningful, humane and beautiful".

Winning architect David Dwyer explains that his 320 sq ft project was driven by its relationship with nature, making a physical link to the external environment. "It was uplifting to see the creative effort expanded by the architects in tackling the normally mundane brief of a low-cost garage conversion with intelligence, ingenuity and innovations," Ciaran O'Connor, chairperson of the judging panel, and senior architecture of the Office of Public Works, said.

"This scheme is a clear example of where architectural skill transcends pure utility to give a caring client with a limited budget a memorable space." Box Architecture is a young practice of two recent graduates from Bolton Street College of Technology.