Ireland's Home Interiors and Living Magazine
February 2004

In Focus…

From a very early age, David Dwyer was drawn to architecture – like lots of little boys he would sit at the table with a colouring book or painting and by the time he was ten he was fascinated watching his parents build an extension! This interest developed as he grew older – he started to study technical drawing and on leaving school, studied to be an architectural technician. After ten years in the industry, he decided to develop his skills further, eventually taking a degree in architecture and eight years ago he joined forces with college student and friend, ex-carpenter, Gary Mongey.

The began to rise up the corporate ladder quite quickly, submitting various design ideas to the Dublin Corporation Rejuvenation Project, and eventually all their dreams came true in 1999 when their extension to a home in Dun Laoghaire won the Opus Building of the Year Award. Today, their company, Box Architecture, is going from strength to strength. ‘We try to avoid the direct commercial approach and use simple technology to what we hope are the most inspirational designs,’ David says. ‘Gary and I have worked on all sorts of things – domestic extensions, corporate offices, crèches and even housing developments. Our main concerns are sustainable buildings – energy conservation, the use of daylight and the interaction with nature. I believe sustainable buildings are the way ahead.’

1 This was a converted garage with a low floor and concrete roof which had been used as a doctor’s waiting room. ‘Our job was to link the room back to the existing house and make it bigger. As you can see we used a special glass and timber sheeted door.’ This provides safety and privacy and means once you’re close up, the home owner can see who’s waiting on the step. The roof is lowered to define the porch and inside, the doors and a large hinged screen link to the existing front rooms. ‘I wanted to maximise the natural daylight and create a sense of nature.’

2 A mid-terrace, red brick, Edwardian house. The job was to renovate it and provide extra rooms, a home office, a kitchen, utility space and a firs floor bathroom but the garage had to stay where it was. ‘We created three court yards around it, containing the existing

house, garage and a new leveled area, to get maximum use of light.’

3 ‘We had to convert an existing garage and provide extra living space, linking it to the outdoors. So we decided to project the ceiling and continue the floor outside.’ The pivot door is now a main feature and again everything has been done to make the best use of light, the atmosphere of the room changes throughout the day.’

When David finishes one project he doesn’t rest but starts looking forward to the next. ‘All architects want to keep developing and improving their ideas – it’s not just a case of completing something, sitting back and giving yourself a pat on the back. I think that the hardest thing for all of us was putting that first step on the ladder, getting ourselves seen but I think we’re doing OK now! So where will I be in ten years time – hopefully retired.

www.box.ie