ODOS Architects creates introverted house on "undevelopable" site in Dublin
Designed to look like a garden wall, this seemingly windowless brick house in Dublin was created by ODOS Architects to reference an orchard that once occupied the site (+ slideshow).
![No 1 Alma Road by ODOS Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/08/No-1-Alma-Road_Odos-Architects_dezeen_468_17.jpg)
The narrow plot is located in the grounds of a historic structure in Monkstown, surrounded by tall Victorian-era properties.
Four previous designs for the site had been refused planning permission, so the site had been branded "undevelopable".
![No 1 Alma Road by ODOS Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/08/No-1-Alma-Road_Odos-Architects_dezeen_468_0.jpg)
Rather than try to compete with the surrounding structures, London-based ODOS Architects decided to create a building as inconspicuous as a garden wall, referencing the site's former use as an orchard. There are no street-facing windows or a visible roof.
It is an approach that is becoming popular in built-up areas, with recent examples in London including a courtyard house by Jack Woolley and a pavilion-like home by Phillips Tracey Architects.
![No 1 Alma Road by ODOS Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/08/No-1-Alma-Road_Odos-Architects_dezeen_468_7.jpg)
"The planners had concluded that, because of the pivotal nature of the site as a visual anchor to the street, the idea of building a traditional dwelling there would detract from the character of the street and the adjoining protected structure," explained project architect John Crowley.
![No 1 Alma Road by ODOS Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/08/No-1-Alma-Road_Odos-Architects_dezeen_468_21.jpg)
"They were also adverse to the idea of constructing a building in a similar style to the others, as this would be viewed as pastiche replication," he continued.
"In embracing these restrictions, what developed was a concept for a house that looked for all intents and purposes like a Victorian wall – in the same brick palate of the adjoining residence."
![No 1 Alma Road by ODOS Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/08/No-1-Alma-Road_Odos-Architects_dezeen_468_25.jpg)
The team excavated down by 2.5 metres, allowing enough height to create a two-storey building behind the original stone wall.
This new structure has no windows on its outer walls, and instead brings in light through windows fronting secluded courtyards.
![No 1 Alma Road by ODOS Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/08/No-1-Alma-Road_Odos-Architects_dezeen_468_23.jpg)
"The interior is perforated by a series of interconnected courtyard spaces across both levels, drawing light into the interior while also creating a flowing relationship between inside and outside spaces," said Crowley.
![No 1 Alma Road by ODOS Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/08/No-1-Alma-Road_Odos-Architects_dezeen_468_22.jpg)
Three bedrooms are arranged in a row on the sunken ground floor, all with glazed walls fronting a terrace known as the Zen garden. There is also a small living room on this floor.
![No 1 Alma Road by ODOS Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/08/No-1-Alma-Road_Odos-Architects_dezeen_468_24.jpg)
Upstairs, two decked terraces divide the space into a dining room and kitchen, and a separate lounge. Thanks to the glazed walls, it is possible to look all the way across the space.
![No 1 Alma Road by ODOS Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/08/No-1-Alma-Road_Odos-Architects_dezeen_468_14.jpg)
Rooms are furnished with various design classics, including Arne Jacobsen's Egg chair and Series 7 chairs, Nils Strinning's String shelving and a Plane bed by Felix Stark.
![No 1 Alma Road by ODOS Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/08/No-1-Alma-Road_Odos-Architects_dezeen_468_2.jpg)
Concrete floors conceal underfloor heating. There are no skirting boards, so only shadow gaps separate these floors from the bright white walls.
![No 1 Alma Road by ODOS Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/08/No-1-Alma-Road_Odos-Architects_dezeen_468_20.jpg)
Skylights help to bring in extra light and the roof is covered with sedum to help it blend in when viewed from above.
![No 1 Alma Road by ODOS Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/08/No-1-Alma-Road_Odos-Architects_dezeen_468_6.jpg)
ODOS architects was established in 2002 by architects Darrell O'Donoghue and David O'Shea. The firm previously collaborated with LA-based Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects to restore and extend a 19th-century coachhouse, also in Dublin.
Photography is by Alice Clancy.
Project credits:
Client: Conor Grealis
Architects: ODOS Architects
Project architect: John Crowley
Construction: PJ Grealis Construction
Engineering: Loscher Moran Consulting Engineers
Energy consultant: Archie O' Donnell
Furniture: Lost Weekend
![No 1 Alma Road by ODOS Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/08/No-1-Alma-Road_Odos-Architects_dezeen_1.gif)
![No 1 Alma Road by ODOS Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/08/No-1-Alma-Road_Odos-Architects_dezeen_2.gif)
![No 1 Alma Road by ODOS Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/08/No-1-Alma-Road_Odos-Architects_dezeen_3.gif)