The winner of an 'Open Ideas Architectural Design Competition', for the site of 16 Henrietta in Dublin, has been announced.

Dublin City Council has confirmed Ryan W. Kennihan Architects submitted the chosen design.

The council will host an exhibition showcasing all entrants next week.

The display will be held in the Atrium of Dublin City Council's Civic Office from Monday 1 to Friday 5 September.

Those who came Highly Commended in the competition were Lenzie O'Sullivan & Associates and O'Keeffe Architects.

Commended recognition went to Conor Moloney & Joost Beunderman; Carr Cotter & Naessans; 4 Architecture; and Conroy Crowe Kelly.

The commission of an Open Ideas Architectural Design Competition to address the site of No. 16 Henrietta Street is enshrined as a policy in the Henrietta Street Conservation Plan, (2006).

The competition was organised by the Royal Institutes of Architects of Ireland (RIAI)

In addition to the competition a number of policies aimed at safeguarding and improving the condition of Henrietta Street are being actively implemented.

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Such policies include a revised treatment for the existing bollards protecting the cellars; a separate study of Henrietta Lane as an addendum to the conservation plan; structural conservation works to No's 3 and 14; an exhibition and booklet aimed at raising awareness of the importance of the street amongst the general public.

The competition aimed to establish a design framework for the development of the site, which is informed by the Conservation Plan and best architectural practice, and to generate debate and discussion on the challenge of contemporary design as in-fill in sensitive historic settings.

Design approaches were open to each entrant and could include designs sympathetic to the context and setting without being archaeologically correct or historically precise, and which is not pastiche; and infill design that contrasts strongly with the architectural language, setting and context of Henrietta Street.

Competitors were asked to consider:

• The potential for infilling of the site.
• The appropriateness of reinstatement/new design.
• The exploration of new architectural forms within a highly sensitive and architectural important street such as Henrietta Street.
• How to contextualise, in form and materials, a contemporary architectural language within a streetscape that embodies subtly varied Palladian architectural principles built over a 34-year period between c. 1721-1755 (with later alterations), largely expressed through the use of red brick.
• The most desirable use for such an in-fill building within a street characterised by residential, fourth level educational, institutional, artistic and cultural use.

(PR/JM)