The Court apartment development is built on the site of the Killiney Court Hotel with views across Killiney Bay. The original hotel served the public from the post war years until the late 1990s when it gradually ceased operating and was sold-on to its present owners. The hotel, originally accommodated in the existing house (designed by Newman & Deane circa 1860) had gradually been extended over the years by a series of generally poor quality additions until their demolition in 2004.
The site had been given a 0/0 rating under the current Development Plan, and, as a result the planning application sought a total residential accommodation area matching that of the original hotel. Subsequent conditions imposed by An Bord Pleanala, required the omission of a total of four top floor apartments from the scheme. As part of the planning process the architects proposed that the Newman & Deane house be listed as a protected structure.
The development consists of a total of 47 apartments, 44 of which are accommodated in two new blocks, which broadly follow the footprint of the previous hotel extensions, and three in the refurbished Newman & Deane house. The apartments, based on a typical 2-bed model of 134 sq.m are characterised by large open plan living and dining areas that take advantage of the views of Killiney Bay from Dalkey to Wicklow. The double aspect apartments with simple and generous circulation spaces together with large balconies to the front and rear encourage the residents to be open to their immediate environment.
The architecture of the new blocks and the front façade is strongly inspired by the forms and lines of the early modernist architecture of the 1920s and 30s and by extension seaside and naval architecture. The limited palette of materials, strong horizontal lines, layering of the façade elements and emphasis on primary and secondary rhythms all echo this period of early modernist architecture.
The stone used both inside and out is a hardwearing Jura limestone. Externally it is used in both sandblasted and honed finish enabling the large flat areas of stone to be broken up. The glass balustrade elements serve to give the front façade a horizontal emphasis while the glass light boxes at ground level enhance the sense of arrival. Access to the penthouse level roof gardens is provided by dramatic open stairwells that punctuate the skyline and further serve to anchor these blocks to their local landscape.
