Sean O’Casey Community Centre

East Wall, Docklands

Model of tower, day-care and entrance Sketch of the centre

Photo of the centre Model of tower, day-care and entrance
Model of tower, day-care and entrance

When my group were told we had the Sean O’Casey Community Centre, I went straight to the internet to see
what it looked like, and the first thing that came to my head was ‘the block of cheese out of Tom and Jerry’! I
also thought ‘How did it get planning permission in that area?’, as it doesn’t fit in with its surroundings. It is
surrounded by two storey brick and rendered houses and is much taller than any of the houses, it just looks out of
place.

SketchUp of the centre (courtesy of Sam Wallis)

Sketch of possible eaves detail in the gym

Picture where my first impressions were based on

(www.wme.ie) SketchUp of the centre (courtesy of Sam Wallis)

When reading an article about the building in ‘The Architectural Review (May 2009 issue)’, it stated that the
people in the area wanted a tall building. But why did the planning authority grant permission? I couldn’t find Photo of glass wall along the gym and hall. Also shows the chain downpipes
the answer for this but, on the plans I sourced from the ‘Dublin City Council’ website, it had a previous height of
15.5m and the current height is 21m, which could mean the local authority asked for more services room.
The external of the centre is a corrugated, hand sanded, fairfaced concrete finish to three sides, with the other
side a smooth concrete finish. It has untreated hardwood fences and windows around the building. I feel they
Photo of the gym’s eaves (details above and below)
are untreated to help blend in with the concrete finish, as there is no overhang on the parapets as well.
The centre comprises of an entrance hall, a day-care, a crèche, a theatre, gym, sports hall and general Picture of glass wall corner (detail below)
meeting rooms in the tower. There are three court yards all visible internally through the glass walls.
The main internal finishes are concrete, timber and plasterboard. The external concrete finish continues into the
entrance hall, uncorrugated, with glass walls to the front and to the courtyards. The sports hall is lined with
lacquered chipboard with the theatre lined in plywood for acoustic purposes. I personally had never seen or of
a room lined in chipboard, and when I first read about it in the article, I was a bit apprehensive about how it double glazed unit
would look. I thought it would look a bit shabby and lacklustre, but the lacquered finish makes it look appealing
and it turned out very well. As for the theatre, the plywood finish isn’t appealing, but since it is for acoustic Corrugated finish to external wall (photo
external
purposes, it doesn’t matter how it looks. courtesy of Sam Wallis)
Overall, I have to say I like the building. The combination of the concrete and untreated hardwood is now
Single glazed
starting to blend well together, just two years after it was finished. The circular windows were an extremely clever unit
idea (with the architects refusing to call them windows) as square windows would make it look like a block of
flats, plain and boring. It is a great piece of architecture.

Colin Tutty C09655425 Sean O’Casey Community Centre internal

DT105/2 Architect: O’Donnell + Tuomey Architects

Project 1: Investigation of Buildings Design: Mar. ‘06 – Jan. ‘07
Group 14: Sean O’Casey Community Centre Construction: Apr. ‘07 – Sept. ’08
Other Group Members: Rory Tobin, Sam Wallis Area: 2088m squared
Date: 20th Sept. – 7th Oct. 2010 Awards: RIBA International, ICS Building Award Sketch of possible eaves detail in the gym Column on foundation sketch Section through glass wall corner
Silicon to glass detail