Established in 2014, MARA Architects is a diverse RIAI Registered Architecture practice based in the heart of Dublin City.
2nd Floor, No.51 Clontarf Road,
Clontarf, Dublin 3,
Ireland.
Established in 2014, MARA Architects is a diverse RIAI Registered Architecture practice based in the heart of Dublin City.
Established in 2014, MARA Architects is a diverse RIAI registered Architecture practice based in the heart of Dublin City.
Principal Catherine Mara is an Architect with over 15 years experience in both Commercial and Residential design, crossing over between the areas of Architecture, Commercial Interiors and Project Management. She has designed and project-managed many large scale commercial developments in the areas of Hospitality, Leisure, Retail, Offices and Hotels, both in Ireland and overseas and was previously the Director of a large international practice.
Incorporating the work of Architects, Technologists and Interior Designers, we have a wide array of skills to bring to a specific project, and we consider ongoing and continuous professional development (CPD) as central to the practice moving forward with new regulations, technologies and designs.
Our focus within the practice is on innovative and sustainable design, good quality workmanship and professionalism as core values, and our repeat clients are testament to the high quality of personal service we provide.
MARA Architects place particular emphasis on Sustainable Design in every project - residential and commercial. The design of efficient and sustainable solutions to a project adds value for our Clients, providing healthy and engaging spaces for people to live and work.
Principal Catherine Mara has completed postgraduate studies in Digital Energy Analysis and Retrofit, and was invited to make a presentation at the recent nZEB-15 National Retrofit Conference held at DIT.
Our work has a committed sustainable focus with the following principles:
Our aim is to achieve the optimal balance between economical, ecological and social sustainability through quality low energy design.
MARA Architects provide a comprehensive range of specialist services to both private and public sector clients:
We are always available to discuss your project requirements should the specific service you require not be listed above.
Project Title:
Kinara Kitchen, Ranelagh, Dublin
Client:
Mr. Sean Collender
Project Description:
Ranelagh is a busy hub for Restaurants and can make it difficult for a new venture to find it's footing, but having worked with these clients on 2 of their other restaurants before, the brief was very clear and the process easy. Inspired by the casual but stylish dining atmosphere of New York, exposed brickwork, distressed timber and a Carrera marble counter form the main bar, suitable for eating as well as pre-dinner cocktails, and lit overhead by hand blown glass light shades. The furniture was bespoke design, and in a vintage green piped leather with brass belt buckle details added a twist. The striking green shop front opens up on a nice day to allow views through to the bar area, and there is a hidden roof terrace to the rear for outdoor dining.
Credit: Completed with JDDG
Project Title:
147 DELI, Parnell Street, Dublin
Client:
Mr. Barry Stephens
Project Description:
147 Deli is a busy daytime eatery on Parnell Street. The design brief was for a proper London-inspired eatery with street style. The striking new shopfront with a strong charcoal render surround to a larch-clad entrance gives prominence on the busy street and a frame to the deli workspace inside. An enlarged print of a vintage map of Dublin printed to wallpaper provide the backdrop for the main service area.
Credit: Completed with JDDG
Project Title:
Cinnamon, Ranelagh, Dublin
Client:
Mr. Terry Doyle
Project Description:
A hip new addition to Main Street in Ranelagh, the atmosphere is always buzzing in this Restaurant and Wine Bar. Using painted brickwork, distressed timber and encaustic tiles to create a pared back vintage look, London was a huge inspiration for this venue and we spent time over there with the client researching ideas.
Credit: Completed with JDDG
Project Title:
The Hunt Museum Café, Limerick
Client:
Office of Public Works
Project Description:
The redesign and refurbishment of the Museum Café in a protected structure, working for the OPW under the Minor Capital Works Scheme.
Credit: Completed with JDDG
Project Title:
Silver Springs Hotel, Cork
Client:
Moran Hotel Group
Project Description:
This large hotel consists of a complex of buildings which we have carried out a series of alterations and refurbishment works over the last number of years. Work commenced with a large scale refurbishment of all the public areas of the main hotel including the Foyer, Bar and Restaurant, and a complete overhaul externally of these lower areas of the hotel also. More recently we have been working on the refurbishment of the Convention Centre located to the rear of the site, including the construction of a new canopied entrance area. All works have been carried out while the hotel is in operation.
Credit: Completed with JDDG
Project Title:
House in Clontarf, Dublin
Client:
Private
Project Description:
This project involved the complete refurbishment of, and extension to a 1930's mid-terrace home.
The challenging North facing aspect to the rear was overcome with the use of rooflights and a vaulted ceiling in the new extension, resulting in a light-filled home and high level triangular windows in the rear wall bring light right into the middle of the house.
Project Title:
House in Westmeath
Client:
Private
Project Description:
This project involved the construction of a new build 4 bedroom family home in a rural location in Co. Westmeath, with a generous floor area of 365 m2.
The design of the house was a response to the requirements of the High Amenity zoning of the site as it is located close to a lake, and reads from the road as single storey stone clad house vernacular house with a side extension from the road, but in fact includes a sleeping accommodation wing to the rear with a master bedroom and viewing balcony at first floor level.
A large open plan Kitchen/ Dining/Living area occupies one wing of the house, with windows to 3 sides as well as rooflights meaning the house is flooded with natural daylight. Vaulted whitewashed timber panelled ceilings with exposed beams are a feature throughout the interior, and full width bi-fold doors open out onto a sheltered deck area with an outdoor fireplace. A mixture of natural stone walling and render finishes breaks the building into a main block with subordinate extensions to the side and rear, and an internal split level arrangement allows for the generous first floor accommodation within the roof space.
High performance double glazed windows were fitted and also excellent levels of insulation. Renewable technologies in the form of a ground source heat pump combined with underfloor heating exploit energy available on the site.
A BER rating of B1 was achieved, with an energy requirement for the home of 77 kWh/m2/year.
Project Title:
Edengate Offices, Greystones
Client:
Private
Project Description:
This fitout of an existing shell and core building provided for the creation of 10No. Office pods suitable for single occupancy with shared administration and services facilities. Acoustic insulation between the various tenants was critical to the selection of the glazed partitioning system, however the intent of the use of glazing was to create a sense of community and inclusion between the various sole practitioners.
Credit: Completed with JDDG
Project Title:
The Market, Belarmine, Dublin
Client:
Griffin Retail
Project Description:
This project involved the design and fit out of a new supermarket complete with in-house butcher, bakery, café and large back of house prep. kitchen. Design of this new brand of supermarket included all signage and graphics, branding of all packaging and also design of staff uniforms.
Credit: Completed with JDDG
Project Title:
Carrickmines Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club, Dublin
Client:
Club President, Mr. Cathal Muckian
Project Description:
We undertook to reinvent this Member's Club which due to poor design and problems with acoustics was in no way encouraging for Members to use in a social capacity. A complete refurbishment of the main club areas including the bar and restaurant was carried out including construction of the new fully enclosable outdoor viewing terrace. A zinc and glass extension created a new entrance to the property also.
Credit: Completed with JDDG
Project Title:
Rainforest Gold Adventure Centre and Café, Dundrum Town Centre, Dublin
Client:
Mr. Ross Ivers
Project Description:
This rainforest themed mini-golf adventure centre is a new concept in Ireland. Built into a s storey retail space, the Inca and Maya interiors were hand sculpted by specialist contractors from the US used to working on large Theme Parks, and incorporate many audio visual tricks to add to the experience. Central to the space is a large Café and retail area, with a dramatic graphic printed floor covering imitating the rainforest floor, complete with large scale insects and butterflies throughout.
Credit: Completed with JDDG
Project Title:
Price's Lane Medical Centre, Ranelagh, Dublin.
Client:
Locumlink
Project Description:
This project involved the construction of a new 3 storey private Medical Centre on a tight site in Ranelagh, an Architectural Conservation Area. Flanked by a free standing stone archway, a Protected structure, the design of this new building is contemporary and spacious but due to the materials chosen and the stepped facade harmonises well within the mainly residential neighbourhood.
Credit: Completed with JDDG
Project Title:
Solicitors Offices, Ballsbridge, Dublin.
Client:
Sherwin O'Riordan Solicitors
Project Description:
Originally in a state of disrepair, we upgraded and refurbished this large Georgian terraced building to house a firm of Solicitors. Providing state of the art services and facilities to new office layouts whilst maintaining the heritage of the original building was key to this brief, and a contemporary edge in the selection of furniture and fittings works well with the original features and proportions of the rooms.
Credit: Completed with JDDG
Project Title:
ADM Londis Office Headquarters, Kildare
Client:
ADM Londis Plc.
Project Description:
This project involved the construction and fit out of a new 2 storey office headquarters to cater for over relocated 160 staff, including catering, meeting room and boardroom facilities. Also, the extension to the existing distribution warehousing adjacent.
Credit: Completed with JDDG
Project Title:
House at Drumcondra, Dublin.
Client:
Private
Project Description:
This project involved the extensive refurbishment and extension of a 1930's semi-detached concrete built house. The overall fabric of the structure was upgraded throughout both the main house and an existing side extension, and a new zinc-roofed extension was added to the rear also. New high performance triple glazed windows were fitted and also excellent levels of insulation. Demand-controlled ventilation and a high efficiency gas boiler were installed to service the new home.
Careful detailing and ongoing construction assessment led to a final Air Tightness test result of 1.6 m3/hr/m2, which exceeds current Building Regulation minimum requirements for a new build home by a factor of 4.
Without the use of renewable technologies, and by focusing on the detailing of the thermal envelope and air tightness, we successfully brought this house from a BER rating of F to a rating of B1, reducing the energy requirement of the home from 400 kWh/m2/year to just 91 kWh/m2/year.
Project Title:
Home Office, Malahide.
Client:
Private
Project Description:
This project involved the construction of a detached single storey Home Office in the rear garden of an existing 2 storey house, located in a predominantly residential area. The palette of tumbled finish red bricks, granite cills and concrete roof tiles harmonised the exterior of the building within the residential neighbourhood. The interior detailing however is contemporary, consists of a large open plan office space with vaulted ceilings and corner sliding doors opening out to the garden. Accommodation also includes a lobbied Kitchen and a Shower Room.
High performance double glazed windows were fitted and also excellent levels of insulation. The building is used for video conferencing, with services located in floor boxes providing flexibility of layout, and CAT 6 cabling throughout.
A demand controlled ventilation system was fitted during the build, and air tightness testing during the construction of this building resulted at 3 ACH (Air Changes per Hour), well below the current Building Regulation requirements.
Most importantly this building had to sit well within the context of the existing home and gardens. An existing blossom tree formed the focal point with the building wrapping around it and the entrance located under the canopy of the tree.