16.2.2.3 Alterations and Extensions

Alterations and Extensions

In Dublin city centre, the form and grain of the built environment provides fewer opportunities for major expansion than in the more suburban parts of the city and county. This leads to substantial pressure for extensions and alterations to existing buildings. Works of alteration and extension should be integrated with the surrounding area, ensuring that the quality of the townscape character of buildings and areas is retained and enhanced and environmental performance and accessibility of the existing building stock should also be enhanced.

In Dublin, the retrofitting of sustainability measures to existing buildings is of crucial importance, as this will always represent a much greater proportion of the building stock than new buildings. Retrofitting seeks to ensure that all new development considers how environmental performance can be improved; this may include measures to reduce energy consumption and improve efficiency and incorporate renewable technologies as well as improving water efficiency and minimising waste, wherever possible.

Dublin City Council will seek to ensure that alterations and extensions will be sensitively designed and detailed to respect the character of the existing building, its context and the amenity of adjoining occupiers.

In particular, alterations and extensions should:

  • Respect any existing uniformity of the street, together with significant patterns, rhythms or groupings of buildings ­
  • Retain a significant proportion of the garden space, yard or other enclosure ­
  • Not result in the loss of, obscure, or otherwise detract from, architectural features which contribute to the quality of the existing building ­
  • Retain characteristic townscape spaces or gaps between buildings ­ Not involve the infilling, enclosure or harmful alteration of front lightwells.

Furthermore, extensions should: ­

  • Be confined to the rear in most cases ­
  • Be clearly subordinate to the existing building in scale and design ­
  • Incorporate a high standard of thermal performance and appropriate sustainable design features.

In addition to the above, alterations and extensions at roof level, including roof terraces, are to respect the scale, elevational proportions and architectural form of the building, and will: ­

  • Respect the uniformity of terraces or groups of buildings with a consistent roofline and will not adversely affect the character of terraces with an attractive varied roofline ­
  • Not result in the loss of roof forms, roof coverings or roof features (such as chimney stacks) where these are of historic interest or contribute to local character and distinctiveness.

Green roofs should be incorporated wherever they accord with the above, are structurally viable and have no adverse impact on historic structures.

Minor external additions to buildings such as plant, telecommunications and other equipment and associated cables and fixings shall be concealed within the building envelope where feasible or designed and sited to minimise their visual impact. All redundant equipment should be removed prior to installation of new equipment.