Thirty-Three Churches

The name of our proposal Thirty-Three Churches comes from the 33 churches identified in the Archdiocese of Dublin’s submission on the draft Dublin City Council Development Plan (2022–2028), in which these church sites were identified for potential rezoning to residential use.

We have selected one of these churches, St. Mary’s Church of the Angels, Capuchin Friary, as a case study to demonstrate how the building envelope of the church could be altered to include housing, while still functioning as a place of worship.

ESTIMATED POTENTIAL NEW UNITS

We have only explored the potential of one church for this proposal, which can produce 10 1-bed and 10 2-bed duplex apartments to accommodate homes for up to 60 people with a functioning worship space below. If we consider the remaining 32 churches identified in the Archdiocese’s submission, all of which would require site-specific proposals, an additional 18.5 hectares is available for the delivery of housing. The untapped potential of church sites to deliver housing is clearly evident.