Foley Architects is an architectural practice based in Dublin led by Stephen Foley and Marta Lopez driven by creating sustainable buildings and considered spaces that connect to their physical and social contexts. Our mission is to uncover what is special about each project to create unique spaces and buildings which can inspire communities.
The concept of our first built project, the Eastbourne Beach Hut took inspiration from a local story involving fossils and was developed using digital fabrication tools. The pavilion's translucent skin allows it to transform at night, emitting light and expressing its structure.
The Cork Butter museum involved the adaptive reuse of an existing space, it’s remodelling and installation of elements for a collection of artefacts, using economic materials like mild steel and birch plywood. The monochrome material palette allows the architectural project to be expressed through textures and shadows.
Rossaveel Small Craft Harbour building is located at the edge of a man-made pier, on an extremely exposed site and deals with the threshold between sky, land and sea. The roof is a simple inverted planar surface which is detailed to create a waterfall feature pouring rainwater back into the sea.
Our largest commission to date the Lark Concert Hall is integrated into sensitive small town environment. To achieve the necessary reverberation, the roof of the hall was set as high as possible and drops at building edge responding to the scale of the surrounding streets. The ceiling of the hall is pleated to reflect the sound to the back of the audience and grooved acoustic panelling is used for diffusion. This sets up the leitmotif of the project as pleats are also used to make up the elevations, breaking up the volume which is clad in granite slabs.
All of these projects are multifaceted and reveal themselves to users and passers-by interacting with their environments creating experiences and a sense of place.
As a small office we often collaborate with other architects and engineers to expand the possibilities of each commission. More information on the details of all our past and current projects can be found on our website, foleyarchitects.com.