Going down is the new going up, quips the owner of a south Dublin house which has just been extended by DTA Architects. When we think of extensions we do indeed think of another storey being put on top of a building, or a structure being added to the rear of a house. Yet this extension wraps around the side and back of a Victorian villa like a curved hand, clutching the house and filling the void between it and the home next door. The existing house - which the owners have lived in since 1967 - was a traditional double-fronted home, with four rooms on the upper floor and two below. The brief was for more space, a better quality of space, and increased light. There were a few definites, such as an extra bathroom and a wish to preserve the existing period rooms which all have strong characters.
