Iconic corporation house goes on display at the National Museum

The pebbledash-fronted houses built by Dublin Corporation, as it then was, in areas such as Cabra, Crumlin and Ballyfermot from the 1940s to the 1960s are being celebrated at the National Museum in Collins Barracks.

Planner Paul Kearns and his partner, Tel Aviv-based architect Motti Ruimy, have built a full-scale pebbledash house in Clarke Square, with a complete pebbledash facade and a skeletal steel frame to represent the rest of the house.

Mr Kearns, who works for Dublin City Council, said the installation was designed to serve as a “lightning rod” for a discussion about house and home in the context of Dublin’s future and the current “backlash” against apartments.

The National Museum is co-ordinating an ambitious outreach programme for children, focused on what makes a great home or city, under the direction of Dublin City Council’s public art manager Ruairí Ó Cuív.

Its inauguration on Wednesday by lord mayor Christy Burke also marked the publication of a pocketbook version of Redrawing Dublin, Kearns and Ruimy's provocative "manual" for urban living originally published in 2010.

Beyond Pebbledash: The Puzzle of Dublin is published by Gandon Editions, price €15.