Dublin City Council has spent almost €5m on the restoration of two grand  18th century houses now available to let as offices. Frank McDonald, Environment Editor, reports

Fashionable ladies and gentlemen taking a stroll along Beaux Walk in the mid-1770s would undoubtedly have stopped to admire the splendid new houses on St Stephen's Green, just around the corner from Dawson Street.

Standing four storeys over basement, the semi-detached pair with their finely-glazed windows facing south over the Green matched the pair next door built for the La Touches and the Earl of Milltown - both now covered by Virginia creeper in its autumn glory. Commenting on the almost shocking pink façade of numbers 14 and 15, as restored, conservation architect David Slattery says they would have looked exactly like that when they were built, with all the brickwork neatly wigged and tucked with pure white lime mortar.

Both houses are owned by Dublin City Council and, according to City Architect Jim Barrett, the council wanted "an absolutely accurate restoration as a model of good conservation practice", while at the same time upgrading them to current standards for commercially lettable property.

"The vibrancy of the colour came as a shock, I'd say, because they had been so dirty for so long," he told The Irish Times.

He's quite pleased with the way it turned out, as well he might given that the project is being delivered on time at a total cost of almost €5 million.

As a planning authority with responsibility for policing protected structures, the city council had to demonstrate best conservation practice; otherwise, it would have no credibility in enforcing the law against those making less sensitive alterations to Dublin's Georgian fabric.

Nonetheless, there was some flak from the Heritage Council over the plan to demolish original late 18th century stables at the rear of both houses. In deference to conservation concerns, these have been retained though left unrestored until a use is found for them.

Along with Neil Donnellan, project architect, David Slattery supervised the complete restoration of the matching front façades. No one would guess that this involved replacing some 20 per cent of the brick and the almost complete replacement of the top storeys. A concrete bomb shelter dating from the 1940s, which occupied the entire area in front of the basement of one of the houses, was removed, the railings all restored and granite sills, lintels and string courses salvaged or replaced, depending on their condition.

All of the windows, which had been reduced to single-pane sashes, have been restored to the original late-18th century style, characterised by very thin glazing bars. The pedimented limestone doorcases were stripped down and the doors re-painted in dark blue.

"We tried to hold on to as much of the original fabric as possible, treating it like the pages of a manuscript," David Slattery said. Thus, all of the original doors, fireplaces and decorative plasterwork in the splendid main rooms have been retained in this restoration.

The "pages of a manuscript" allusion sums up Slattery's approach to major projects of this kind, starting with the Custom House in the late 1980s. It even included retaining chunky Victorian alterations to the interior of number 15, as they are part of the building's story.

He is "pretty sure" that the relatively restrained neo-classical plasterwork was done by Michael Stapleton, one of Dublin's most renowned stuccodores. All ceilings and friezes are painted white, to contrast with the more colourful treatment of the walls in each of the main rooms.

Many of the architraves, dado rails and skirting boards are original. New central heating radiators are discreetly covered by cabinets while the original floorboards lie underneath plywood sheeting laid in the expectation that whoever leases the houses would want carpets.

Electrical services have been renewed throughout, with no apparent damage, and the two buildings are also air-conditioned - a requirement that resulted in the installation of chiller units in the yards and a service duct, 1.5 metres wide, running up the rear.

The architects have retained returns of various periods, including an unusual single-storey Gothic-style extension to number 14 added not long after it was built and later oversailed by a late-Victorian extension carried on cast-iron columns. They, too, are part of the story.

As David Slattery noted, the Victorians made little or no attempt to match their interventions with the original fabric. This is best illustrated by the chunky arch inserted into the entrance hall of number 15, partly obliterating the delicate Georgian plasterwork a century older.

Nobody would defend such a heavy-handed approach today. But it is surely right that extensions to historic buildings should be done in a contemporary style so that they will be true to our time, instead of seeking to replicate the original or, worse still, resort to the parody of pastiche.

The two restored houses on St Stephen's Green are connected together only at second floor level in the event that they are let as a single unit by agents Colliers Jackson Stops. All told, from basement to top floor, they contain 1,115 sq m (12,000 sq ft) of usable space.

Inevitably, given their prime location in the southside business district, the use is for offices. Turning them into apartments, say one flat per floor, would have been far more problematic, involving extensive alterations to accommodate kitchens and bathrooms at every level.

Modern chandeliers, sourced from Spain, were chosen as light fittings for the main rooms, because the architects couldn't bear the idea of using Waterford glass. But given the amount of sunlight in the south-facing rooms, they will hardly need to be switched on most of the time.

The work was all done by Michael Glennon, of Moate, Co Westmeath, whose firm had previously restored Belvedere House, near Mullingar, for Westmeath County Council, and the Courthouse in Portlaoise, for which David Slattery was also the historic buildings consultant.

It is appropriate that Dublin City Council carried out this project, as its predecessor - Dublin Corporation - began the process of developing the sides of St Stephen's Green in the late 17th century, taking its cue from Berkeley Square, the first to be laid out in London.

Earlier houses were in time replaced by the grander buildings we see along the north side of the Green today. The Earl of Milltown's townhouse, number 17, is now the Kildare Street and University Club, while others - like the St Stephen's Green Club - were re-fronted in the 19th century.

Behind the two houses now restored is the side elevation of an award-winning office building by Shay Cleary Architects, next door to the Mansion House in Dawson Street, which was also developed by the city council - though when it does so again in these financially tough times is a moot point.