Bridge House

Owned and run by Ms. O Flaherty, Parsons Bookshop existed from 1949 and 1989; in that period it became the quintessential bookshop of the city, representing an idea of bohemian Dublin; the room was small, densely packed, but it managed to make space for browsing, sitting and talking- a perfect location for elliptical conversations – often visited by Flann O Brien, Brendan Behan and Patrick Kavanagh.

The current works provided two shops, one in the new block designed like a timber shoe pushed into a rack- the shopfront one of a series made by the office in the city- the other in the shell of the old bookshop–keeping the existing entrance and windows but removing a staircase wall to the canal and opening the whole space towards the water. The existing canal elevation was transformed by new penetrations above and between the existing windows, creating a pierced wall of views- each window like a lens with a different perspective over the city- each admitting light in a different way . The interior of the shop will be re-planned to make a new series of intimate spaces based on the original shop layout.