LUKE GARDINER was the key player in the development of Georgian Dublin with Henrietta Street his first venture in the 1720s before moving on to what is now O’Connell Street and Mountjoy Square among others.

Now the houses he built at 15-16 Henrietta Street are set to be rejuvenated, three years after Dublin City Council ran an open design competition for the vacant site at 16 Henrietta Street, which was demolished some time around 1950 after being left derelict for about 25 years.

The 2008 competition attracted a total of 79 entries, and the winning design was by Ryan W Kennihan Architects. Dublin City Council, which owns the properties after acquiring them under the Derelict Sites Act, is now planning to construct a new four-storey over garden level extension to the building as well as a new theatre in the rear gardens of the houses.