THE National Gallery of Ireland is to hold an international architectural competition for the design of a £12.5 million extension which will give it a street front presence for the first time.
The extension is to be built on the site of two mid 18th century houses in Clare Street, which were demolished some years ago, and will also incorporate an ad joining Georgian house just acquired by the gallery for £750,000.
Given the complexity of gallery and museum design, it was decided the competition should start with a pre qualification phase open to architects, both from Ireland and overseas, from which a shortlist of 10 would be drawn.
The second phase of the competition, which is being organised in association with the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland, would involve submitting design concepts, with the winner to be announced in September.
Ms Tina Roche, the development director, said the gallery was "acutely aware" of the sensitivity of the project, particularly in terms of dealing with the Georgian house on South Leinster Street once occupied by Davis King.
If this important building was to be earmarked for demolition, either in the gallery's brief for the architectural competition or in the winning entry, it is likely that there would be strong opposition from conservationists.
Announcing details of the competition at a press conference yesterday, Mrs Carmel Naughton, chairwoman of the Board of Governors, said it would mark a new phase in the gallery's growth and development in recent years.
It comes as a major refurbishment of the existing group of buildings on Merrion Square nears completion. The results are to be unveiled publicly on May 18th, when more of the collection will be on display than ever before.
The proposed extension will provide 50,000 square feet of space for the gallery - increasing its overall size by somewhere between a quarter and a third - and will include a "world class" space for travelling exhibitions.
"No longer will Irish people have to travel abroad to see the Vermeer exhibition in The Hague or even the Cezanne exhibition in London," said Mrs Naughton. Instead, Dublin would be in a position to bring these here.
Other new facilities in the Clare Street extension will include a Yeats museum, a new auditorium, a library and centre for the study of Irish arts, conservation studios as well as a restaurant and gallery shop.
The Minister for Arts and Culture, Mr Higgins, has already earmarked £7.5 million from the EU regional fund, but this leaves a balance of £5 million to be raised by the recently established National Gallery of Ireland Foundation, chaired by the former Taoiseach, Mr Charles Haughey.
