Housing Unlocked was an open call one-stage competition for design ideas to maximise housing potential in Irish towns and cities. This initiative was a collaboration between the Irish Architecture Foundation (IAF) and the Housing Agency.

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Thirty-Three Churches was one of eight teams selected to take part in the Housing Unlocked exhibition in October 2022. The name comes from the thirty-three churches identified in the Archdiocese of Dublin’s submission on the draft Dublin City Council (DCC) Development Plan (2022-28). In their submission these churches were identified for potential rezoning for future residential use. These churches currently fall under the Z15 category of land-use zoning objectives within DCC’s draft Development Plan which allow mainly for cultural and community use. The proposed rezoning to the Z12 category would open these churches and church lands “to ensure existing environmental amenities are protected in the predominantly residential future use of these lands”.

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We have taken one church outlined in this submission, St Mary’s Church of the Angels, Capuchin Friary, Church Street, Dublin 7, as a case study to demonstrate how a church could be altered to include housing, while still functioning as a place of worship.