Critical Urban Discourse Beyond Pebbledash

A small book which is likely to have a substantial impact, not least in Irish urbanism, ‘Beyond Pebbledash’ has just been published. According to its authors, "Beyond Pebbledash is both a celebration of an overlooked icon of Irish domestic architecture and a design - driven discussion on the future of Dublin urbanism". The ‘icon’ is a typical two - storey local authority suburban house, designed and constructed, like thousands of others, in Dublin during and after the 1930’s. The publication coincides with an exhibition at Collins Barracks, where a full - size installation of the iconic house façade is temporarily housed in the finest space, Clarke Square. In the biting introduction by Mick Wilson, the motives of the authors as artists are discussed, and it is posited that the museum has offered a ‘public space’ to them for making claims and counterclaims ‘to foment a debate’ in relation to urbanism and Dublin. Wilson pointedly hopes that this discussion can ‘throw some stones into the thick slurry of contemporary Irish journalism and political commentary’.