Planning Workshop
Before clients begin the road of having us design, plan, and then progress to tendering, and construction managing projects, I have often been asked – “how do you work?”. Each project requires its own tailored approach, but I hope these short, easy to watch videos give you some sense of the quality of architecture, best practice thinking that I bring to every architecture and planning project. Feel free to drop me a line in the comments box.
Built with Purpose: Designing for People, Place, and Possibility
Across a series of unique projects, we explore how architecture can respect history, respond to place, and meet contemporary needs. From breathing new life into a 250-year-old cottage with untapped views of Clew Bay and Croagh Patrick, to transforming a derelict hillside dwelling into a light-filled modern home, each design responds to its context with care and creativity. In Dublin, a reimagined attic extension challenges conventions in a mid-century estate, while a commercial unit is doubled in size on a restricted site through inventive, multifunctional design ideas inspired by international architecture.
Our work also reflects a deeper inquiry into the forces shaping our built environment. In underStanding Stones, we draw inspiration from Neolithic architecture to explore how ancient principles can guide sustainable design today. And in tackling planning permission on a difficult site, we demonstrate how contemporary architecture can be both practical and purposeful, helping clients understand not just what a building looks like—but why. Each project is a testament to the potential of thoughtful architecture to enrich lives, engage with its surroundings, and make the most of every opportunity.
Rethinking the City: Small Moves, Big Impact
Two projects explore how thoughtful design can make a meaningful difference in the way we shape our built environment. In Re-use rather than Replace, we guide clients through the complex decision of whether to retain an existing structure or start anew—balancing the carbon footprint, structural viability, and long-term goals. The design process becomes a tool for environmental responsibility, weighing both tangible and intangible factors to arrive at a more sustainable outcome.
In Pods: Micro Homes for a Walkable Compact City, we explore how urban living can evolve through clever, compact design. With loose sketches for a height-restricted, city-centre site, the challenge lies in increasing density while maintaining privacy, livability, and community connection. These small-scale interventions imagine how underused spaces can be reimagined to support a thriving, people-first urban fabric.
Architectural Design
“People come to me to buy surprise … but when people come to me to buy surprise, the funny thing is, that I dont know what I am going to give them either!” (Peter Rice – Engineer). For you the private client, or commercial developers, Declan Commons BA Hons MSc, Senior Architectural Consultant at PW, will meet your expectations to really good architecture, of its time and exceeding its functional expectations. “When an artist starts repeating themselves because they think thats what people want, its all over.” (Thom Yorke – Musician).
Sustainable Design
“If nature is sustainable and beautiful, [why cant] we make things that are sustainable and beautiful?” (Neri Oxman – Designer).Are you in interested in incorporating principles of ‘greening’ or sustainability in your building project? My established relationships with suppliers and experts in various technologies ensures that the correct solution is delivered to your project at competitive costs. Let Planning Workshops experience guide your choices.
Planning & Applications
Your Planning Applications or Appeals benefit significantly from professional preparation and presentation. Planning Workshop deliver high quality negotiation and project management of the planning application process. I have worked for Local Authorities and understand their aspirations and requirements. I can also best represent our private clients by bringing client and local authority requirements to an agreement.
Zoning and Strategic Planning
If you are investing in land or buildings development, Planning Workshop will efficiently investigate and advise on maximising the potential which is often hidden in these assets. Packages are tailored to meet client needs, and optimum development strategies are identified. Services include zoning and development plan submissions to Local Planning Authorities, Development Plans, Local Area Plans etc. on behalf of our clients.
Design/Planning Advice
Planning Workshop was founded by Declan Commons in 2005, continuing an earlier career in the UK and Scandinavia. From my core base in Dublin and NUI Galway, Planning Workshop service clients throughout Ireland. Your project will benefit from professional insight to help you assess how to best move forward – be it a small home remodeling or extension to expert advice on planning regulations or zoning.
Inspire
It is perhaps the most incredible feature of our hunter-gathering ancestors that they left virtually no impact on the world in which they lived – just the odd heap of ashes and stones from a fire, a pile of discarded shellfish on a shore line, or the occasional figure of an animal daubed onto a cave wall. Our ancestors had to be entirely in tune with their natural surroundings, and their decisions to move on were determined by an instinctive knowledge, based on thousands of years of experience. Their calender was written in the behaviour of the wildlife around them. (Ray Mears)
My belief in embracing sustainability, implies responsibilities and new skills sets for architecture, engineering, town planning, and the related professions, and ultimately in community culture. Consciousness is growing in Ireland and around the world – we are coming-round to demanding sustainability in our built environment, and acknowledging that we, as consultants, consumers and producers must all contribute some effort in realising this.
Declan, having it complete and fully functional has enhanced our lives significantly and brings us a huge amount of joy as a family.
Thank you for your creativity, your direction and for really listening. You are a craftsman.
2024
