America at Home: The Architecture and Politics of the US Embassy in Dublin, Cormac Murray

Few modern buildings in Dublin capture the imagination like the US Embassy. Designed in the 1950s by a young American architect, John M. Johansen, it opened to acclaim in May of 1964. For decades after its opening the building has been a symbol of modernity and advancement, a representation of the promise of America. 

It was one of the last avant-garde results from a strategic building programme the US government undertook during the Cold War. In commissioning leading architects to design decidedly modern, open, welcoming buildings, America exported its vision of open and free democracy to the rest of the world.

The story behind the building is fascinating. It faced stiff critical and political opposition during the design process, a deadlock that was eventually broken by the personal intervention of President John F. Kennedy. The building used cutting-edge concrete technology where its 1,600 components were flat packed on a barge and shipped to Dublin. It was American design, fabricated in part in Holland, and assembled in Ireland.

This book tells the story of the figures behind this unique building and the ideas it espoused. It features newly released archive photography of the building’s construction, original hand drawings by the architect and newly commissioned illustrations of the building. The book features an absorbing foreword by acclaimed author Shane O’Toole, on his personal remembrances of John M. Johansen.

A series of vignettes dispersed throughout the book attempt to capture moments of time, various characters encountering the building: the architect, the US President, the Irish President, a Dutch fabricator, a construction worker. This promotes the idea that the life and experience of a civic building is not centred on any one individual, but rather a constellation of interactions over time, it is a character in all our lives.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cormac Murray MRIAI is an Irish architect, writer, and lecturer. In 2021, he co-authored The Dublin Architecture Guide, 1937-2021, a guide to 255 modern buildings in the greater Dublin area, published by The Lilliput Press. Cormac is a series editor at Type.ie, an online platform for design and the built environment. He was awarded an Agility Award grant by the Arts Council of Ireland to research the US Embassy in Dublin.

ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

Phibsboro Press is an independent publisher based in Dublin, Ireland. We produce short-run, high-quality print editions on art, architecture, photography and design. Founded by Eamonn Hall.

Published by Phisboro Press
Softcover
190 pages
245 x 300 mm
ISBN 9781999830939