A planning application to restore the Martello Tower at Bartra Cove, Harbour Road, Dalkey by its owner, Mrs Helen Stephenson, will - if successful - convert the ancient structure into a three-bedroom residence with a contemporary curved glass addition. The architect is Mrs Stephenson's daughter, Simone, and the converted tower is intended as a home for another daughter who currently lives in Switzerland.

The proposed design keeps the tower more or less intact, adding a separate glass structure which will curve to match the tower and boundary walls. Accessed via a spiral staircase from the new building, a glass walkway will extend to the tower at its original entrance on the first floor, where a timber-floored tower room with deep narrow window apertures and baronial fireplace will be restored.

Set in its own private walled garden, the Martello Tower was retained by Mrs Stephenson when she sold off a stretch of coastal land in 1995 to the eventual developers of the exclusive Bartra Rock apartment complex. While in reasonable condition, water damage could endanger the fabric of the building in time, says architect Simone Stephenson.

"Its important to re-use old buildings, but the size of this tower is too small and would only suit one person. The new building is curved like the tower and slightly tapered, with glass on three sides. Columns will be used inside to support the zinc-lined roof," she adds.