A native New Yorker with over three decades’ experience within the creative industries across a range of global markets, it’s fair to say that Garry Cohn brings a particularly unique set of skills and knowledge to the table. These qualities were evident in the work he and his team at COHN Design put into the development of the Armatile Dublin Design Centre, the results of which not only delighted the client, but also impressed the judges of the Building and Architect of the Year Awards 2025, who named the project Building of the Year within the Retail category.
“We’re an architectural interior design company based in Dublin that strives to do it all, from the build through to putting the forks on the table, and everything in-between,” explains Garry. “We’ve been in operation now for nine years and currently have a team of six, but my own personal background goes back over 30 years, having built and developed several other businesses in my time.”
This experience obviously played a part in the award-winning success of the Armatile Dublin project, although Garry is keen to shine the light on the entire team: “Everybody’s involvement deserves to be recognised, because they all worked extremely hard. To make things that bit trickier, the development started during the pandemic. This resulted in plenty of hurdles relating to the restrictions we all had to adhere to during lockdown, but we were able to overcome them thanks to everyone’s collective efforts.”
Another notable challenge stemmed from the fact that the client, Armatile, has something of a history of doing things its own way. This meant there was significant reticence in fully embracing the vision that COHN put forward for the development, at least to begin with, as Garry outlines: “We like to push the boundaries when appropriate and were keen to drag Armatile kicking and screaming into the 21st Century. Our approach is typically all about maximising the available space and injecting some real theatre and colour, rather than just putting the tiles on display in a manner we’ve all seen countless times before.
“Usually tile and bathroom showrooms are fixed spaces you walk through and are blocked off behind an ‘Under construction’ sign when they’re getting updated. As an alternative to this, we designed a concept where everything is on casters, enabling the displays to be rolled out when needed. The space we created was much more akin to an amphitheatre.
“The other controversial initiative we proposed was blocking the skylight and making the display area completely black, as we wanted the tiles to be the star of the show in terms of the colour and for the experience to be like you were in outer space. Again, we received a great deal of push back, but we persisted. We also had a plan to introduce moving video screens, so that the products could be shown in real life situations.
“The client had serious doubts about the vision we were trying to instil because it was so alien to him and was outside of his comfort zone. To give him credit, however, he put his trust in us and ultimately was so delighted with the end result he was literally in tears.
“He’d started the business from a shed in his backyard, so struggled to come to terms with how far it had come and the solution we’d created for him. As a genuinely humble man, he really couldn’t comprehend it, and he apologised for being so doubtful to begin with.”
In what was a highly holistic solution, COHN created both an indoor area and an outdoor area, including a café. This ensured that the building and its environs were completely transformed.
“The location in the middle of an industrial estate is generally not very inspiring, so to create something so spectacular in such an unassuming location was fantastic. When people walk into the building there’s a real ‘wow factor’ that they weren’t expecting. This is exactly the reaction we were looking for, so we’re pleased with what we achieved. It really showcased everything we’re about as a company in terms of pushing boundaries.”
The award judges obviously agreed, but while industry recognition is always rewarding, a happy client crying genuine tears of joy really can’t be matched, particularly as the project has subsequently led to repeat business, a huge positive with any contract.
With such a highly successful project under its belt – and with other opportunities with the same client on the cards – COHN is looking at securing other contracts, in both the commercial and residential sectors.
“We can turn our hand to most things because of our experience,” says Garry. “Before COVID we were probably more commercially-orientated but were able to pivot to residential once hotels and retail stores closed their doors due to the lockdown. The key is to remain humble and grateful for the opportunities the market provides, whether they’re in Ireland, the UK, mainland Europe or elsewhere. We’ve even taken on work in Asia too. Remaining flexible is proving vital, particularly as the 2020s can best be described as ‘rocky’. We’re therefore never complacent and are keen to keep our options open.”
With an impressive skillset and a wealth of experience to draw on, it is clear that COHN won’t be resting on its laurels anytime soon. Having placed its Building and Architect of the Year Award in the trophy cabinet, the company has already turned its attention to what’s next. What this space…