The Casino at Marino is one of the most significant Neoclassical buildings in Ireland, based on the symmetrical Greek cross plan of Palladio’s Villa Rotonda, similarly situated on a hilltop with each of the four elevations commanding views of, and from, the surrounding landscape. But what appears a simple, single-room casino (the diminutive form of casa, or a small house, rather than a tacky gambling establishment), just 15m square and with a single window on each facade, is in fact a complex illusion disguising three floors and 16 rooms. In the 18th century, the Scottish-Swedish architect William Chambers built a perfect Neoclassical folly in the gardens of Marino House not in Mediterranean Italy, but on the north-eastern outskirts of Dublin. T O B Architect has been shortlisted for the AR Emerging Architecture awards 2018 The windows have blacked-out panels to hide the fact that the interior is a complex of rooms, not a single chamber.Inspired by a Neoclassical folly in the suburbs of Dublin, T O B Architect’s Killan farmhouse in the Irish countryside adds to a growing portfolio of subtly subversive domestic architecture The towering front door is a sham – a much smaller panel opens to reveal the secret interior. A variety of statuary adorns the outside, but it's the amusing fakes that are most enjoyable. But instead it is an extravagant convoluted maze: flights of fancy include chimneys for the central heating that are disguised as roof urns, downpipes hidden in columns, carved draperies, ornate fireplaces, beautiful parquet floors constructed of rare woods, and a spacious wine cellar.

The exterior of the building, with a huge entrance doorway, and 12 Tuscan columns forming a templelike facade, creates the expectation that its interior will be a simple single open space. He also came home with a big love of the Palladian style – hence the architecture of this wonderful folly. It was built in the mid-18th century for the Earl of Charlemont, who returned from his grand tour of Europe with more art than he could store in his own home, Marino House, which was on the same grounds (demolished in the 1920s). When it's operational, entrance is by guided tour only the last tour is 45 minutes before closing. Unfortunately it's closed for essential maintenance, with no reopening date confirmed at the time of research. It's not the roulette-wheel kind of casino but rather the original Italian kind, the one that means 'summer home' (it literally means 'small house'), and this particular casino is one of the most enchanting constructions in all of Ireland.

Casino marino floor plan