RIAI | Irish Architecture Awards

Citation

Eastern (over €300,000)

Skilful handling of volume and light are used to leaven robust, almost monastic materials, producing an open expression of democracy and local service.

Architects Comment
The intention of this project is to make a modern public building with an accessible, welcoming, civic character; a building which will improve with the patina of time, has an integrated approach to services and flexibility, and minimises the need for mechanical heating and cooling.

The precedent for this building lies in tradition of many small scale but very beautiful civic buildings built in Irish Towns like Town Halls, Courthouses, Small Churches. These buildings manage to assert a civic presence, which is not a product of size but is a product of poise, grace and dignity. This building in Dunshaughlin seeks to be part of this family of civic buildings.

The building is organised in layers of privacy which run parallel to the public main road. A new Urban Space was created by removing the boundary walls to the main road and paving a space in stone right up to the line of the building, under the concrete cantilevered entrance canopy. A continuous ground level window under the canopy gives the visitor a full view of the interior. It is sort of shop window for the facility.

The Council Chamber is framed externally in iroko and glass and lined internally with iroko panelling and is designed as a solid box protected by a glass box. The solidness can be regulated by sliding screens and blinds on six large openings.

We considered how this building would appear at dusk or by night and designed the council chamber to read as a beacon or lantern occupying a symbolic location in the urban space.

Client Comment
The people of Dunshaughlin the entire south east Meath have benefited from the opening of Meath County Council’s new £2 million state of the art "One Stop Shop" facility.

All local authority services will be are available at the centre including motor tax, planning and housing services as well as a range of information services on other public bodies such as social community and family affairs and the revenue commissioners.

This is the second of five one-stop-shops to be provided in the county. Duleek, which opened two years ago, has been an outstanding success and now has in excess of 50,000 public contacts per year. Further service centres are planned for Trim, Ashbourne and Kells as part of the Council’s decentralisation and area based management policy.

Speaking at the official opening of the centre the Chairman of Meath County Council, Cllr. Conor Tormey said, "the opening of this fine facility is further evidence of the Council’s commitment to deliver quality services as close as possible to the customer. Dunshaughlin and South East Meath is the fastest growing area in the county and I’m sure that the community will welcome the convenience of having these services available in their local area".

Almost 20 staff are located at the new facility which :

- Provides convenient customer focused services on the full range of Council services making use of modern information technology.

- Facilitates area based meetings, open to the public and concentrating on local issues.

- Provides state of the art, convenient, accessible offices for the public as well as a quality working environment for staff and Councillors.

- Allows for the provision of application forms, contact points and electronic access for other public services such as social community and family affairs and the revenue commissioners which is an important step towards public service integration.

- Provides a resource for local community and voluntary groups.