RIAI | Irish Architecture Awards

Citation

Architect’s Comments

A Civic Amphitheatre

This project is formed around the civic garden. A slowly inclined ground plane ascends from the Street creating a civic amphitheatre.

The two bars that form the civic offices enclose are a continuation of the civic amphitheatre. Their inclined facades form a seamless continuity with the grass surface so that building and park no longer read as two distinct elements but rather combine to create an outdoor room. The ‘event ramps’ that connect the bars have transparent facades that allow the park to visually flow through, while internally the ramps serve as a space of social interaction facilitating the co-operation between different departments and the public.

The project is composed of a continuous plane leading from the Limerick Road to the top levels of the offices, forming a smooth accessible surface that connects the public realm with its administrative office.

The new civic offices propose an identity of inclusion where the public are invited to share in the process of government creating an environment of social interaction and providing a building into which the public are encouraged to enter.

Clients Comments

When Kildare County Council, in partnership with Naas Town Council, decided to relocate to new Civic Offices and Town Park, they determined that the importance of the Project warranted International Architect Competition. They believed that the building carried a significant level of symbolism for the Local Authority, as seat of local democracy and as statement for how the town and county sees itself and is seen.

Access for all is a notion central to the nature of a Local Authority. It is far more than a simple physical requirement, it must pervade all aspects of how the building process is approached and expressed, in order ultimately to facilitate service delivery from therein. The integrity of the Designer’s approval to this core issue was fundamental to the compatibility and collaboration between the Designers and Client.

For the Client, the building is like a Greek Temple. It is very simple in form, but exquisite in its expression and sophisticated in its execution — in its creation of space, in its use of sustainable services strategies and in its inherent structure.

This is a public building in the fallout meaning and expression of such.