RIAI | Irish Architecture Awards

Citation

There were 29 entries in the Best Leisure Building category, with an award to the sculptural Tailteann project at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick. The Jury were somewhat disappointed in the standard of projects in this class, given the potential for interesting solutions to the varied briefs for this building type.

Architect's Comments:

Occupying a prominent location on the new entrance route through the mature landscape of Mary Immaculate College, this building was conceived as a pavilion type structure announcing an as yet unrealised extensive redevelopment of the existing campus. Set against a backdrop of trees, the building is intended to have a powerful visual impact when viewed from a distance. When approached on foot a sequence of external spaces lend human scale to what is otherwise a large ‘stand alone’ structure. Three halls are accommodated within the building; one large hall, used for recreational sport, examinations and the annual conferral ceremony and two smaller halls dedicated to the tuition of physical education. The sloping topography of the site enables the main entrance to be located at the upper podium level, allowing access directly into the public viewing area which affords views into the larger hall and out over the playing pitch. The roof structure of the large hall, which spans diagonally across the hall, is a dynamic response to the requirement for north light. Externally, roof elements are clad in black zinc, which contrasts strongly with the flamed Irish limestone used for the main body of the building.

Client's Comments:

Mary Immaculate College is a College of Education and the Liberal Arts academically linked to the University of Limerick. The college has grown in an organic fashion since its inception in 1898, and in 1999 a Masterplan was prepared for the orderly redevelopment of the Campus. The Masterplan proposed a new main entrance to the Campus which would relieve traffic congestion at the exiting entrance, but would also create a new route through the parkland setting to the south of the Campus, which was previously hidden from public view. Tailteann was the first building to be realized from the Masterplan, and it was intended that this building would form a strong focal point for the re-orientated entrance to the College. The brief for the building was challenging in that it must accommodate the programme for the tuition of Physical Education, but also provide for recreational sport. In addition to this the building would be used for College examinations and the annual conferral ceremony. Tailteann has met the above functional requirements and in terms of quality and ambition, projects a new image for the redeveloped Campus.