The West Cork Arts Centre recently announced the winner of the West Cork Arts Centre’s Architectural Design Competition: Dublin-based Donaghy + Dimond Architects.
This highly prestigious international Design Competition attracted a remarkable 216 entries for the design of a new Arts Centre for Ireland’s West Cork region. The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) administered the competition on behalf of the promoters West Cork Arts Centre (WCAC).
The competition entries were anonymously assessed by the jury who did not know the identity of the winners, or any competitor, until after the final decision had been made. It is now known that many of the most distinguished and well known contemporary architectural firms from Ireland, Britain and around the world submitted designs for consideration. Along with the winning firm, O’Donnell + Tuomey Architects, Clancy Moore Architects and Matter Design / Office dA comprised the four shortlisted finalists.
On announcing the winning entry, Majella O’Neill Collins, Chairperson of West Cork Arts Centre said: “We have been overwhelmed by both the number of entries to the competition and the high standard and imaginative creativity contained in them. The architectural firms wholeheartedly embraced the challenge and their vastly different interpretations of the competition brief impressed us greatly. Along with the jury, I believe the winning design has the potential to make a significant and positive contribution to the urban fabric of Skibbereen while offering enhanced arts facilities to the people of the whole West Cork area. This is a landmark design that will attract people from far and wide to Skibbereen.”
Competition winners Will Dimond and Marcus Donaghy of Donaghy + Dimond Architects said: “Donaghy and Dimond Architects are delighted to have been selected as winners of the open design competition for the new West Cork Arts Centre. It has been a privilege to develop a design for WCAC in the context of Skibbereen and West Cork, and we are now excited by the opportunity to realize this project to reinforce the Arts Centre as an important institution for the whole community of West Cork and beyond.
We were inspired by the brief and, on our various visits to Skibbereen, were enthused by the ambition of WCAC’s program and its significance to a widespread community. It is our aspiration to make a building that will allow this program to flourish and expand.”
Ann Davoren, Director, WCAC and Chair of the Competition Jury commented: ”The selection of the winning design is a most important development for County Cork and is significant architecturally, culturally and economically. The new Arts Centre will provide a wonderful new facility for the region. We were also extremely fortunate to have a jury consisting of dedicated professionals who unequivocally committed themselves to the task of scrutinizing each and every submission to the competition until the winner was selected.”
Images: Donaghy+Dimond
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