Roscrea architect's winning design will become a reality

ROSCREA has embarked on a project which will transform the town centre into a dynamic and welcoming modern town in which to live, visit and do business and a design by an architect who grew up and went to school in the town has been chosen as a core part of the project.

Claire McManus, daughter of retired Doctor George McManus, designed the building which will be a central pillar of the redesign of the town centre as part of the Town First Masterplan.

26 towns around the country were chosen to pioneer this new way of urban development and Roscrea is the only town in Tipperary. Roscrea is also reported to be the only town nearing the completion of the initial phases - highlighting the strong engagement in the heritage town.

The architecture design competitions attracted 114 entries from architectural practices in Ireland and internationally and were for four social housing schemes in town centre sites in Castleblayney, Kildare, Roscrea and Sligo.

The Masterplan is a project already underway for two years in Roscrea that takes a holistic approach to developing the town centre and is divided into several projects, including the rejuvenation of Main Street and the redesign of Gantly Road into a fully-fledged urban street.

Claire McManus and her colleagues at JFOC Architects designed a building as part of a national competition. The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien TD,  announced the ‘Learning from Roscrea’ design as the winning proposal for the 'Town Centre Living’ architectural design competition in Roscrea.

All competitions were adjudicated anonymously by four separate juries and the judges for Roscrea remarked that the winning design ury Citation "unanimously impressed the jury at urban, building and detail scales and in making a place that is delightful for people, both the future residents of the housing and the broader town community. 

"This boldness of this proposal and its fresh approach singled out this entry. The jury are delighted to award ‘Learning from Roscrea’ first place and look forward to seeing this new town centre living in Roscrea.”

The winning team of architects said in a statement they are "proposing a project that feels as if it has always been a part of Roscrea, while creating a series of new interlinked small scale public spaces grafted onto the existing flow of the town. 

"This project serves to tidy up a slightly ragged edge-of-town condition in the spirit of the existing Gantly Road Masterplan. We want to make a new 'mini-landmark' on this prominent corner, a destination on a sunny day, connected back to the main street down existing pedestrian routes. New housing on this corner site offers more than new housing; streets are reinvented and urban space is created.” 

An artist's impression of what the building will look like

In addition to the first placed winners, the competitions awarded prizes to the second and third placed schemes and commendations in Roscrea: Second Prize Winner: ODKM Architects; Third Prize Winner: O’Mahony Pike Architects; Highly Commended: Boyd Cody Architects with James Flaus and Kevin Quinlan.

Speaking on the announcement, RIAI CEO Kathryn Meghen said: "The ‘Town Centre Living’ competitions will not only be delivering homes for people in four Irish towns across Ireland, but they will also contribute to creating sustainable communities in town centres, with access to amenities.

"I’d like to congratulate each of our winners, as well as commend all of the other shortlisted entries,” she said.

Commenting on the announcement, Minister Darragh O’Brien TD said: “The ‘Town Centre Living’ competitions operate in line with the Government’s Town Centre First policy that aims to tackle vacancy, combat dereliction, and breathe new life into our town centres. 

"This year, we see the importance of excellence in social housing design more than ever before and I am delighted to share with you the innovative design solutions presented by the four competition winners today as we work collaboratively to build sustainable communities in our town centres.”