THE HEAD OFFICES of Wexford County Council and a repurposed tobacco factory in Dundalk have been named among the EU winners in the Royal Institute of British Architects annual awards.
The makeover of PJ Carroll’s factory in Dundalk has been described as the rescue of “an important example of mid-century modernism and answers questions about how best and most economically we can re-use under-performing and outmoded structures, rather than building from scratch”.
Dundalk Institute of Technology acquired the tobacco factory in 2002 and it was redesigned by the original architecture firm Scott Tallon Walker. Ronnie Tallon had designed the original building in the late 1960s.
The €46 million Wexford County Council headquarters was designed by Robin Lee Architecture in association with Arthur Gibney and partners. It boasts “an internal plaza that delights in shade and light”, while a “glazed skin wraps the whole building”.
The council HQ has also been named Best Public Building by the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland and was previously shortlisted for the World Building of the Year award.
Both buildings now go forward for the 2012 Stirling Prize which will be announced in October.
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