A local architect has won the architectural design competition for ‘Town Centre Living’ in Roscrea.
These competitions were launched in January aimed at encouraging innovative designs from firms for social housing within towns to progress the Government’s Town Centre First policy.
Claire McManus who is originally from the area is an architect with JFOC and chose to work on this project because of her local knowledge and her feeling that Roscrea was crying out for investment and attention.
The project serves to tidy up a slightly ragged edge-of-town in keeping with the existing Gantly Road Masterplan and create a new “mini-landmark” on this corner.
Claire says it will be a while before they are on site but that the design works with the existing landscape of the town- with consideration given to socialisation.
“We looked at the housing on Limerick Street so anyone familiar with Roscrea will know the Burgoo housing on Limerick Street where you have houses right on the pavement and little porches set back at ground level only so you kind of have these porches with these bedrooms above and because you are so close to the pavement there is no way you can sit out and not get to know people so it is very successful from the point of view of urban design and getting to know your neighbours so that was our starting point.”
Claire told Tipp FM it is unusual to see this style of housing a small town, however, it will be a modest.
“When we say landmark that might imply something very big and out of scale. It is a modest scheme it is three storeys stepping down into two storeys as you go down chapel lane and in fact we have single story little cottages backing on to the existing single story houses so it will git vey comfortably with everything else in the neighbourhood.”
