Clare County Council Headquarters
A new civic space for Ennis and its residents.
Set back from New Road, the dramatic shape of the stone clad Council Chamber and the sharp inclined south wall of the main office block frame a landscaped plaza, which forms a new civic space for Ennis and its residents.
The four-storey spine block of office accommodation runs north/south through the centre of the site, at the furthest point from nearby houses. To the west, and perpendicular to the spine, three pavilions sit within parkland, each separated by landscaped gardens. As the building stretches towards the dense tree-lined boundaries, it decreases in height and mass in deference to the privacy and amenity of the adjoining residences.
The four-storey headquarters for Clare County Council provides 8,600m² of contemporary office space for approximately 300 staff members, configured around a public concourse. The building also includes the Council Chamber, meeting rooms, a laboratory, staff canteen, and 320 car parking spaces.
This competition-winning scheme for the Council inserts the headquarters building into its low rise, low density context. Referencing the unique Burren landscape and Neolithic dolmens, the structure sits within a karst limestone landscape and indigenous vegetation.
