Concept and Strategy
The building is principally comprised of two ‘towers’ housing the accommodation that gives the building it’s identity, the Library and the Cultural centre. The Library is located towards the sea with open aspects to ocean and horizon; it is conceived as a space of contemplation. The Culture Centre is located towards George’s Street, the main street in Dun Laoghaire, it is rooted and scaled to the townscape and houses the more active, social spaces of the complex.

The towers allow the Mariner’s Church to be framed within the formal composition thereby drawing the context into the arrangement of parts. Similarly a new pedestrian link through the building from Haigh Terrace towards the Metals frames a view to Moran House.

A low horizontal volume between the towers accommodates art gallery display spaces, entrance spaces and informal gathering and social spaces. This space physically links the two towers and is seen as an active, populated space where people can meet, watch and gather. It functions as an extension of the landscaped spaces to the north west and south east and the spaces within this zone are conceived in terms of landscape and public realm patterns of developed, ie internal courtyard and upper terrace (at roof level between the towers) are key organising spaces.