Providing a New Heart for a Rural Community

Ballyforan, located between Athlone, Ballinasloe, and Roscommon, has grown into a commuter hub with increasing demands. Its population surged by 25% before the 2008 economic crash, compared to the national increase of 10%. However, community facilities have not kept pace. Claremont Grounds, owned by Roscommon County Council and previously used for agriculture, is now available for community use. A historic coach house on the grounds stands as a ruin with an uncertain future. This presents an opportunity to address community needs by repurposing the coach house into a community centre. Reusing the coach house remembers the past while meeting community needs reflects the present and designing an exemplar to sustainability is a gift to the future.

Diverse and unified

The community centre integrates the historic coach house for key functions (club house, bar, games room, meeting rooms, administration) while providing separate volumes for other essential functions (crèche, gym, sports hall). This blend of volumes represents both the unity and the diversity of a community.

A building inside a building

The new community centre houses the historic coach house ruin

A centre to foster community

A key goal of any community centre is to bring people together and create a space for interaction and engagement. To achieve this the building should be open and welcoming, responding to the context in a way that invites users. It should also be both civic and playful, unified and diverse, a place where people can feel at home.

Distinct identities make the whole

Reflective of a community, the Ballyforan Community Centre is a collection of different elements coming together to make a whole. Each element has a specific function and is designed fulfil that in the most efficient way. The historic coach house which once held an important function within the village, but has sat as a ruin for decades, is brought back into use as a games room and club house, playing a key role at the heart of the community centre.

A communal living room

The building is designed to encourage community interaction, with wedged zones between core functions acting as common spaces for locals to meet, catch up, and relax. The old coach house is re-established as a key structure serving Ballyforan and remembering its past.

Integrated furniture and functions

Within the walls of the communal living room are integrated functions that extend into the room to activate the space.

A feeling of home

Domestic actions like making a coffee or preparing a snack are brought into the communal areas to encourage informality and establish a sense of home.

A multifunctional hall

The sports hall is the size of a full basketball court. This is to facilitate a variety of activities form sports to drama and community functions. The glass wall connects the hall with the communal area allows it to double as a viewing space.

Extending the creche from inside to outside

The doors of the creche continue the learning, activity and play space to the park creating a safe early years environment immersed in nature.

An immersive experience

The gym has windows connecting directly to the densely vegetated landscape with mirrors placed to create a feeling of working out in the outdoors.