Diagrams of intervention to Stables, Tuam (week 10)

Classroom Study

Post can be found here

Tuam Railway Maps

Some cool old railway maps here

Maybe a more informative alternative to the usual outline/roads network of ireland that we use in presentations?

Tuam in words

While photographing the town for my personal response, I asked people on the streets to describe their town in 3 words

The larger the word the more frequent it was said.

Market Square, Tuam _ 0630-0820 _ Sunday 6th November 2011

Mapping Studies and Photographs of Moyross, Limerick

Below are some studies of the Moyross housing estate, located on the north side of Limerick city. The estate was built between 1973 and 1987 to house local authority tenants who were relocated from the inner city. While the houses are quite well constructed, the urban planning of the estate has proved disastrous in hindsight, and has greatly contributed to social problems which have plagued the area ever since.

At the outset Moyross was built with no infrastructure to cater for the size of the population. Corpus Christi Church, Primary School and the houses of the Mercy Sisters and LSA provided the only community facilities until 1988.

From the 1980's Moyross experienced extreme levels of poverty and disadvantage with an unemployment figure of 84% at that time. The community has had very high dependency on social welfare and a disproportionately young population. In 2001 Moyross with, Ballynanty and Kileely was designated one of the 25 most disadvantage areas in Ireland under the RAPID programme.(www.moyross.ie)

One of the biggest the problems with the design of the estate is it's lack of connections to the rest of the city..

The estate is located on the northern edge of Limerick city, and is bordered to the east by the River Shannon, to the north and west by the Clare countryside, and to the south by a number of middle class housing estates, as well as Limerick Institute of Technology and Thomond Park.

Moyross is divided into 12 parks, and in 2006 contained a total 1,160 houses with 3,468 residents. The estate is divided in two by a railway line which runs from east to west. The area shaded green below contains the primary school and church (centre), a new commercial centre (south east), and the two largest green spaces.

By 2009 the housing stock had been reduced to 900 houses in preparation for the regeneration programme.

Moyross is almost completely closed off from the rest of Limerick by a series of high walls and fences. This has contributed to the neglect of the estate, as with virtually no amenities or commercial outlets, and no through road, there is no reason for anyone who doesn't live there to enter.

Below is a map of the connections between the estate and it's neighbours. It shows that there is one main entrance road, which runs though the entire estate to a dead end at the western side. The parks at this end have become the most neglected in the area as they are so isolated from the city. The are two small entrance roads to the south east and one to the north, as well as three pedestrian entrances to the south west. Two of these pedestrian entrances are currently sealed off.

Casey's Foodstore in Delmege Park, which for years provided the only amenity at the western end of Moyross, was the victim of an arson attack in 2009, and has since remained closed.

The houses in Delmege Park, Pineview Gardens and Craeval Park have all increased the height of fencing around their back gardens to keep intruders out..

There are 19 acres of open green space in Moyross but again these spaces are very poorly planned. Most of these spaces are at the western side but are located at the periphery, between the perimeter walls and the gables ends of housing blocks. Thus there is little passive surveillance and much antisocial behaviour in these parks, especially at night.

One of the parks even has a line of power cables running overhead..

However the estate does have a lot of potential if regeneration is planned carefully. One of its best features is its location among the hills, with views over the countryside as well as Limerick city..


The primary school and church are also great facilities at the heart of the estate...


Munster's famous Thomond Park stadium lies on the edge of Moyross, there is great potential for commercial activity if the stadium can be better connected with the estate..

And there is a high ownership of ponies and horses on the estate. At the moment residents are forced to race them illegally on nearby roads and fields but there is great potential in the suggested creation of an equine centre where owners could look after and keep there horses legally, and potentially run organised races which could draw tourism to the area..

Regeneration

Regeneration of the estate began in 2008 with a plan drawn up by former Dublin City manager John Fitzgerald to demolish every house and completely rebuild the estate. Opening up connections with the rest of Limerick is a crucial part of the regeneration plan, including the creation of a through road, and the incorporation of LIT and Thomond Park into the estate. Below are three excerpts from the Fitzgerald Report:

The estimated budget for the project is 3 billion euro, and the current recession has slowed it down immensely. At present many houses have been demolished or boarded up but few new ones have been constructed, however an attractive new family resource centre has been completed.

Construction site at centre of estate..

There is an urgent need to find the money to continue this regeneration as there are still very few sports or other facilities for children in the area. There are also few employment opportunities in the area, and the estate remains isolated and shut off from the rest of Limerick..

Don't judge a book by its cover

Cinemagraphs from Brookfield Youth & Community Centre, Tallaght

This was research combining an investigation into what community spirit means, and a study of the centre itself.

It was good to get an insight into this award winning building and learn about the daily challenges the staff face.

The facilities are used by the immediate locals, as well as the itinerants across the road. Not without its problems (smashed windows, abuse of the staff, cars broken into), the centre seems to be in good use.

I spoke to two staff members and a girl who used to run the cafe. I tried to get to the bottom of what they thought community spirit meant, with different opinions arising. I took cinemagraphs (animated images that look static until you see movement) to echo the fact that not all is what it seems...in both good and bad ways.

Kiara, a youth worker not from the area, saw the people in the surrounding estates as friendly and welcoming, but thought the facilities would be more successful if the centre was located in the middle of the area, rather than on the periphery. Her idea of community spirit was seen in the daily interaction of the locals

Ciarán, not from this part of tallaght, mans the desk. He sees the place as "a different world", mainly in a nagative respect, telling me of the troubles they have with the halting site. He controls the front door (where you have to be buzzed in) and has had issues with kids running in when they're not meant to ("you can't get them out, can't put your hand on them, you'll get done for abuse"). When asked about community spirit, he replied "sure whats that?... not here".

Sarah, 18 and too old to run the cafe anymore, seems to be a success story and would be the romanticised version of the ideal building user. She misses the place and says she knows everyone from spending so much time there over the last few years.

Tuam_Group Mapping/Brainstorming

Make(&Think)_01

For the first Make workshop I chose to look at a building I visited during the Summer; Tadao Ando's Seminar Pavilion in the Vitra Campus.
The entrance to this small conference building in Weil am Rhein is through a narrow, almost hidden channel, created by the shifting and sliding of two of the bare concrete walls.

I remember being struck by the proportions and light in this threshold. Light is shared from an adjacent room, but at ceiling height only. The length and tightness of the space add to an idea of uncovering and finding.
Indeed, this entrance is hard to find, and only as part of a tour is the public allowed to enter.

In the case of our research this might not be of importance now, but could come into play if I continue down the route of community building and how accessible they have to be.
In terms of boundaries, here we see a more intimate, visible-upon-entry boundary in the form of a dramatised and heightened threshold.

 

TownLand '11/12

The Future of Roscommon Mart

In 2009 Roscommon Mart celebrated its 50th anniversary. It is owned by 490 shareholders of whom the vast majority is farmers and has been a hub of farming life in Roscommon since its inception, with a great record of retaining staff.
Marts have played a vital role in the farming community since the demise of the “fair days” in the 40’s & 50’s. From people dealing on the side of the road for cattle, horses, sheep or pigs the process developed into a business and social event in purpose built facilities where the auctioneer played an increasingly important role.

A report for Teagasc in 2002 discussed the role marts now play in Irish towns. The report states that in the 1990s the cumulative turnover of the country’s markets decreased by 26% whilst operating expenses increased by 25%. Many farmers are now foregoing the trading process and animals are being transferred directly from calf to slaughter with on-farm sales becoming more common also.

Undoubtedly the mart is an important entity in the development of a town such as Roscommon and in a way a unique urban feature– but today many believe it makes more sense to locate marts at the edge of towns. The Teagasc report speaks of the need to rationalize the industry and of how diversification is a sustainable approach for marts into the future – something that will be easier for larger marts to introduce. For example in Leiden, Holland the market premises are used 300 days of the year with most of the business profits actually coming from non-livestock events.

In, recent years the Roscommon Mart acknowledged some of the pressures faced by marts in Irish towns when they sold some land in the adjoining field to Tesco. Today the mart building occupies a central position located at the junction of the new retail sector developing at the Circular Road and the Main Street of the town. Two years ago the mart owners purchased land at Emmoo, Kilteevan less than 2 miles from the present location and have successfully submitted planning application to relocate there and build a two storey livestock mart with gross area of 12,959 sq meters. The application proposes livestock pens, sales arenas, farmers market, vetinary and farm supplies barber shop and canteen.

The location of the mart is pivotal in the organisation of the fabric of Roscommon town and over the years has been a vibrant place of exchange. What would be an appropriate and useful future reuse of this space upon the relocation of the mart?



1. Hennebry T. et al (2002) The Strategic Development of Irish Livestock Marts Teagasc available at http://www.teagasc.ie/research/reports/ruraldevelopment/4921/eopr-4921.asp
2. Lee James, Livestock Marts - The Future available at http://www.realestatealliance.ie/rent/rent-farms/related-topics/livestock-marts-the-future
3.Scott Pauline, Roscommon Mart – 1959-2009 Roscommon People 17 July 2009

view at rear of mart adjacent to Tesco supermarket and car park

map showing current mart location in town and new site at Emmoo, Kilteevan

Exploration of Boundary (1) - Roscommon

county and provincial

road and rail

secondary roads

parish boundary

townland

electoral divisions

aural sketchbook ?

London Metropolitan University - Field studies summer school 2010

exploring architecture and the city through listening and recorded sound

This workshop, carried out over the summer and led by Marc Behrens, Justin Bennett and Jack Levack Drever, explores methods of recording sound and ways in which sound can be used as a tool by architects in exploring place and community.

Through this link you can have a listen to the work carried out and also get links onto Behren's, Bennett's and Levack Drever's own websites.

Turn up your speakers !

Exchange / What Was That You Said? - Trim

Walking up Emmet Street on Sunday afternoon I noticed a black garment lying on the ground. It was decorated with studs and yellow feathers. Two young men were standing guard over the garment, and I enquired as to what was going on. They told me that the Chinese restaurant outside which they were standing was being "cleansed", and a blessing was being offered in the hope of bringing prosperity and good fortune to the restaurant for the year to come. This blessing would involve a line dance, which brought to mind denim and stetsons. Not very Chinese, I thought. Within moments, this duo were joined by 16 people dressed in similar attire, and a street band was formed. Two members climbed under the garment, creating a lion. Other members conducted and performed percussion using drums, gongs and clash cymbals, to which the lion danced. Ah I see... LION dance.

Lion Dance / Cleansing - Marigold Restaurant & Takeaway from Rob Tobin on Vimeo.

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Lion Dance / Cleansing - Marigold Restaurant & Takeaway from Rob Tobin on Vimeo.

The lion approached the doors of the restaurant and takeaway, crossing the threshold and continuing its dance inside before leaving, and "eating" a head of lettuce dangling from a first floor window. The performance lasted about 10-15 minutes, and many passers-by stopped to watch the performance in awe. Afterwards, I enquired further about the process of cleansing the restaurant and the nature of the organisation. I learned that they are from a Kung Fu academy based 25kms away, near Slane. Their repertoire includes kung fu, tai chi, meditation and dragon & lion dances.

The inland waterways association of Ireland

This link may be of interest to Blathmhac among others.

Task 8 - Collage Town

Taking the town apart and putting it back together again was an enjoyable experience. I decided to study old maps and photographs as a way of dissecting information about both towns and representing my information in two A1 size collages with as much relevant and interesting information as I could find.

For Longford, the Royal Irish Academy’s Historic Towns Atlas was invaluable, providing so many interesting maps and photographs combined into one. In particular, the information from first and second edition Ordnance Survey maps and the places and functions described on these maps was enlightening. One map shows the names of all of the alleys off Main Street and another shows the developments associated with the river and Great Water Street. Also a map showing the growth of the town in different periods and the prominence of the cathedral in old photos is worth noting.

In Castlebar, several publications in Mayo County Library proved to be huge sources of information containing many interesting writings and old maps. Some unusual maps include long maps of roadways from Castlebar to Dublin and to Westport, a map of townlands within the environs and recent tourist style maps containing useful information about public buildings and sights in the town. The website www.castlebar.ie and the Lawrence photo collection were useful for finding photographs.

Both towns share a varied history with a variety of uses for the same building over the period of about two hundred years. A huge level of growth and expansion is evident in both towns as maps progress. Also worth noting is the style and hierarchy of inclusion when producing these maps over time.

Longford Collage

Castlebar Collage

Task 7 - Exchange

In both towns, the exchange that occurred happened by chance. I didn’t really know it was an exchange until it was actually happening, so I scrambled to record the conversations that were taking place and edit the contents to present.

In Longford, I went for lunch in the Aubergine restaurant on Main Street with Rob, Bláthmhac and two other architecture students who are from the town. Our discussion obviously turned to Longford and what it needed, what was liked about the town and how it was formed.

In Castlebar, I went to visit two old work colleagues in Murtagh Jewellers on Hopkins Road, and asked them a few quick questions about the town, and they came up with some good ideas which I wrote down. We talked about the best and worst thing about living there and what the area lacked.

Presented are the edited text versions of the conversation that took place, while still trying to capture the light heartedness and general lively discussion about the selected towns. Pride of place and some thoughtful responses were evident in the conversations.

Longford Chats

So what does Longford need do you think?

Population, people!!

Ya, it needs some more people living here.

Are you writing this down?

Ya this is my exchange I think for number 7

(laughing)

So no more shops then?

A shopping centre?

There’s a nice big empty one up there.

Ha, we saw it earlier all right, we hopped the wall and got in, and we were there taking photos and the alarm went off and told us to clear off cause we were trespassing!

(laughing)

We got a recording of it though haha, so eh, do you have any idea how the town was founded?

It was a market town, eh and then the military came.

The canal too, it’s been rejoined.

...

So do you like anything about Longford?

The food, definitely the food, we had a great lunch when we came and the second lunch was even better.

(laughing)

Castlebar Chats

So the first question is what does Castlebar need do you think?

A prison. No, no don’t write that haha...

It needs talent, definitely, there’s only loads of mingers

(laughing)

...

What’s the best thing about the town?

It’s only an hour from Galway, I’m only joking haha... don’t write that either...

It needs a pub here on Hopkins Road, a pub that does bar food or a restaurant or something, and toilets

It needs public toilets.

What do you think is the best thing?

The worst is that everything is pay and display

Ya there’s no free parking.

Knowing Brian Guthrie is the best.

Brian Guthrie?

The traffic warden.

Ya, him, or the woman they do have on a Saturday

So you can get off getting a ticket for it...

(laughing)