Students in the Second Year at the School of Architecture University of Limerick have been spending the past number of weeks engaged in design projects for the town of Castletownbere in west Co. Cork. As part of the national outlook of SAUL each year, students are asked to carry out in-depth studies of sites and towns across the country. Castletownbere was chosen as a place which is a scenic location for tourism, but uniquely, also has a thriving fishing port – one of the two largest in the country, and the town’s greatest asset.
It all adds up to the perfect vehicle for the students to carry out a long-overdue urban study – to use the educational resources of the University to survey and document the town’s historic buildings, to make design proposals for the public realm, the connections between the town and the sea, and to identify areas where future urban development, including housing, might occur. Although these may only be College design projects, the students hope that they might start a discussion locally about a future vision for the town, based on proper urban design principles.
An exhibition of the work, including drawings, maps and models, continues in the Gallery on the town pier.
