In his design for the new Coast Guard Station in Doolin, County Clare, Dominic Stevens has discovered his architecture of the Burren; an architecture of abstract rocks, describing the material nature of place, writes Steve Larkin
The new coast guard station beside Ballaghaline Quay in Doolin is a tough and beautiful building which sits on the southwestern tip of one of Ireland’s most ancient landscapes, the Burren Limestone Uplands in Co Clare. It was designed by Dominic Stevens and commissioned as part of the Kevin Kieran Award which he won in 2005. This award, established jointly by the Arts Council and the Office of Public Works, directs funding towards architectural excellence and innovation by supporting the development of an architect. Organized in two stages, it offers an opportunity to develop and deliver a research project worth €50,000 over two years, and subsequently to design and run a building contract for the OPW. This method of coupling reflective research and dissemination, in the form of a building, is a radical and appropriate means to advance the thinking of an architect.
Susan Rogers visits woodturner Liam Flynn at his County Limerick studio
William Laffan previews the exhibition ‘Ireland: Crossroads of Art and Design 1690-1840′ which opens at the Art Institute of Chicago in March
