Open House Limerick 2022 Pavilion Competition

We were one of six shortlisted practices to provide designs for a temporary pavilion in Ted Russell Park, Limerick, for Open House 2022.

Our proposal sources locally sourced and reusable off-the-shelf building materials; on disassembly the materials can be re-used by local organisations, or sold back into the construction market. Rather than using bespoke materials, fabrication or formwork, our proposal transforms these ordinary materials – used in construction and civil engineering – to create an extraordinary, ghost-like structure.

The structure itself is made from galvanised gabion cages. These also form areas of seating and low walls. The lower cages and columns are filled with crushed limestone, a high-quality material, referencing Limerick’s heritage of quarrying and building with limestone. Locally sourced limestone paving slabs also provide seating. The filled gabion cages provide structural stability for the pavilion, and a solid base for the seating. The cages act as foundations for the pavilion and no excavation is required, resulting in minimal intervention to the landscape. The structure can be easily assembled on site. The cages arrive flat-packed and are assembled in the park, and are then hand-filled with the limestone fill.

The pavilion provides a form of enclosure in the open park, creating space in and around it, with unique views and different areas of seating. It is temple-like, standing in the landscape, with its vertical cages echoing temple columns.

Project Details
Competition: Open House Limerick 2022 Pavilion Competition
Clients: Open House Limerick / Arts Council of Ireland Engaging with Architecture Scheme
Location: Ted Russell Park, Limerick
Collaboration: Cillian Briody