The Limerick County Courthouse Merchants Quay was re-opened on May 26th by Minister for Justice and Law Reform, Michael McDowell after an 18 months refurbishment by Murray O’Laoire Architects.

The Minister pointed out that this work was part of Courts Service Board seven-year capital building programme. Mr. Justice John Murray, brother to Hugh Murray of Murray O'Laoire Architects, represented the Courts Service Board at the opening.

The original building was completed in 1810 by architects Nicholas and William Hannon, the stone portico was added in 1813. The building has remained as a functioning courthouse from this time. The building had been remodelled in 1956, and much of the historical detail and features removed. The pitched roof was replaced by a flat roof, which altered the profile of the building.

For Murray O'Laoire Architects, the recent project called for the complete restoration, renovation and modernisation of the building. The task was to meet the needs of a modern court system, while remaining within the footprint of the existing building and preserving its character. Central to solving this problem was extending into the roof space, creating an extra floor, and reinstating the pitched roof, much of it in glass.

This covers an atrium which brings light down into the whole building. The new stairs are made of glass tiles, allowing more light to penetrate the lower floors. The new attic floor now houses the Circuit Court offices and administration.

The courthouse occupies a very prominent site on the edge of the River Shannon at its junction with the Abbey River in the Heart of Limerick City, close by is King John's Castle, and it is surrounded by other historic buildings from the old centre of the city.

For more information go to our Public Administration Projects section;
Limerick County Circuit Courthouse

In the Irish Times May 29th is an article on 15 Ushers Island, Dublin detailing Murray O'Laoire Architects proposed work on the building and specifically the involvement of architects Sean O’Laoire and Bernard Gilna in its proposed restoration.

‘ A house beside the River Liffey is one of the few building linked with James Joyce that still exists"… "the building faced its own mortality not so long ago, as it lay empty and victim to thieves of precious architectural features"
The building was immortalised in James Joyce’s short story "The Dead" and later featured as the centrepiece of the John Houston 1987 film of the same name, although most of the party scenes were shot on a replicated set.
James Joyce’s aunts Ms Lyons and Ms Callanan actually lived in no 15. In the story, he changes their names to Kate and Julia Morkan, whom he describes in the story as living "in a dark gaunt house on Usher’s Island" where friends and family gather to eat and drink on the Feast of the Epipihany at the turn of the 20th century.

The building now has been empty for a many years and is now owned by a trust, which is going ahead with the restoration. Although the building dates from the mid-1700’s, permission is now sought to replicate the building as it would have been when Joyce departed from Dublin in 1904.

The project will involve rebuilding the top floor and substantial work to the roof, external brickwork and interiors. Unfortunately much of the internal fabric has been lost or damaged over the years.

" When the restoration is completed dinner parties will be held for Joycean fans: there are also plans for offices and conference facilities

http://www.online-library.org/James-Joyce/d15-dead.htm

Adidas has just opened its largest outlet in Moscow at the end of February 2003. This store was designed by Murray O’Laoire Moscow, and is the 30th shop Murray O'Laoire Moscow has designed for Adidas. It is the largest adidas mono-brand store in the world, as reported by Moscow Times.

The 1,150-sq.m. store, known as Adidas-Olimp, was inaugurated in the refurbished Olimp Center at 23 Ulitsa Krasnaya Presnya in Moscow.

Adidas decided in 2000 to expand their presence in the Russian sports market. It had become apparent that they would consolidate their position in the market place by applying a consistent architectural theme to all their retail premises.

Murray O'Laoire Architects was commissioned by Adidas Russia / CIS to develop a new corporate style, and to implement it in new "Concept stores" in Moscow and the Russian regions.

The principle is simple but efficient: The architectural design should be inviting, appealing and modern, but by no means should it overwhelm customers or detract from the products on display.
 
 

Laois Offaly T.D., Mr. Brian Cowen, Minister for Foreign Affairs, laid the foundation stone at the Midland Regional Hospital, at Tullamore on Monday 14th October 2002.

"I am particularly pleased that the Midland Health Board is now in a position to commence construction of this important facility given that the origins of it go back to July, 1997 when, as the then Minster for Health and Children I approved the establishment of a Project Team to prepare a brief for this new development. It is gratifying to see how this development has been progressed through the various planning and design phases by my colleague Minister Micháel Martin," said Minister Cowen.

The entire facility, with a total projected cost of €140m, is designed to current planning and space standards with an inbuilt flexibility to meet changing needs in service delivery", said Minister Cowen.

He welcomed the fact that the Project Team have been able to preserve the integrity of the listed 1937 Michael Scott Building which will serve in the future as the Midland Health Board's headquarters' and education centre.

He thanked all those associated with the Project; Contractors Michael McNamara and Company; Design Team members, Murray ÓLaoire/ Brian O'Connell Associates, JV. Tierney and Co., Mulcahy, McDonagh & Partners, Michael Punch and Partners; Officials of the Hospital Planning Section of the Department and Health & Children, Project Team; Project Staff and all staff at the hospital who have given of their time to this project.

Mr Pat Gaughan, Chief Executive Officer, Midland Health Board, thanked the Minister and described the day as "very significant" and, indeed, a historic day for the people of the entire Midland Health Board area and for Tullamore.

"I would like to pay tribute to the Project Team, the Design Team and the Project Manager, Ms. Miriam O'Callaghan, on their work in getting the project this far and I too would like to pay tribute to their commitment and in particular I wish to mention the contributions of Murray ÓLaoire /Brian O'Connell Associates. Their combined efforts and dedication will ensure that the Board will have one of the finest, if not the finest, hospital in this country," said Mr Gaughan.

This is the largest single design & construction project that MOLA/BOCA has been involved in, with a capital budget of Euro75million. The 28,000 sq m building and associated facilities will be three times the size of the existing hospital.
 
 

Murray O'Laoire Architects' Shannon Airport Terminal building, designed for Aer Rianta, has won one of the annual RIAI (Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland) Awards 2002 for the category Best Commercial Building.

"Through the excellent use of materials, form and light the architects have created a gateway building that is refined, legible, impressive and open" the judges said.

The Director of the RIAI John Graby said

"That the standard of the entries illustrates that the quality of design is continuing to improve significantly, demonstrating that good quality architecture "adds value" not just to the building itself , but to the community"

This year there were 199 entries for the competition , now in its 13th year. MOLA has previously been awarded 11 other RIAI annual awards.

The Euro29.5 m Shannon Airport project was opened in March 2000 and was also awarded the Construction Industry Federation Construction Excellence Awards (Leisure & Tourism Category), 2000.
 
 

The new MOLA designed building for Galway/Mayo Institute of Technology is attracting considerable media attention and favourable comment in Galway, particularly for its spectacular copper clad 'sails'.

The Connacht Sentinel newspaper described the new building as an ' architectural design triumph for this city' The Galway Advertiser described it as a 'most spectacular development' and 'imaginatively designed'…"It has become a landmark building for the city, and displays a confidence and youthful look that reflects our success and proud sobriquet: City of the Arts'

The 10,000 m2 landmark building comprising of Library/IT Department, auditoria, lecture rooms, entrance foyer and Directorate for the GMIT is due for completion on the 8th November 2002.

On Sep 26th, the US Ambassador to Ireland, His Excellency Richard J Egan, formally opened the new MOLA designed Eur45.5 million facility at DCU (Dublin City University).

Speaking at the opening of the building the president of the university, Professor Ferdinand von Prondzynski drew attention to the employment potential in the research area. "Within these three centres and the faculty of engineering we employ over 300 highly qualified experts who are carrying out research which can and does change the world in which we live.

The new facility will house three national research centres, the faculty of Engineering and Design. It also acts a gateway for the University campus and a forms a hub for its science precinct. The construction of the 11,500 m2 building cost €30 million.

The Murray O'Laoire Architects designed four star Clarion Hotel in Limerick opened its doors for the first time this July. It immediately received positive reaction from various quarters, including these newspaper comments.

The Irish Times of July 20th described it ’as a landmark building’ and a metaphor for Limerick’s growing confidence. On the same day, the Irish Examiner stated that ‘in size, in shape, in setting, in design and in style, the newly opened Clarion Hotel in Limerick is the most exciting hotel in Ireland.

The Irish Examiner also on Sep16th 2002 in a Feature on Limerick states ‘the current landmark building is unquestionably the Clarion Hotel. The hotel, designed by Murray O'Laoire Architects is the highest building in Limerick and is claimed to be the third highest in the state, seventeen stories high, it soars 200 feet to its elliptical roof- a shape interpreted locally as ‘a rugby ball’. Sean Lally Managing Partner believes that ‘Now that the Clarion is open to the public, its originality and scale will not disappoint’

The new hotel is located on Steamboat Quay, and just minutes from the city centre, the Clarion has 93 bedrooms with spectacular views over Limerick and the River Shannon.

This is the final part of a substantial mixed development of apartments and commercial buildings designed by MOLA and developed over the past few years at Steamboat Quay.


www.clarionhotellimerick.com

The new Euro17.5million, Biosciences Research Institute on the western boundary of University College Cork was recently completed having started on site in February 2001.

The 6,700 sqm building houses six post-graduate Bioscience Research departments. Its reinforced concrete structure comprises five storeys over a semi-basement car park and ground floor; orientated east-west to form a bookend to the western edge of the campus and offers spectacular views of the river Lee’s south bank.

The new Biosciences Research Facility was officially opened this Summer.

"Bioscience is at the very forefront of 21st Century research and is crucial to expanding our knowledge of fundamental life processes both in health and in disease, where novel approaches to diagnosis and treatment are continually being discovered. It underpins knowledge-based industries in the biotechnology field, an area of rapidly increasing economic importance both nationally and internationally"

Quotation from Prof. John Fraher, Head of the Department of Anatomy.

The Sunday Business Post in its annual review of wine and wine described the Murray O'Laoire designed Molloy's Liquor store in Blanchardstown as:

"quite simply an awe inspiring cathedral of wine. It is Irish wine's answer to the Pompidou Centre. You owe it to yourself to make the pilgrimage. You will not believe this shop exists in Ireland. A 70 or 80 foot wall of glass, immaculately gleaming, draws you into the cathedral-like interior. Walls of wine shelves like a municipal library of wine stretch out to the horizon…. the store is simply outstanding"

In a recent report by the OECD, 'Designs for Learning' examining the colleges and schools in 21 countries, two Murray O'Laoire projects were commended as "exemplary educational facilities"

In the OECD report, The Limerick Institute of Technology was selected because

"It demonstrated how education can be improved by the buildings in which it is carried out" and "the visible and enthusiastic " placing of art throughout the college's buildings was "used to enhance and humanise the student's perception of the environment."

The University of Limerick, Library and Information Services Building was also cited in the report, saying

"the building seeks to integrate a traditional library with the needs of a modern learning and teaching facility" It adds "the architects have designed a building that reflects the way that a university members actually use library and information services for teaching, learning and research"

The Murray O'Laoire projects are two of four exemplary Irish projects featured in the OECD selection.

In the citation for this year's RIAI Regional Awards, The Students' Centre is described as

"a robust building which deftly uses strong forms and resilient materials top create spaces entirely appropriate to its materials"

The Irish Times educational supplement commented that it had received

‘great praise for architecture and pints’.

In the UCD News December 2000, Fr Kieran McDermott of UCD commented that

"it’s like walking in Barcelona under glass".

and from The Irish Times 17/05/01

"Everyone who thinks that third-level students are a cosseted, self indulgent and smugly middle class bunch who couldn't give a hoot about social issues should refrain from visiting the new student centre at UCD… these splendid facilities will confirm that prejudice"

"a purpose built centre of the highest quality.."

"It would be fair to say that the new centre has been an instant hit. Designed with great flair by Murray O'Laoire Architects"

The centre incorporates club and society rooms, a multi-purpose hall, a bar and shops, as well as offices for the Students Union and the Student Health Centre