This proposed development of the site on the banks of the Camlin as the new Corporate Headquarters for Longford County Council is an opportunity to revisit the nature of development in the Town of Longford, reconnecting it with the surrounding landscape of the County. The design addresses the potential of this site by forming new pedestrian connections, creating new civic space, and forming a building of a scale and weight to reinstate this area as a critical civic area within the town of Longford.

The proposal also re-orients the existing County Council Offices, constructed in the 1980s, towards the River Camlin and the Town Park by forming a new band of accommodation that follows the riverside.

The proposed building is a simple cranked volume that follows the river, stepping from six storeys to two storeys as it wraps around the existing building, creating a new face to the Camlin, a new Civic Square to the Town and a landscaped car park to the park. A vertical element, a handsome timber ‘Tower’ faces the town and creates a new urban marker on the sky-line, to be read with the bell tower of St Mel’s and the spire of St John’s: a triad of civic structures visible above the tree-tops of the surrounding countryside. The strategy for the external envelope is to emphasise this civic gesture while creating more modest facades to the car park and the internal courtyards which will be finished in render and windows.

Energy, air, water, waste, recycling material selection construction methods all have been considered carefully with a view to achieving a BREEAM Excellent Rating. All sources of energy loss and energy usage are minimised to achieve an overall building energy consumption not exceeding 120kWhrs/ m²/ annum.