The Model

To celebrate the re-opening of The Model gallery in Sligo on 1st May 2010, twenty-two international artist collectives were invited to transform the building into an all-encompassing art project.

As part of the project, WochenKlausur, a collective from Austria proposed extending the project into the city of Sligo. With only a week in which to prepare their proposals, WochenKlausur connected with local academics, students, community activists and professionals, including Hamilton Young Architects, in order to identify small scale but nonetheless very concrete and implementable proposals for the city.

These ideas were presented in a public forum on 5th May in The Model, attended by representatives from local government, coucillors, the mayor, the senior town architects, Sligo Parks, The Sligo Arts Service, and the local press.

Among the presentations were proposals for improved accessibility for cyclists to the city centre by Andrew Judge and a project to highlight the hidden views of Sligo by Seana Clarke, both of Hamilton Young Architects.

Andrew Judge, Hamilton Young Architects,

presenting at the forum

The findings can be viewed at WochenKlausur's booth at the Dorm Exhibition, showing until July 4th.

Contract signed for new Castlerock National School

Vincent Lee & Brendan Henry, Kilcawley Construction; Trevor McDaid; Fr. John Glynn & Patricia Gawley, Castlerock NS.

The Board of Management of Castlerock National School near Aclare has signed a contract with Kilcawley Construction, Sligo, for the construction of a new state of the art primary school facility which will be located on green field site at Drummartin, at the junction of the Tubbercurry/Ballina Road with the Aclare Road.

The official contract signing took place on 18th May at the offices of Hamilton Young Architects in Sligo. Work is expected to start by the end of the month and the school is due to be completed by December this year.

According to the school’s Principal, Patricia Gawley, “the new building will provide much improved facilities for both the pupils and staff for many years to come.” Ms. Gawley also paid tribute to school's Board of Management, the parents and to the school’s hard working fund raising committee.

The Chairperson of the Board, Fr.John Glynn, wished to acknowledge “the efforts and support of our local politicians in getting the project to where it is today”.

Hamilton Young Architects are the architects that designed the building and they will also oversee the construction of the project. Project architect, Trevor McDaid said, “The new school will comprise three classrooms, a general purpose hall, library/resource room, a staff room, an office, as well as all the usual ancillary accommodation. The project also includes a new grass playing field, a ball court and play areas, as well as a staff/visitor car park and a proper lay-by at the front of the school for the safe set-down and picking up of the pupils. The site itself will be well landscaped in a combination of shrubs and trees providing an attractive overall environment for all the users.”

Simon Open Door

We were delighted to take part in this years Simon Open Door fundraising event. This is the fifth year Hamilton Young have taken part. We opened the doors to the public on Saturday 24th April 2010 and spent the morning providing one hour consultations for charity.

It was a great success and the entire event managed to raise more than €50,000 across the country as over 600 architects donated their services.

Progress Report

The new HSE Primary Care Centre in Dromahair, Co. Leitrim is well under way and making rapid progress. The building, on completion, will become a new landmark within the village and provide healthcare and GP services in a bright, custom designed environment.

Main contractor: Sammon Construction

Energy Rating CPD

The latest lunchtime seminar for staff was held in the Sligo office and was presented by Kingspan Insulation Ltd. An excellent presentation was made by Sean McGuigan and Cathal Coen of Kingspan, who outlined the present and future requirements that shall be necessary to meet the Building Energy Rating (BER) standards of construction. The presentation was particularly useful as Kingspan have put together a straightforward Guide to BER, which will be of interest to anyone seeking to reduce the energy requirements of their home.

The guide is available for download on the Kingspan website (click image below)