Thursday September 28 2023, 17:30
Tralee Library, Moyderwell, Cloon Beg, Tralee, Co. Kerry, V92 X092
Tickets on Eventbrite
As part of a weekend-long celebration of architecture and design taking place across the county, The Architectural Association of Ireland (AAI), in partnership with Architecture Kerry, is delighted to present Where An Inch Is A Mile, the opening symposium of the 2023 festival.
Curated by AAI President Orla O’Kane, a selection of completed and current architectural projects and research were chosen to reflect distinctive Kerry conditions across three identified themes:
Under Materiality and Landscape, Noreile Breen will present a study of three landscapes; one humanised, one cultivated, and an ancient oak wood, while Karol O’Mahony Architects’s research is a celebration of the vernacular craft which seamlessly links the built and natural environments.
For Kerry Town Centres, Douglas Carson of Carson & Crushell Architects will include the refurbishment of a historic house in Gas Terrace, Tralee, (which is also featured as an Architecture Kerry site visit)and David Williams of Wrkshop Architects will show new proposals for the redevelopment of Blennerville Windmill Visitor Centre.
Finally, Ryan Kennihan from Ryan W Kennihan Architects and Maxime Laroussi of Urban Agency will present the motivating ideas and processes behind some of their projects for The Contemporary Rural House.
Refreshments will be provided.
Noreile will present a study of three landscapes of Ireland; an ancient oak wood, a cultivated landscape and a humanised landscape.
Noreile studied architecture at the Dublin School of Architecture, DIT. She worked with Atelier Bow-Wow in Japan and Steve Larkin Architects before establishing her own practice which is based between Dublin and Kerry. Noreile has taught architecture at KTH Stockholm, Bergen School of Architecture, Parsons School of Design New York, Queens University Belfast and the School of Architecture University Limerick where she is currently a lecturer. Noreile is the recipient of a number of awards, a registered architect with the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland and a Grade 3 Architect Accredited in Conservation.
Karol O’Mahony’s research is a celebration of vernacular craft which seamlessly links the built and natural landscape and recognition of those people whose hands worked these materials.
Karol established his architecture practice in 2012. It is based in Killarney, Co. Kerry and Dublin City centre. The KoMA portfolio includes architecture, conservation and design works. Since establishing the business, project briefs have ranged from small versatile furniture, to the restoration of Flesk Castle. Other completed works include developments in Foxrock, house renovations, extensions, and rural homes. Karol is a Grade 2 Conservation Architect and Member of the RIAI.
Carson and Crushell Architects design landscapes, buildings, interiors and furniture. Prior to establishing the practice, co-founders Douglas Carson and Rosaleen Crushell worked for a number of award winning architects, including RIBA Gold Medal winner Edward Cullinan, Eric Parry, Jonathan Woolf and Patrick Lynch. For their 2010 Design Directory, Wallpaper* magazine selected Carson and Crushell Architects as one of “the world’s best new talents.” They received a Special Mention in the Architectural Association of Ireland Awards in 2011 and 2017 and were highly commended in the Institute of Designers in Ireland Awards 2012. In 2022 and 2019 they received one of the six national awards given by the Architectural Association of Ireland. In 2022 they were shortlisted in the SEAI Awards.
Douglas has taught architecture in the UK and Ireland and is a past President of the Architectural Association of Ireland. While AAI President he initiated the AAI Mentoring Forum, the Maurice Craig Student Award and co-created the first Describing Architecture exhibition. He is a Design Fellow at the School of Architecture, University College Dublin.
Wrkshop Architects are based in Dublin, working throughout Ireland on new housing, public buildings and urban spaces with a focus on social and environmental sustainability and intelligent building responses. Since 2019 our work has been recognised and exhibited at the Solstice Arts Centre, Navan, The Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, and at the Tallinn Architecture Biennale, Estonia. In 2022 Wrkshop Architects were winners of the RIAI Town Challenge special award, the Creative Ireland Decarbonising Together project, and the Workhouse Union Town Ecologies award.
We take each project on its own merit and work from first principles every time, making buildings and places that are tailor-fit. We are architects who seek to make things better – to design holistically, improve the environment, and enrich the lives of the people who use a space.
Ryan will discuss the house he is building in Caherdaniel, an extension and renovation of a vernacular two storey cottage, as well as other rural houses his practice is working on across the country. In particular, he will discuss the motivating ideas of his work which aims for a contemporary experience while being deeply connected to the history and character of its place.
The practice is committed to the creation of careful and timeless architecture. Our buildings are designed with durability and permanence as primary objectives in order to make lasting and sustainable contributions to the lives of our clients and their communities. Each project is a tailored response to the specific needs of individual clients. Our work is unified by a desire to create characterful buildings and beautiful spaces. We believe that any valuable architecture must arise from a close reading of its local context, culture, and history, thereby avoiding the contemporary trend towards superfluous form.
Ryan studied architecture at Cornell University. Originally from Chicago, he has been based in Dublin, Ireland since 2002, establishing his practice in 2007. He has taught architecture at University of Navarra in Pamplona, the Porto Academy, University College Dublin and the Dublin School of Architecture at TU Dublin where he is currently a lecturer.
Maxime Laroussi – Co-Founder, DPLG, B.Arch, M.RIAI
Maxime studied architecture at the EAG Grenoble, then graduated from PUC Campinas, Brazil and UCD, Dublin with a B.Arch. He lived and worked as an architect in various countries including UK, France, and Brazil. He founded and led Architecture Republic in Dublin in 2005 before co-founding Urban Agency in 2013 with offices in Dublin, Copenhagen and Lyon. He was president of the Architectural Association of Ireland from 2005-2006 and currently teaches architecture and urban design at the School of Architecture University Limerick. Maxime received numerous awards for excellence in architectural design including numerous AAI Awards, Irish Concrete Society Award and a nomination for the prestigious Mies Van Der Rohe Awards in 2011 and 2018 as well as being awarded as one of top 40 European architects under 40 by the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
URBAN AGENCY is an award-winning architecture firm with a broad international profile. The office is based in Copenhagen, Dublin, Düsseldorf, and Lyon with projects ongoing throughout Europe, Asia, North America, and Africa. The company was founded in 2013 by 4 partners – Maxime Laroussi, Andrew Griffin, Henning Stüben and Heechan Park and Urban Agency has expanded to include a large international team of architects, designers, and planners. In designing pragmatic, sensitive and innovative solutions, we create new possibilities for a better everyday life. We design flexible, dynamic and powerful projects that can absorb complexity and change, while maintaining and building-up on existing qualities. URBAN AGENCY adds value through design, contributing to the betterment of society, as well as the individual client. We have a proven track record of adding monetary value to new and existing buildings. Through careful analysis, programming and massing, we design innovative mixed-uses providing additional square meters for productive and content end-users and stakeholders. URBAN AGENCY believes in creating spaces where individuals can interact – aesthetically inviting spaces of social encounter. We develop comfortable and ecologically responsible solutions that create new value and identity and are economically profitable.