To convert and extend a two-storey warehouse in an Industrial Enterprise Centre, to create a new state-of-the-art facility capable of functioning as a centre of inspiration and education for the next generation of Irish theatre, film and television students and a cultural hub for the city’s wider arts community.
The building has been redesigned to give the structure an ‘artisan’ feel, while retaining ‘black box’ nature and functionality. Ibstock Staffordshire Slate Blue brickwork, in both linear and standard formats, has been used to reinforce the horizontal aspects of the design and create a dramatic visual effect. Exterior courses were raked to achieve an angled effect, mirroring the avoidance of acoustically-poor parallel surfaces at the interior, while elsewhere FastWallTM panels of matching Linear brick were underslung to create continuity on large overhanging soffits. The smooth texture and dark blue hues of Ibstock brick has provide a striking canvas upon which temporary art installations are mounted, extending the message of the building into the wider built space.
