Hawkins\/Brown will work alongside Wexford County Council (WCC) and F\u00e1ilte Ireland on a project which will see the former Bank of Ireland building and adjacent Grain Store transformed into a new multi-purpose tourist attraction. <\/p>\n
A building to the rear of the Grain Store will be demolished with a new pavilion built as a flexible space for teaching and events, the design will feature an enclosed courtyard and, from the upper levels of the centre, visitors will be able to look down on a map of Norman Wexford in the stonework of the central courtyard.<\/p>\n
Incorporating a caf\u00e9, retail, and interactive exhibition spaces, and providing a new home for the celebrated Ros Tapestry, the centre will be a vibrant cultural hub and act as a gateway to the Norman heritage sites of Ireland\u2019s southeast.<\/p>\n
Hawkins\\Brown project architect Rachel Dunne said: \u201cFor us, it was important that the design feels like it truly belongs in New Ross \u2013 shaped by its history, yet alive to the way people experience the town today. By bringing new life to these historic buildings and reconnecting the high street with the river, we want to create a place where people can come together, learn, and share.\u201d<\/p>\n
Colin Mackay, who leads Hawkins\\Brown\u2019s Studio Ireland, said, \u201cWe\u2019re thrilled to work with Wexford County Council and F\u00e1ilte Ireland on the design and delivery of the Norman-themed visitor centre. This project represents an opportunity to build on the reinvigoration of New Ross through creating an attraction of scale for local, national and international visitors.<\/p>\n
“The support from both clients has been hugely positive and ambitious; it\u2019s been a pleasure to work with them through the planning process, and we look forward to continuing our collaboration during delivery.\u201d<\/p>\n
Expected to be completed in 2027 to coincide with the European Year of the Normans celebrations, the centre will, according to the chief executive of WCC, regenerate two buildings which have lain vacant for a number of years. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe centre encapsulates the Norman history still evident throughout New Ross and the Hook Peninsula, and will be the gateway to Norman Wexford for visitors, while also regenerating two prominent properties in the centre of the town,\u201d said Eddie Taaffe. \u201cIt will play a strong part in Ireland\u2019s commemoration of the 1000th Anniversary of the birth of William the Conqueror, the first Norman King of England.\u201d<\/p>\n
Orla Carroll, Director Product Development at F\u00e1ilte Ireland said this initiative marks a \u201csignificant step in enhancing Wexford\u2019s tourism offering\u201d.<\/p>\n
“By creating a compelling, all-weather experience that brings the Norman story to life, this project will encourage visitors to stay longer and explore more of the area, and the wider Ireland\u2019s Ancient East region. It also closely aligns with the objectives of F\u00e1ilte Ireland\u2019s recently launched Wexford Destination and Experience Development Plan, which aims to develop a sustainable tourism destination by extending the tourism season and spreading business across all parts of the region over the next five years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hawkins\/Brown will work alongside Wexford County Council (WCC) and F\u00e1ilte Ireland on a project which will see the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":131967,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[307,304,305,306,308,93,61,60,920],"class_list":{"0":"post-131966","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-artsdesign","12":"tag-design","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-ie","15":"tag-ireland","16":"tag-simon-bourke"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131966"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131966\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}