CENTRAL PIER GALWAY I IRELAND

Date: 2009
Area: 5900 sqm
Status: competition entry
Design: Adam Rachwał, Liliana Krzycka,
Rafał Pieszko, Paul Kennedy

Galway Harbour Company was seeking ideas for a significant building to be located on the Centre Pier, in Galway Harbour. The building should reflect Galway’s importance as a maritime and cultural city and offer a clear image and potential branding for the City of the Tribes. Competitors were asked to design a building which would incorporate a public stage, exhibition area, retail space, marina facilities, tourist information kiosk and commercial offices.

Form of proposed building abstracts a rocky headland typical of the Galway region. A single, unified form is presented, echoing native limestone cliff formations, karst landscapes, caves and wave cut terraces. This synthetic headland presents a strong, identifiable profile from primary viewpoints within Galway harbour, and affords views of the bay and harbour from the highpoint atop the theatre, the terminal viewpoint of the promenade.