Tullamore Community Arts Centre

A community arts centre must be all things to all people,

-to the children it is a place of wonder, where fairytales come to life,
-to the teenager it can be a place were they can express themselves free of parental scrutiny,
-for families it will be a place to be entertained and educated,
-while the elderly may hope it will reinforce traditional cultural values,
-the politician wants to make a mark, the ‘wow’ factor while supporting the community, while the donor wants to be associated with excellence,
-the arts administrator hankers after the elusive balance of efficiency and creativity,
-and the artist wants another instrument, a prop, a canvas, a voice to complete their work.

The whole community wants to be able to feel good about themselves, to feel collective civic pride but in straightened times everyone also expects value for money. A big ask.

The diversity of vision means the building must be highly flexible both in the way spaces can be interconnected and within each space. Abstract flexibility can be expensive to install and operate often being redundant by the time the building is compete. Finite flexibility which allows spaces to change between specific predesigned layouts and functions is efficient, creating high quality preparation and presentation spaces for specific art forms.