Community Library and Arts Space, Edenderry

The project is a central element of Offaly County Council’s wider regeneration plans, linking the existing town centre with masterplanned lands to the south. Located on the site of a former supermarket, the development introduces a new civic space fronted by the library and arts centre. A taller two storey form announces the building on JKL Street before stepping down to a more modest scale.

The building brings together a library, art space, artists’ studios and cultural facilities, creating a more active public destination within the town. Generous external space helps connect existing streets with future development lands, allowing the project to act as both a community building and an urban connector. Its role is not only to provide services, but to support renewed confidence in the town centre.

The material and structural approach draws from local identity. A glazed terracotta ceramic tile cladding system references Thomas Frye, the Edenderry born inventor and manufacturer of porcelain. Structural timber is used throughout, with three glulam tree structures inspired by the oak tree in the town’s coat of arms supporting the main public spaces and bringing natural light into the interior.

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