A planning application has been lodged by Newry, Mourne and Down District Council for a new Civic & Regional Hub designed by Hamilton Architects.
The application follows the submission of a recent application for a new flagship Newry Theatre and Conference Centre, also designed by the practice.
Works for the Civic & Regional Hub, on a .77ha site on Abbey Way behind Newry Cathedral, would require the demolition of an existing multi-storey car park.
Proposed spaces include reception, interview/meeting, council chamber, open plan office and breakout areas.
The site lies adjacent to two of Newry’s most historically important structures – the Grade A listed Cathedral of St Patrick and St Colman, which dates from 1825, and Bagenal’s Castle, a scheduled monument dating from 1480.
The design offers its own unique and contemporary character while respecting the Georgian architecture of Newry City Centre. A simple palette of materials includes granite stone cladding, dark grey clay bricks and aluminium framed curtain walling.
High quality granite materials define the ‘civic’ part of the building, with a dark grey brick to the council section matching nearby stone buildings. Green sedum roofs to Abbey Way buffer the building from the nearby carriageway and continue the soft landscaping and terracing into the public realm space.
