Photo Credit: Gareth Andrews Photography
An extension and refurbishment project has seen Bushmills Courthouse transformed into a shared space and creative hub to serve the wider community in Co Antrim.
The Grade B1 listed Courthouse has been sensitively refurbished and extended, providing a new space for The Designerie, a social enterprise non-profit shopfront championing local designers and artists.
The new 15,600sq ft extension provides 15 ‘fishbowl’ workshop units, enabling the public to engage directly with the designer-makers, as well as The MacNaghten Hall, a 160sqft community space for anything from dance performances to cookery demonstrations.
Bushmills Courthouse is situated in the Bushmills Conservation Area and we worked closely with the client to understand the complex nature of the project brief and to ensure the relationship between the spaces and zoning of the building suited their requirements.
The restoration has resulted in the Courthouse being removed from the HED At-Risk Register. Ultimately, however, the success of the project lies not just in bringing a long-derelict building back into use, but in increasing social sustainability and cementing its role in rejuvenating the historic village of Bushmills.
