‘Artist In Residence’: An Artist Work Space And Dwelling, No. 17a The Mall
The brief for this project is to rework an existing building and site in the Cultural Quarter of Sligo Town into a place for living and working, and for the wider public to engage with. The ‘Rework’ project serves as a catalyst for the renewal of the area in which the building and site is situated. The building is situated on The Mall forming the historic streetscape found along this street which earliest records show it mapped on the 1689 map of the Fortifications of Sligo, formerly known as Gore Street. The buildings that make up The Mall in the late 18th and early 19th centuries was one of the ‘select’ areas of Sligo town, and was home to many tall grand houses, which were designed for wealthy buyers, with long gardens sloping down towards the Garavogue River. Around 50% of the buildings on The Mall are protected structures, however 17A is not a protected structure but it must be taken into consideration the architectural importance of the building situated on the historic street of The Mall.
The concept for this project derives from the craft of the client, woodturning. The craft is subtractive. The craftsperson begins with a solid form and through subtraction carves and crafts the piece. Exploration of the design through this concept of working from a solid piece to a finished crafted element when examined looking at 17A specifically, the front street elevation of 17A because of its architectural importance on the streetscape should remain untouched, being the solid raw piece of material and as you move through the building it is carved and crafted. Internally the intention was to create crafted spaces with a centralised void housing the vertical circulation as corten steel staircases ‘carve’ through the spaces.
