Award-winning Colivet Court joins OpenHouse Limerick

LIMERICK, Ireland - Sept. 29, 2014 - PRLog -- An award-winning communal residential development for older people in the Southill area of Limerick City will this weekend open its doors to the public as part of OpenHouse Limerick (OHL) 2014.

Designed by ABK Architects and built by Clancy construction, Colivet Court was recently named winner of Best Housing category at the 2014 Irish Architecture Awards.  The 35-apartment development is among 30 of Limerick's most intriguing and historic buildings to be opened to the public, some for the first time, during the 3rd annual OpenHouse Limerick which gets underway this Friday and continues through Sunday.

Speaking ahead of OpenHouse Limerick 2014, Gerard Deegan, Housing Officer at Colivet Court said: "The Clúid Housing Association are delighted to take part in OpenHouse Limerick and to showcase the fantastic work that has been carried out at Colivet Court. A shining example of a well-designed built environment, Colivet Court is an ideal match for OpenHouse. As a not-for-profit organisation, we are immensely proud of this project."

Colivet Court consists of 35 apartments and a Communal Facility arranged around a shared, central courtyard garden. The first residents moved into the €5.6m development this summer.  The buildings are a mix of one, two and three storeys creating a perimeter block.

"Within this perimeter block, a private, secure garden is created that is the heart of this housing development, a place where a community can meet, gather and feel secure," added Mr. Deegan, "The aim of the development is to foster a sense of community for the residents as well as providing high quality, modern, secure homes for older people in the Southill area. Those who visit the development this weekend as part of OpenHouse Limerick will be able to see this for themselves."

OpenHouse was first established in London in 1992 as an initiative to show first-rate architecture to the general public, stirring an interest for urban built heritage. Limerick is a member organisation of the Open House Worldwide Family which also includes London, New York, Helsinki, Melbourne, Slovenia, and Dublin and Galway.

The medieval Castlegarde building in Cappamore, Limerick Circuit Courthouse, the new academic block at Glenstal Abbey School, the 19th century railway station house at Patrickswell and the Munster Council GAA Headquarters at Castletroy will also be opening to the public as part of this year's initiative, which is hosted by the LimerickOpenHouse Committee in partnership with the Irish Architecture Foundation and The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI).

As well as featuring tours of more than 30 buildings of all types and periods, OpenHouse Limerick 2014 will also include a bus tour, lectures, exhibitions, walking tours and children’s workshops. Architecture and Culture are the themes of OpenHouse Limerick 2014, tying in with Limerick City of Culture 2014.

In the run up to OpenHouse Limerick 2014 meanwhile, children in five primary schools across Limerick have participated in OpenEducation, funded by a Limerick City of Culture 2014 'Made in Limerick' grant. Over the course of four weekly sessions, led by OpenHouse Limerick's artist/architect team of Caelan Bristow, Seán Collins and Nicola McMahon, the students have been brought through the concepts of art, design, architecture and space to create their own individual pieces. The children’s work will be exhibited on Saturday 4th October 2-5 on Rutland Street.

Dr. Pippa Little, Assistant Arts Officer said: “This innovative project, 'Imagining: My Home, My Neighbourhood, My City' allowed for five classes to engage with architecture and their built environment. The students’ work exhibited this weekend reflects their deep engagement with and enjoyment of the process."

OpenHouse Limerick 2014 will be launched this Friday (3rd October) at 5.30pm at the Dance Limerick Space in John’s Square with a performance by art collective Gothicise, a collaboration between Limerick School of Art & Design, LIT, Irish World Academy of Music and Dance in UL and independent artists. ‘Waking St. Munchin’ will bring the curse of St. Munchin to rest through cathartic rites of song music and performance. To submit your story about St. Munchin, contact Marian Sheehan on marian_s1989@yahoo.co.uk.

Buildings opening their doors to the public on Saturday 4th October: Sarsfield Barracks (10am); King’s Island Military Cemetery (10–12am); Boher Inversion / Extension (10am–1pm); Colivet Court (11am–3pm); The Red Tech (12–3.00pm, last entry 2.30pm); Architectural bus tour of Andy Devane buildings (1pm); Limerick Circuit Courthouse (tours at 1pm and 1.30pm); Mary Immaculate College (1pm); Deloitte & Touche House (1–3pm, last tour 2:30pm); Stonehouse (1–5pm, last tour at 4.30pm); Carr House, 20 Revington Park (1–5pm, last tour 4.30pm); James Pain architecture walk (2pm); Ard Scoil Rís (tours at 2pm and 2.45pm); 'Turning Limerick Around' Georgian buildings walking tour (2pm); The Carnegie Building (2–4pm, pre-book only through venue); 29 Wolfe Tone Street (2–5pm, last tour 4.30pm); Ashbourne Park (2–5pm, last tour 4.30pm); Lime Tree Theatre, MIC Tara (2pm); Limerick Sailors’ Home (2–5pm, last tour 4.30pm); ‘Ar-Kid-Tecture’ children's workshop (2.30pm - 4.30pm); 21 Lower Harstonge St. (2–5pm); Chamber of Commerce (2–5pm); St. Mary’s Cathedral (2–5pm, last tour 4.30pm); Mortuary Extension (2–5pm); Band Stand (3pm); The Hunt Museum (3pm); 'Limerick:  A Tale of Three Cities' walking tour (3.30pm); IMPACT Regional Headquarters (tours at 3.00pm and 3.30pm); and ‘Particles & Waves’ walking tour of Limerick's laneways (5.30pm)

Buildings opening their doors to the public on Sunday October 5th: Ardnacrusha Power Station (11am–1pm); Quaker (Society of Friends) Meeting House (12.30–4.30pm, last tour at 4pm); Mount St. Lawrence Cemetery (1pm & 3pm); Cappamore Library and Arts Studios (1–3pm, last entry 2.30pm); New Academic Block at Glenstal Abbey School (1–5pm, last entry 4.30pm); Plassey House, UL (1.30–4.30pm, last tour at 3.30pm); Graduate Entry Medical School, UL (2–5pm, last tour at 4.30pm); Quigley Residence, UL (2–5pm, last tour 4.30pm); Munster Council GAA HQ, Castletroy (2–5pm, last tour 4.30pm); Station House, Patrickswell (2–5pm, last tour 4.30pm); Abington Church, Murroe (2–5pm); and Castlegarde, Cappamore (2–5pm, last tour at 4.30pm).