INTRODUCTION

Our proposal for the West Cork Arts Centre (WCAC) is to create a building which draws inspiration from the built and natural heritage of its context and interprets them in a contemporary interactive way.

COLOUR

Colour is one of the most basic tools in an architect's palette and yet it remains one of the most powerful and emotionally charged. When wielded by the residents of West Cork it can transform the most banal elements of 19th Century Ireland into vibrant architectural set-pieces which resonate with the spirit of the region.

Our proposal seeks to expand upon this tradition by cladding the WCAC with a skin which can be digitally painted to form an infinite combination of colour, graphics and moving images. By day this translucent glass edge will allow ample daylight into the interior, but as light fades it becomes increasingly responsive to artifical light sources projected upon it. Where interior rooms are illuminated, the skin will dissolve and their external presence will increase as shadowy objects are seen moving from the street below.

In choosing a material for the exterior skin we researched methods wereby we could translate the traditional facade into an explicitly contemporary equivalent.