Housing at Westport

Housing at Westport, County Mayo, Ireland by Richard Murphy Architects & Taylor Architects

On the edge of an disused railway and within a ten-minute walk of the historic town center of Westport in County Mayo, Ireland sat an undistinguished and disused industrial bakery. After its demolition, Taylor Architects invited Richard Murphy Architects to work with them on the design of housing proposed by their client. Outside of the site's proximity to the historical center, its greatest attribute is its view of the dramatic pilgrimage mountain Croagh Patrick, visible in the image at left.

Comprised of 23 residential units -- ranging from 2-bedroom apartments to 3- and 4-bedroom townhouses -- the plan arranges these in two arcs, one gently following the disused railroad tracks and the other following the tighter radius of the southern property line. While the forms of these two curves are partly dictated by the site itself, the space in-between intentionally frames Croagh Patrick to the west, meaning that whenever residents come home they are confronted with a picturesque view of this important landmark.

The character of the space in-between is then of the utmost importance. The architects vary the character of the two bars by first, locating apartments/duplexes on the north and townhouses on the south, and by second, articulating each facade to its exposure: the north (apartment) face more solid than glass and the south (townhouse) face just the opposite. Additionally the townhouses include garages, though hopefully the presence of automobiles doesn't adversely affect this space; it's difficult to tell with these uninhabited photographs.

The last piece notable piece in the design is the western, developed as a communal garden that takes further advantage of the mountain view. It might be this last element that creates the greatest sense of community, beyond the designed in-between space. While the latter is the setting for those times of coming and going, the garden is the setting for shared work and/or recreation. It's a fitting addition to a design that takes community to be an important ingredient, something increasingly, and unfortunately, designed out of housing projects these days.