Construct Ireland

In the last number of years, Construct Ireland has reported on numerous innovative public sector buildings including civic offices in Kildare, Cork, Clare, Offaly and Wicklow Following in this tradition of greening their operations, Louth County Council has recently opened its new mid-Louth offices, Ardee Area Office. Designed by Dundalk-based Van Dijk Architects, the new building in Ardee is home to Louth County Council, Ardee Town Council (a nine person elected body), the Office of Public Works and the local circuit court. As is often the case, need is the driving force behind the regeneration of many of these public buildings: “The facilities that were here beforehand were pretty atrocious,” said project architect Michael Martin.” Nevertheless, forward-looking local authorities and, in this case working together, Louth County Council, Ardee Town Council and the Office of Public Works have taken the opportunity to rationalise their operations and locate them on a single site. Naturally, in many smaller towns in Ireland a major public building can be a focal point for the community and Ardee, with its population of 4,300, is no exception.