Concept - Portlaoise / Place / Mapping / Locus

Following a process of research and investigation, based on; the school, its geography, social circumstance and the artist’s brief as prepared by the curator Aisling Prior, an artistic response to the site emerged.

Form carries with it notions of character, personality and function. The school calls out for a centre point, a place to come together, a place to rest and to communicate.

Drawing the town of Portlaoise revealed a geometry of movement: A historical record of people coming and going that make the place a place. In recent times economy has affected this pattern to an extent yet unknown. None the less the geometry represents the coming and going of people attracted to a centre for centuries.

Concept - Place / Student Space / Family

The geometry of Portlaoise as a place of coming and going is adopted to the centre point of the school and forms a sculptural seating and planting area. This work aims to bring colour and life to the centre of the Holy Family Schools. The work is approached from numerous sides and confronts you at numerous angles. The planting changes appearance throughout the year while the geometry remains static. Conversations emerge and different groups of students find there favourite place to sit. The work seeks to reinforce the generous space between the schools and to develop its potential as a place of social exchange. A place of coming and going, a place with personality that brings together many arms of the one family.

Material

A sculptural bench with integrated planter boxes is composed of two primary materials. Firstly large baulks of Irish oak form sculptural carved solid benches where students and teachers alike can sit. Contrasting to this are a number of brightly coloured planter boxes in galvanised and powder coated mild steel. The planters and the benches share a common complex geometry which is resolved to create a harmonious whole. The colours represent the diversity of people living in Portlaoise and the bright colour scheme used by the school architect in the design of the school.