Athlone Castle Visitor Centre
Athlone, Ireland

In 2009 a team comprising John Keogan Architects, Event Communications and Gareth Hoskins Architects won an open competition for the new visitor centre at Athlone Castle in the Republic of Ireland. The aspiration of the project is to simplify the entry to the exhibition and to reinvigorate the existing disparate exhibits into a coherent exhibition that provides a positive visitor experience to the castle and Athlone area.

The project provides upgraded visitor facilities, a cafe, shop and an integrated exhibition within the existing historic fabric of this sensitive National Monument, which has been involved in many of the pivotal moments in Irish history. The proposals create a clearly defined entrance to the exhibition, with a new fully accessible circulation route through the castle buildings. The new elements are designed as a series of contemporary insertions within the carefully restored historic fabric of the castle, with a complimentary palette of materials including etched glass, stone and lime render.