Killybegs PlaySpace Architecture Competition

Eligible: professionals
Register: 9 February 2011 / Submit: 21 February 2011
Registration fee: 121 €
Price: 6 000 €












Donegal County Council Public Art Office in partnership with the Irish Architecture Foundation and the RIAI (Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland) are delighted to launch an architectural competition for the design of a Play Space in Killybegs, Co. Donegal.

The promoters are seeking to make this one stage architectural competition an exemplar play commission and to this end, the IAF has initiated a detailed and comprehensive consultation process with the children, parents and playground committee in Killybegs.

The PlaySpace is an Architectural Public Art Commission made possible by a partnership funding arrangement utilising the Per Cent for Art Scheme budget, a disability budget and a budget secured by the Killybegs Playground Committee.

The commissioning of Public Art, utilising the Per Cent for Art Scheme gives the public the opportunity to experience a vast range of contemporary art in everyday life and provides the artist with the challenge and opportunity of creating work for public engagement and response. Architecture, as defined by the Arts Act of 1973 is one of the many art forms that can be commissioned utilising the Per Cent for Art Scheme.

Commissioning Public Art does not mean merely providing the public with the most obvious and fixed solution, for this would preclude the possibility of truly innovative art. It involves a process of dialogue and expanding horizons in the sense that people cannot express a desire for that which they have not yet experienced. This PlaySpace should cultivate a greater understanding of place, allow children the fullest play experiences, and benefit their families and the wider community.
The IAF has secured a Play Specialist for the project, to mediate access to the end-users of the PlaySpace, the children of Killybegs. A consultation report, available in the Competition Pack provides direct feedback from local children about their aspirations for the PlaySpace.

To find out more information click here