Saint Vincent de Paul, Gorey

Commissioned by the St. Vincent de Paul Society, PKA's Gorey, Co. Wexford development consists of two elements: the renovation, extension, and conversion of a former Christian Brothers' monastery into a hostel for the elderly, and the construction of 21 social housing units in the grounds to the rear.

Located within the town centre, close to shops and the adjacent parish church, the focus of PKA's design is the creation of an attractive communal garden for the residents. Both the hostel and the houses look onto this, and the mature beech tree at its centre.

The plan is composed of two ranges of houses that line the perimeter of the site on two sides. The single-storey terrace on the north side contains eight elderly persons' houses; the four two-storey units on the south side provide emergency accommodation for Wexford County Council.

The hostel conversion of the former monastery provides eight bedrooms, plus dining and social facilities for the entire development.

The architectural language is simple and economic: rendered walls, metal roofs, timber windows and cedar cladding are used to link the three elements of the composition, creating an identifiable character and a sense of place that gives residents pride in where they live.

The project has received a number of national awards, including the 2005 Irish Council for Social Housing Community Housing Award, Best Housing Project in the 2005 RIAI Awards, and an OPUS Architecture and Construction Award in 2005. In addition, it was highly commended in the 2009 RIAI Silver Medal for Housing, Ireland's premier housing design award.

Client: Society of St.Vincent de Paul
Value: €2,150,000
Size: 21 No. units

Reference: Mr. Matt Lacey, Society of St.Vincent de Paul, Gorey.
Design: 2001
Completion: 2005