Johnston Central Library and Farnham Centre
Shaffrey Associates Architects' Account
Johnston Central Library and Farnham Centre is a new three-storey cultural and administrative building for Cavan County Council, housing the county library headquarters, central library, county archive and arts office as well as a new cultural events space, genealogy department, tourist office and council offices. It is located adjacent to William Farrell's fine sandstone Courthouse on the principle street in the town and on the site of the former Protestant Hall.
The brief required a building of civic presence which would also be open, inviting, easy to engage with and could accommodate the complex functional requirements of a number of services. Current societal concerns obliged a serious engagement with sustainable design and construction solutions to reduce the demand on high energy service installations. The societal imperative was also driven by Cavan County Council to produce a building which incorporated the latest best practice standards of accessibility for all. A collaborative approach to design development was pursued in an endeavour to produce integrated structural and service solutions and included ongoing consultation with the client, new research and joint visits to similar building types.
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