Loreto Community School, Milford
Grafton Architects' Account
In the north of County Donegal, a 1970s school complex was originally built on the site close to the town of Milford to accommodate the Loreto boarding school. Following extensive research with the Department of Education & Science, the original complex was replaced by a recently completed new school. The design restraints required that the new school was to be a maximum of two storeys and that the original school had to continue in use while the new building was being constructed. Possible locations for the new building were therefore limited and a position close to the public road on the upper plateau of the site was chosen.
The original town of Milford is tucked into the steeply sloping landscape. The new Loreto Community School is similar is plan size to the original town with its main street and private plots. The school sits on a tiered landscape, sheltering 5 metres below the public road, overlooking playing fields positioned a further 10 metres below in the valley. Close to Mulroy Bay and exposed to the North Atlantic, the zinc undulating roof of the new school rises and falls, creating its own landscape in response to the drama of the local typography, with light and air drawn in between the folds.
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