2007 – Cliffs of Moher Visitor Centre, Co. Clare

Architect: Reddy O’Riordan Staehli Architects

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The Cliffs of Moher Visitor Centre, set into the barren landscape of West Clare, Ireland replaces a series of ad-hoc Visitor facility buildings that serves the 900,000 visitors to the site annually. The cliff-top site is elevated over 200m above the bordering Atlantic Ocean and is severely exposed to predominantly south-westerly gales. With the exception of the O’Brien’s Tower to the north of the Visitor Centre site there are no other buildings in the immediate area. In addition to the enhanced facilities to be provided within the new Visitor Centre, the scheme also included substantial external and landscape works including the removal of all on-site car parking and the reinstatement of soft landscaped areas. It is a unique and special site that required special care and attention. Given the unique and sensitive nature of the site, the key design priority was that existing landscape and organic forms should take precedence over any building to be located there.