Grand Opening of Portlaoise Civic Plaza
The Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, Mr. Brian Cowen, T.D. officially opened Portlaoise Civic Plaza on Monday 21st April, 2008. Portlaoise Civic Plaza is a major flagship urban project on a very strategic and prominent site adjacent to County Hall on James Fintan Lalor Avenue.
Brian Cowan speaking at the grand opening of the Civic Plaza. Also seated above are from LtoR: Joe Meila, James Deegan, John Moran, Rotimi Adebari, Dr. Margaret Heffernan (Dunne Stores), Peter Carey, Rev. Hillary Dungan and Fr. John Byrne.
The objective of Laois County Council was to provide a civic space of appropriate strength and scale which also contained an element of car parking.
The Plaza is divided between a green park and an open hard paved civic square with a pedestrian link connecting both elements – each with a different character and function.
The park is a green space suitable for casual everyday usage such as lunch breaks, lounging around. The horizontal granite slabs and hedges segment the area and provide opportunities for seating. During the night illumination transforms these walls into a piece of land-art.
A View from above of the Civic Plaza
The formal civic square provides a hard landscaped civic area which is designed to accommodate open air events such as concerts, meeting, recitals etc.
Computer controlled water jets, feature lighting, seating and street furniture have created a civic environment which has life and visual quality appropriate to both its location and function in the centre of Portlaoise.
Mature trees and landscaping has been used to give immediate visual effect.
The double deck car parking, with a total of 180 spaces in the area, has been designed to minimise its visual impact and provide a sense of enclosure to the civic space.
Realisation of this project would not have been possible without the very kind support and generosity of Dunnes Stores who donated the site for the plaza for use by the people of Laois.
A View from the Stage at the Grand Opening of the Civic Plaza
The total project cost is in excess of €3.5m. Financial assistance was made available by the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local government through the Operational Programme for Urban and Village Development.
