Railwalk

Railwalk is designed as a model template on how small towns and villages in Ireland can grow in a sustainable manner, and create new and vibrant communities.

The Northern boundary of the site is formed by the old railway line that once linked Westport town to its harbour.  The curvature of the scheme originates from this railway line, with the two blocks framing a view of the distant mountain and bay, giving the scheme a sense of place and fixing it to its location.

All units have private access, with each first floor apartment served by a generous external stair.  All the usual boundaries of driveways, front gardens, fences, etc, have been replaced by a communal paved area which ‘unites’ the two blocks and this space to generate a sense of ‘community’ within the scheme.

Internally the focus of the units is the storey and half high living room. In the apartments this space is lit by both North & South facing vertical windows.  In the houses, each living room is marked by a projecting asymmetric bay window whose rhythm forms one of the main features of the scheme.

The project was designed in association with Richard Murphy Architects.