d-on architects ltd acted as Design Team leaders for a multi-disciplinary team made up of Structural Engineer, Civil Engineer, M&E Engineers, Landscape Architects, Acoustic Consultant & BREEAM Assessor for the new build St Bronagh’s Youth Club building, Rostrevor. The brief called for a Youth Club building accommodating sports areas including Sports Hall, Multi-Purpose Hall, Community Room, Changing Rooms with accessible changing, Break out Rooms, offices, ancillary accommodation, etc. We led the Pre-Application Discussions with the Planning Authority and co-ordinated the Planning Application securing approval for demolition of an existing building within the Conservation Area and construction of the new Youth Club building within the Conservation Area. We led consultations with key stakeholders of the Youth Club & Department of Education Youth Services as well as public consultations with the wider community. We led consultations with Historic Environment Division addressing issues for the design of a new building within the Conservation Area. The schedule of accommodation and layout of the youth club building followed the Department of Education Handbook. The design of the building in this context evolved from a response to the landscape and is conceived as a timber clad building. The elevated site is viewed primarily from the main road within Rostrevor called Church Street which connects Rostrevor to Hilltown but is also viewed from Cherry Hill where the new building is set against backdrop of the treed landscape. The scale of the building is broken down into a number of timber ‘boxes’ that step down in height as the building approaches the original school building retained on the site. A new external space has been created between the original building and the new youth club building. Dramatic views down Carlingford Lough are visible from this new public space. These views are also captured by glazing to the corners of each ‘box’. The elevation facing the new public space has increased glazing with sliding doors to allow the accommodation to spill out into the external space. The site was re-wilded turning previously tarmacadam areas into native planted areas, softening boundaries and the building setting as well as providing new habitat for wildlife and new wildlife corridors.