My name is Niamh Coffey, I am an Honours Interior Architecture graduate having completed my final year of study at Munster Technological University, Cork.
This website offers a view into the work I have completed from my years of study, from conceptual development to finished designs.
Feel free to browse my work I have displayed and to view my CV.
Thank you.
Niamh Coffey Portfolio
WELCOME
THE HERITAGE CENTRE
Completed in 2024, the Heritage Centre is my final year project.
The brief instructed students to select a building of their choice from a list of specific typologies. Emphasis was placed on buildings that are in need of retrofit, and our task was to to propose a new function and design an effective adaptive reuse strategy to breathe life back into the building.
The building I chose was an old mill building located in Killorglin, Co. Kerry. Given the Mill's rich and somewhat hidden history, the proposed function is that of a heritage centre.
THE HERITAGE CENTRE GALLERY
RESEARCH PROJECT
"Genius Loci: Preserving the Spirit of Place during Adaptive Reuse within Local Irish Communities"
My research project explores the ideology of genius loci, a branch of architecture philosophy that centres around the idea that the identity or the character of a place or its “genius loci”, as well as its overall atmosphere, its “spirit”, is created by the impressions that the place has on the human mind. Over time, human experiences and emotions felt in this place along with the physical and tangible qualities, become part of the place’s genius loci.
This thesis aims to discover how genius loci can be identified accurately, and as a result, be effectively respected and safeguarded.
