The Galway City Council has advertised for a new role of Senior Architect amid concerns that the development of the city lacks character.
Closing date for the position, with a salary starting at €88,000 per year, closes next week, on Thursday, September 26. The successful applicant will report directly to Patricia Philbin, the city’s deputy chief executive and Director of Urban Development.
“This will be a key position for the vision for the city,” city manager Leonard Cleary told a meeting of council members and staff last week, who corrected himself when referring to the position as ‘city architect’. “I must be careful about my terminology,” he added
The job calls for a senior architect to oversee two significant brownfield sites in Galway in partnership with the Land Development Agency, and other “extensive infrastructure development”.
“What we’ve noticed in Galway over the past few years is proliferation of these white, concrete blocks... they’ve no character, they don’t fit in to our natural built heritage,” said Councillor Alan Curran (SD ) who called for an architect to inform design in response to council plans for new apartments on Munster Avenue in the city centre.
“We need vision for the city,” agreed Councillor Terry O’Flaherty (Ind ). “We can’t keep going piecemeal.” Fine Gael’s Councillor Frank Fahy echoed this sentiment, pointing out that small towns such as Westport, Co Mayo, have massively improved their overall “look” when an architect was appointed to oversee the integration of private and public spaces.
Sources in City Hall said a decision had been made not to recruit for a position formally titled ‘City Architect’ as it was felt that the prestige of the title would infer extra power and influence. “The powers that be wouldn’t want an architect with ‘notions’ to get too comfortable in the role,” said one official with knowledge of the recruitment process.
