Arklow Tidy Towns – RIAI Town Challenge Award

In late 2024 Studio idir was engaged by the RIAI Urban Design Committee to work with the Arklow Tidy Towns Committee to create a high-level urban design vision for a middle section of Arklow Main Street. The RIAI Town Challenge Award has been developed by the RIAI to provide the services of an Architect to work with a local Tidy Towns Committee to create a visionary urban design solution to a problem in their town. Arklow Tidy Towns Team is a voluntary organisation, set up to improve and maintain the landscape of the town, for residents and visitors alike.

In March 2025 we presented and completed our final concept image and report. We proposed that Arklow Tidy Towns partner with Wicklow County Council, to develop the site for public use: revitalise the historical street front; create a focal entry point and bus stop on the Main Street; provide new green space in the town centre; use the topography of the site to create a new public amphitheatre; and connect physically and visually to the Avoca River. Take a look at the RIAI’s website page on Working with your Town and Neighbourhood for more information on the Town Challenge Award and to read our full report.