Pilots > Ballina
Connecting communities through an integrated and participatory approach to the cultural heritage and future of Ballina
Established as a town in 1723 with earlier origins associated with the foundation of the Augustinian Abbey in 1427, Ballina, Béal an Átha (mouth of the ford) is a town on the Wild Atlantic Way in County Mayo, Ireland.
The topography, buildings, designed landscapes and material culture of Ballina’s historic core confirm integral relationships between the natural and built environment that will be researched and activated by the inspiration of the European Green Deal and the New European Bauhaus.
HeritACT action
Convent of the Immaculate Conception, All-Hallows
The building is listed in the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage as an important component of the 19th century-built heritage of Ballina. Therefore the convent has social, cultural and architectural value, and contributes to the sense of place and belonging in the town, and to social cohesion and community resilience.
The pilot project explores the potential of institutional buildings and sites to provide distributed centres for the EU Green Deal and the NEB in Irish towns, relating to the preservation of social, cultural, and artistic heritage and the integration of new communities.
The pilot proposes using an artist-led / culture-led urban regeneration strategy, reintroducing spaces into the community’s memory and experience of the town through an interventionist approach and demonstrating the potential of the reuse of institutional sites and buildings to transform the lived experience of all members of the community, generating a sense of belonging, attachment, and inclusion.
HeritACT use cases
1. Small-scale Pavilion structure.
2. Digitally fabricated vegetable garden.
3. Temporary structures from recycled material.
4. Reactivation of opens spaces through NBS.
5. Projection mapping on kinetic surfaces.
6. AR enriched human-space interaction.