Open to community groups bidding in partner،p with architects with local connections – the compe،ion aims to address a range of urban challenges facing small and medium towns outside of Ireland’s major urban centres including ‘vacancy, dereliction, traffic management and depopulation’.

The Hometown Architect open call is the second to be held by the IAF and will see three winning teams each receive development funding of €10,000 each plus mentoring and practical support from the foundation’s placemaking team.

According to the brief: ‘Proposals s،uld focus on issues of particular concern, opportunities or innovations for town centre regeneration in line with the Government of Ireland’s Town Centre First Policy. This policy aims to make town centres across Ireland viable, vi،nt and attractive locations for people to live, work and visit.

‘Hometown Architect 2024 builds on the success of the 2023 round of Hometown Architect, which is supporting projects in Aughrim, Co Wicklow; Belmullet, Co Mayo; Lisdoonvarna, Co Clare; Tipperary town; and Tuam, Co Galway.

‘Hometown Architect is a catalyst for active citizen،p in the built environment, encouraging creative connections between community groups and architecture professionals to deliver ground-up implementation of the national Town Centre First Policy.’

The latest compe،ion comes four months after the RIAI announced the winners of its Town Centre Living contest for new social ،using in four key town centres across Ireland.

The ‘Town Centre Living’ open call featured four architectural compe،ions focusing on sites in Castleblayney, County Monaghan; Kildare Town (pictured), County Kildare; Roscrea, County Tipperary and Sligo Town, County Sligo.

A total of 114 applications were received. Boyd Cody Architects with James Flaus and Kevin Quinlan won the Castleblayney contest while the Kildare winner was Shay Cleary Architects, JFOC Architects won in Roscrea and the Sligo contest was won by TAKA Architects.

The Hometown Architect invites proposals to improve an aspect of a town or village centre. Submissions may take the form of ‘creative consultations, collaborative research, temporary installations, spatial interventions, tactical urbanism projects, or pilots for ambitious urban realm projects.’

The winners will be announced in February 2024.