Thurles Market Canopy
Client
O'Gorman Construction
Location
Thurles, Ireland
Client
O'Gorman Construction
Location
Thurles, Ireland
Transforming a town-centre car park into a flexible community space
We developed a triple-conic tensile fabric canopy in Thurles, creating a versatile, weather-protected setting for markets, events and outdoor hospitality while retaining the site’s everyday use as a car park.
More Than a Car Park
The brief was to transform an existing town-centre car park into a multifunctional public space without sacrificing its primary purpose.
Alongside retaining the parking spaces, the site needed to accommodate a weekly market and provide an outdoor area for a coffee shop. The canopy therefore had to create the largest practical sheltered area within a restricted boundary while remaining sensitive to its town-centre setting.
Access presented an additional challenge. The confined site made the use of a large crane impractical, meaning the installation method had to be considered and resolved during the design phase.
Engineering Around the Constraints
The architects approached us with a preliminary design for a triple-conic canopy. We developed the concept to maximise the sheltered footprint while fitting carefully within the site’s physical and access constraints.
A Type II PVC membrane was supported by durable steelwork, galvanised and finished with a C4 two-pack polyurethane coating system to provide maximum protection and service life. Drainage and lighting were incorporated into the structure, ensuring the space would remain practical, comfortable and usable in different weather conditions and throughout the day.
The restricted access also called for a different approach to installation. Instead of fixing the headrings at the tops of the masts and lifting the completed assemblies into their sandpots using a crane and spreader beam, the design allowed the headrings to be winched up the masts once the supports were in position. This removed the need for a large crane and enabled the canopy to be installed successfully within the confined town-centre site.
Watch our market canopy in action.
A Canopy for Community Life
The completed canopy has transformed a functional car park into a welcoming and enjoyable civic space.
The car park continues to serve its everyday purpose, but it can now become a sheltered venue for the town’s weekly market, local events and outdoor hospitality. The thriving market beneath the canopy demonstrates how one carefully engineered intervention can unlock far greater value from an existing urban space.
More than a practical shelter, the Thurles Market Canopy has created a new focal point for residents and visitors, supporting local activity and bringing lasting social and economic benefits to the town centre.
