VISUAL Centre for Contemporary Art and the George Bernard Shaw Theatre opened by Minister Martin Cullen TD

Construction of the €18 million centre began in September 2007. BAM handed over this Terry Pawson designed project in July 2009.

Works involved the construction of the 355 seat George Bernard Shaw Theatre, five separate gallery spaces with public and administrative support accommodation including a restaurant, kitchen, associated stores and workshop areas.

The main gallery provides unrivalled space for showing large scale contemporary art. There are also three white galleries and two smaller ones. The state of the art theatre also has a large rehearsal space, green room and dressing room facilities for performers. The theatre accommodates 355 people and the VISUAL café has a capacity of 70 plus.

The entire external envelope of VISUAL consists of a translucent glass façade making the building look opaque in the daytime but at night the building glows due to the diffused lighting in a metre deep cavity behind the façade.

Leo Harmon, Main Board Director of BAM, said: 'We are delighted to be involved in this fantastic project which will play a significant role in the future cultural, social and economic development of Carlow.'

BAM is also working on the 570 seater stand for IT Carlow and in recent years completed the Carlow Bypass which greatly relieves congestion in the town.

BAM Building Ltd is the wholly owned main building contracting division of BAM Contractors. BAM Building ranks among the top 6 building contractors operating nationally and has successfully delivered quality projects of the largest scale for the most prestigious clients.

Further information: BAM Building Ltd, Mike Jones, Business Development Director, (045) 886 400.

Left photo from the left: Aidan O'Connell (BAM), Sean Laffey (Carlow Co Council), Eddie O'Brien (BAM), Minister Martin Cullen, Tim Madden (Carlow Co Council) Leo Harmon (BAM), Fergus Power (BAM) & Michael Gillen (BAM).