The Irish World Music Centre has celebrated its 10th anniversary with the unveiling of an architectural model of its new headquarters.

The new building will be called the Irish World Performing Arts Village, a name selected to reflect the place of dance alongside music at the Centre as well the international community of performers and scholars expected to use the facilities.

The building is due for completion in 2007, at an expected cost of 14m.

Selected through an international competition and assisted by the Royal Institute of Architects in Ireland, the winning submission is by Kent-based French architect, Daniel Cordier. He took the symbolism of ancient monastic sites such as Clonmacnoise on the Shannon to create a contemporary centre for scholarly activity and inspiration on the same riverside. Facilities in the proposed building include dance studios overlooking the Clare hills, glass-fronted music practice rooms and a tented roof-garden for outdoor events.

Founded by the University of Limerick in 1994, the Irish World Music Centre under its director, composer Prof. Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin, was recently commended by the International Quality Review for Irish Universities for its ‘artistic and scholarly excellence, which makes it a unique national and international asset’.

President of the University of Limerick, Professor Roger Downer said, ‘The Irish World Performing Arts Village will not only become the heart of the University of Limerick, but its unique offering in the study of Irish and world music and dance makes it a global cultural centre. We look forward to consolidating our international academic and creative entity in a truly inspiring building and setting’.