NODE1 Creative Gym
idirnet
plan of action · draft 3
4 oct 2026 · for the idirnet crew
NODE1 · the loop's first physical node · Athy, Co. Kildare · then all 32 counties

A creative gym in a grain silo, if the stairs say yes.

The top floor of the Grain Silo Tower at The Maltings can become NODE1 at €7,500 a year. It has to pass one test first: a protected way down for a room full of people. If it passes, sign through a new non-profit company, take 30 founding pledges before fitting out, and open with staffed hours this winter and card access around the clock from February. Halloween launches the Loop and shows the tower as the first gym. It does not open the building.

What we agreed on 2 October

kev + kris call

The Loop is the online membership. NODE1 is the first physical space it opens, and the first of a network.

decided

  • The Loop launches at loop.idirnet.com for now. Kris watches for a better domain.
  • The Loop is an idirnet project. idirnet is founding member and main sponsor.
  • idirnet Lab is where idirnet makes its own IP and products.
  • The Silo Tower is node one.

what NODE1 is

  • Drive up, tap a card, get in.
  • Labelled kit. Using it is how you learn it.
  • Open to members from every county. "Our own WeWork."
  • VJs first, then wider. Built to hand off, like a gym franchise.

still open

  • Technicians for institutions at ~10%: parked. Kris is against it, and it needs a WRC agency licence.
  • What idirnet earns beyond the network. The Lab is the answer on the table.
  • A ~€60/yr Loop subscription, published openly.

The building, and what to ask on Monday

viewing · mon 5 oct

The listing gives the rent, size and view. It leaves out stairs, lift, floor loading and services, which decide whether NODE1 can open. Tick questions as they're answered; the ticks stay in this browser only.

KnownFrom the listing
AddressTop Floor, Grain Silo Tower, The Maltings Business Park, Athy, Co. Kildare
TermsTo let, €7,500 a year · BER exempt · "ample parking to the front"
Size286 m² (3,078 sq ft), top floor, panoramic views
AgentAdrian Harley, Sherry FitzGerald McDermott, Athy
On the marketSince September 2024. A year empty is leverage.

Before Monday: look up the permitted use on Kildare ePlanning and email the agent for the fire safety certificate, planning reference, structural certificate, NAV and service charge, so they bring them.

Six phases, each behind a gate

oct 2026 → feb 2027

The first gate is the one that matters: the stairs. Dates after Halloween are targets that depend on the lease and the insurer.

One building per county

32 counties · researched 4 oct

Rail distance is straight-line to the nearest station, checked against OpenStreetMap. Listings move: confirm a building is still available before visiting. Buildings over 800 m² are costed on a 600 m² part.

How the network grows and pays for itself

fable + kimi review

waves, each behind a gate

the node licence

one membership, every node

governance

    the standard node kit

    Every node carries the same rig, so a member's project runs at any node. NODE1 starts lean; the full rig follows as members, donations and grants allow.

    the council track

      the next 90 days

      286 m², projection wall first

      space plan · estimates

      Ten zones. VJs are the first members, so the projection wall anchors the floor. The ceiling height measured on Monday decides it. The kit store is the heart of the gym idea: funded equipment gets a home, a carer and trained users.

      One identity: your Loop account is your membership

      tiers · ids · access

      NODE1 keeps no second member database. The card or phone tag is linked to the member's Loop account. Loop groups hold the tier and the inductions, and DiscourseConnect hands them to the door.

      01 TAPCard or phone at the door reader (ESP32 + PN532 NFC).
      02 MQTTThe tag goes to the hub over the local network.
      03 CHECKTier, hours and inductions read from the Loop. Cached, so it works offline.
      04 OPENThe lock releases, or stays shut and alerts the keyholders.
      05 LOGWho, when, which door. Frigate marks the clip.

      kit levels

      • L0 building access only
      • L1 bench and hand tools
      • L2 projectors and lighting desk
      • L3 audio room and anything over ~€500

      lock the machine, not just the door

      London Hackspace fits a card reader to each machine that switches it off unless the card shows an induction. NODE1 does the same with smart plugs and lockable cabinets on L2–L3 kit. The same tap gives the usage log.

      asset ids

      N1-LED-007: node, zone, number. Each item gets a printed label, an NFC sticker and a QR code. The register lives in git, so every change has a history.

      The lock never traps anyone. Use a fail-safe lock that opens on power loss, an exit button and a break-glass point, and release it on the fire alarm. A fire-safety professional signs it off before the door goes live.

      Cameras count things, never faces

      frigate · coral · yolo · gdpr

      "Everything recorded and online", as worded on the call, breaks data protection law. Keep the transparency but aim it at the system: the cameras record for security, the AI counts kit and people, and only numbers leave the building. Rules from the DPC's CCTV guidance.

      YOLO watchesThe Loop showsNever
      Is the projector, desk or camera on its shelf?A live kit board. Who has it comes from the card tap, not the cameraIdentify a face
      How many people are on the floorLive occupancy, which also checks the fire limitStream video of members
      Is a bench or bay in useLive availabilityRecord audio
      Door held open, smoke, out-of-hours movementAlerts to the two keyholdersShow footage to anyone else
      • A DPIA is written before any camera goes up.
      • Recordings kept 30 days, then deleted.
      • Signs at every entrance, a written policy, a way to request footage.
      • No face recognition: it is biometric, special-category data. The DPC fined a government department €550k over facial matching.
      • None in toilets or the quiet room.
      • Teaching clips are filmed on purpose, with consent on the day.

      The building's brain is the house's, reused

      home assistant · mqtt · zigbee

      NODE1 runs on the stack designed for Kev's house: one local hub, no cloud, every step rehearsed with fake devices before anything is bought. The climate loop already passed 6 of 6 rehearsal checks. Dublin plays no part: a live check on 27 September found its ports closed.

      LayerWhatEst. €
      HubHome Assistant Green running HAOS, Mosquitto MQTT169
      SensorsZigbee2MQTT: door, motion, climate, smoke, power plugs130
      VideoFrigate NVR on a mini PC with a Coral accelerator, 6 RTSP cameras580
      Access3 NFC readers, 2 fail-safe door sets575
      Day oneLets members in and logs it · keeps humidity safe for kit · switches off a projector left on overnight · alerts on forced door, smoke, a camera or the internet down

      Insurance: open staffed first

      talk to a broker in week 2

      Insurers find an unstaffed 24/7 space hard to cover. Some will refuse or insist on staffed hours. Brokers who know arts spaces, per Visual Artists Ireland: Howden (Hencilla Canworth), Event Insure, Arachas. No reliable premium source was found, so the model assumes €3,250 a year until quotes arrive.

      covers

      • Public liability (VAI norm €6.5m)
      • Employers' liability (€13.5m), from the first volunteer
      • Contents and shared kit, all risks
      • Members' own kit: usually excluded, members insure their own
      • Business interruption · cyber and data · one-off event cover · D&O once a CLG

      what the insurer will ask for

      • Member terms with a liability clause
      • An induction record per machine. The access system writes it
      • CCTV and a monitored alarm
      • A lone-working risk assessment (2005 Act)
      • A fire safety register

      The money: base case covers its costs from June 2027

      from the spreadsheet

      Every figure here comes from the spreadsheet, which has live formulas. Rent and the Kildare rates multiplier are sourced; the rest are estimates marked in the file. Fit-out costs €12,254. Running costs at full operation are €26,735 a year. The base case needs to raise about €9,700 to get through to May 2027.

      who signs

      A new company limited by guarantee: not a founder's trading company, and not a founder personally. A brand-new company usually gets asked for a personal guarantee, so offer a deposit and a 12-month break clause instead. Calling it a licence changes nothing: 24/7 exclusive use makes it a lease. Expect a deed renouncing the right to a new tenancy after five years, signed with your own solicitor.

      the loop's own numbers

      At €60 a year, the Loop covers its own running costs from about 35 members. With 150 or more it starts paying toward NODE1's rent.

      Funding routes

      loop + node1

      Every route links to the page it was taken from. Check the deadline at source before relying on it. The spreadsheet's Funding tab adds status, expected € and probability for a weighted pipeline.

      Sixteen spaces that did this already

      case studies

      Irish and international, two networks, two gym access models and two failures. Each card ends in the one lesson NODE1 takes from it.

      Halloween launches the Loop, not the building

      sat 31 oct

      In four weeks there will be no signed lease, fire safety certificate, disability access certificate, planning clarity, insurance or DPIA.

      A · recommended

      safe

      The Loop launches in a licensed Athy venue, with a daylight walk up the tower as "the first gym". You get the Pokémon Go moment without risking the stairs.

      B · in the tower

      only if
      • The landlord agrees in writing
      • The Kildare fire officer has seen the stairs and set a headcount
      • One-off event insurance is in place
      • No alcohol is sold (an occasional licence needs a pub licence holder and a court)
      • No public tickets or "public launch" posts

      Founding memberships open on the night either way. That is the real launch.

      Risks, from two independent reviews

      fable + kimi
      RiskRaised byWhat the plan does
      The building can't take assembly use: one stair, unknown floor loading, no liftbothMonday checklist; walk away on one unprotected stair
      "Everything recorded and online" is unlawful as wordedFableTransparency about the system; YOLO counts things, no faces, no streams
      The founders end up personally liable for €27k a yearbothA CLG, a deposit instead of a guarantee, a break clause, pledges before signing
      Insurers refuse unstaffed 24/7 accessbothStaffed hours first; 24/7 only once an insurer agrees
      Designing the franchise before one room worksFableProve NODE1 first; then Impact Hub-style terms for NODE2
      Halloween promised as an openingbothIt launches the Loop; the tower is shown, not opened
      Crew brokering creeps back inbothParked; a separate licensed entity if it ever returns
      Everything runs on KevKimiMember handbook from week one; two paid duty managers before 24/7
      Free or donation-led access collapsescase studiesPaid membership is the default; free access is a staffed open night

      Next actions

      owners

      before monday

      • Kev + Kris: agree the walk-away line
      • Kev: permitted use on Kildare ePlanning
      • Kev: email the agent for certificates, NAV, service charge

      if it passes · 5–23 oct

      • Kev: Kildare fire officer, insurance quotes, LEADER Kildare call (045 895450)
      • Kev + Kris: solicitor for lease and CLG
      • Kris: Loop domain and an open founding-pledge page
      • Kev: rewrite the "everything recorded" wording; choose Halloween A or B by 12 Oct

      before any hardware

      • Rehearse door, kit check-out and kit board on the home harness
      • DPIA, CCTV policy, member agreement, induction cards
      • Sign nothing until 30 founding pledges are in

      Sources

      as of 4 oct 2026

      Rent and size come from the listing. The Kildare rate multiplier (0.2313) was read from the Tailte PDF. The Artist Workspaces Scheme terms were checked on gov.ie. Law and regulation come from Fable's research, which cites each page. Case studies and funding routes were researched on 4 October, and every page cited was opened.