GARLAND Projects in Open House Dublin 2017

Oct 13, 2017

A number of GARLAND's projects are venues for the Open House Dublin 2017.    GARLAND acted as Civil and Structural Engineers for the construction of Mercer’s Institute for Successful Ageing and Waterways Ireland Visitors Centre and the refurbishments of Belvedere College and Custom House. We also acted as PSDP for the refurbishment of Belvedere College.  We acted as Assigned Certifier for the construction of Clancy Quay Apartments.

Open House Dublin (OHD) is Ireland’s largest architecture festival, inviting all citizens to explore their city. It works through a simple but powerful idea: showcasing outstanding architecture for everyone to experience. Buildings that aren’t usually accessible to the public and buildings of architectural merit open their doors for one weekend, with architectural tours provided by expert guides. All OHD tours are completely FREE!

Take the opportunity this weekend to check out some of our work:

The construction of what is now Belvedere College began under the 1st Earl of Belvedere, and was later finished and occupied by the 2nd Earl of Belvedere. After his death in 1814, the townhouse was left unoccupied and fell into disrepair. The house was eventually procured by the Society of Jesus Religious Order in 1841 and has since been occupied as part of their educational facility. James Joyce, Austin Clarke, Harry Clarke, Joseph Plunkett, Donagh MacDonagh and Kevin Barry are amongst some of the great past alumni who roamed the corridors and were educated here. Allegedly, Belvedere House is still haunted by the ghost of Mary Molesworth, mother to George Augustus Rochfort, 2nd Earl of Belvedere, who supposedly died here.   We acted as civil and strucutral engeers and PSDP on the recent refurbishment of this building. 

Mercer’s Institute for Successful Ageing (MISA) is an innovative healthcare model for care of the elderly, combining prevention and clinical care, research and teaching in one location. Constructed over seven storeys the building occupies an extremely compact site within St James’s Hospital which necessitated cantilevering the upper floors to facilitate fire-tender access to the periphery of the complex. Future redevelopment of this area will realise the urban intention for MISA and open it up to the adjacent linear park on St James’s Walk through a shared plaza. The seven storey In-patient block is arranged north- south ensuring sunlight penetration into rooms whilst engaging with the adjoining linear park. Day Areas have balconies with south facing views over the city. The template is enlarged on the southern side reflecting the geometry of the site and facilitating larger intensive care wards. The ground and first floor waiting and ambulatory clinics are animated by a landscaped courtyard. The workshop and exhibition spaces of the Creative Life Centre occupy a pivotal position adjacent to this courtyard reflecting their central role in the promotion of health and wellbeing in the MISA model.  We acted as civil and strucutral engeers on this award winning building.

The Clancy Quay Apartments are formed from ten protected structures that were once the artillery stores, stables, soldiers’ quarters, officers’ mess, hospital and clothing stores of Clancy Barracks at Islandbridge dating from c. 1720 to 1902. These remaining buildings, located within the Clancy Quay development, have undergone an extensive yet sensitive refurbishment and conversion into new residential use. When completed, the development will offer a range of public open spaces including a main landscaped garden where once was Cambridge Square, the former parade ground of the Barracks.  GARLAND provided Assned Certifier services on this project. 

The Custom House in Dublin is regarded as one of the jewels in the city’s architectural crown. A masterpiece of European Neo-Classicism it took ten years to build and was completed in 1791, costing the then considerable sum of £200,000. James Gandon had been chosen by John Beresford, Chief Revenue Commissioner and a small coterie of Irish ascendency, who were then in the process of enhancing the streets and public spaces of Dublin to design the Custom House. The sculptures which are located in various parts of the building were by the famous Irish sculptor Edward Smyth. Initially the building was exclusively the headquarters of the Commissioners of Customs and Excise; however by the beginning of the twentieth century, the dominant role of the Custom House was in relation to local government. The building was burnt to the ground on 25th of May, 1921 during the Irish War of Independence, restoration work was completed by 1928.  GARLAND acted as engineers for a second programme of restoration began in the 1980’s and completed in 1991.

The Waterways Ireland Visitors Centreis affectionately known as the ‘the box in the docks’ due to its unique appearance. Currently closed to the public as a Visitors Centre whilst Waterways Ireland re-imagines its use in a modern context, the building remains acclaimed for its architectural merit, is built on water and accessed by way of a footbridge from the quay wall. Built in 1993, it was designed and built to represent a nautical theme – the round windows, the open aspect of the guardrails and the wooden decking of the walkway reflect this. The floor level windows give the impression that the building is moving through water or that you are even on a boat when the water is viewed through them. The rooftop has one of the great views of Docklands in Dublin.

 

 

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