O’Connor Sutton Cronin (M&E) for Glencar House.

The former Toyota garage site is now home to a landmark, double basement, 5-storey high 6,968m² ‘Grade A’ office building that is LEED, WELL and WiredScore Platinum. It has a Building Energy Rating (BER) A3 and was awarded the highly coveted LEED Platinum Certification.

Varming Consulting Engineers for Roscommon Hospice.  The Roscommon Hospice is a new facility that provides Day Care, Community Care, respite and end of life services to patients and families living with life-limiting illness. The facility includes an 8 Bed In-Patient Palliative Care Centre.

The building achieved an A3 BER upon completion. All space heating is provided by modular air source heat pumps. Roof mounted Photovoltaic Panels are included to reduce electrical consumption.

The largest sports air dome in the world housing a full sized GAA pitch with uses including sports, exhibition, and conference. Its 10,000 person capacity makes it one of Ireland’s largest indoor venues. Costing less than 1/6th of a conventional building, it can withstand 100 kph winds with a built in weather station to predict storm events. Current running costs are €150/day with PV panels offsetting energy costs with surplus power exported to the grid. This a highly innovative project which has brought significant benefits to the local and regional community at a low cost.

The scheme includes three pump stations, 550m of town centre flood walling and 785m of harbour frontage walling. It is characterised by an upstream, pastoral, remote controlled, 19.5hA storage area to control flood flow. This avoided 1.5km of flood defences up to 4m high and the canalisation of 1 km of natural river bank. The innovative use of this upstream storage is a key indicator of the value of considered engineering design. As well as saving on hard engineering solutions in an historic town, it led to a significant reduction in the embedded carbon footprint of the project.

A 7,000 m2 office development of five storeys over double basement. The building achieved nZEB, BER A3, LEED Platinum and WELL accreditations. The project was an early forerunner for nZEB compliance before this was either mandatory or usual. The scheme uses many significant innovative design approaches including night time ice generation and the reuse of waste heat to provide a highly efficient building. The consultant used extensive dynamic system simulation to achieve a 26% energy saving through various innovative measures. The project was Highly Commended in the RIAI 2021 Sustainability Awards.

A contemporary, three storeys over semi-basement, modern extension along with an extensive refurbishment of a Garda Station. Limited storage space was overcome by the use of Air Source Heat Pump technology to allow the building to achieve its high specification energy ratings of nZEB and BER A3. Early stage detailed design was critical in avoiding clashes and selecting appropriate routes, voids and riser location for the many services required. In-house dynamic simulation was used to validate the design’s environmental sustainability. The project was a winner in the 2021 RIAI Cultural/Public Building and Sustainability awards.

The project involved the fast-track design and construction of a new Orthopaedic Operating Theatre Block consisting of two, state of the art, Orthopaedic Theatres, with patient recovery bays, staff accommodation and ancillary spaces constructed over two levels, with healthcare function at ground floor level and plant space overhead on the upper floor. Commissioned by the HSE on a fast-track basis following water damage to its existing facilities, the scheme includes 650m2 of space in a highly serviced healthcare building with provision for a future third theatre.

Work took place in a live hospital environment where there was no interruption to the existing services. Upgrades were undertaken, in advance of the main project, on the existing site infrastructure as enabling works to allow all the necessary tie-ins, upgrades and diversions to be carried out before the main project began. These advances works and forward planned, reduced the overall program length, minimising the project risks and eliminate any safety concerns. The design adhered to the highest patient safety requirements and to the most current Healthcare Standards & Guidelines.

An Irish Water priority project entailing the replacement of pumps and switchgear in a critical element of Dublin’s wastewater infrastructure, where a system failure could result in almost immediate city flooding. The works included installing six new foul pumps, at five floors below ground level, with each pump handling three tonnes of wastewater per second. The work had to take account of very high inflows, confined spaces and a high risk of flooding whilst minimising operational disruption. Energy efficiency was an important consideration with the upgrade saving energy, reducing CO2 emissions and providing a more reliable plant.