Donnachadh O’Brien & Associates Consulting Engineers St. Conleth’s Park, Newbridge, Kildare

The winning project in this category is St. Conleth’s Park, Newbridge, Kildare project managed by Donnachadh O’Brien & Associates Consulting Engineers.

It is unusual to find a sportsground which has been retained within an urban fabric and re-developed to provide a 3,000-seat stand, together with the usual ancillary and support accommodation for athletes and hospitality and corporate facilities. In addition to the construction of the grandstand, the project encompassed a new sand-based grass pitch, flood-lighting, a new entranceway and turnstiles and the boundary enclosures.

Furthermore, the boundary works included the conservation and restoration of the listed Athgarvan Road entrance archway. In terms of energy, this is the first BER A-rated GAA stadium in Ireland, adding to the sustainability credentials of the project.

Garland for ALAT Free Economic Zone.  Located 50km southwest of Baku, the Alat Free Economic Zone (AFEZ) is Azerbaijan’s first dedicated export value added and Manufacturing Zone. This large scale infrastructural development involved the master planning of the 850 hectare former port and the project management for the delivery of the first phase of the redevelopment, which comprised a 54 hectare site including a 9,900m2 office headquarters to accommodate the Free Zone Authority, Customs, and offices.

The consultant had single point responsibility to the provision of an integrated multi-disciplinary team, supported by a number of well established strategic partners. The scheme demonstrates excellence in the project management and delivery of a large piece of international infrastructure.

Digital Manufacturing Ireland (DMI) is an industry-led, Government supported, National Centre which will enable firms to access, adopt and accelerate new digital technologies to solve real world challenges and drive future competitiveness. The centre aims to position Ireland as an exemplar in end-to-end digital transformation. The building includes support offices and break out spaces to encourage collaborative work practices. The consultant visited similar facilities in the UK at an early stage of the project development to identify current best practice and provided a wide range of services including design team project management, stakeholder liaison and regulatory approval management.

The project comprises a 4km piped replacement of the Callowhill Tunnel, an 80 megalitre/day treatment plant and an 80 megalitre storage reservoir supplying 200,000 consumers. It had numerous stakeholders and interest groups coupled with critical interfaces including SAC’s and Grade A dams. Planning permission was a significant risk which led to its division into three independent projects. The consultant prepared a detailed Stakeholder Engagement Plan and assigned a senior resource to manage same. A highly complex and critical project which would not have enjoyed the ultimate success that it did without expert engineering project management.