Galway Docks Development
The final year design project for the BSc (Ord) Architectural Technology in Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology 2011 involved the design of a mixed-use development on a derelict site in the docks area of Galway City.
The final design I created has won great acclaim from lecturers and fellow students alike. It was designed as a six storey building, incorporating aground floor retail area consisting of a bookshop and bar/restaurant, with twenty-four apartments above and forty-five parking spaces below in the basement, for residents use only. The ground floor retail functions were clearly legible from the outside of the building,
The two key features of the project which I focused on were firstly to ensure continuity of the waterproofing and secondly to maintain the buildings’ thermal envelope. The proposed building’s location left it exposed to harsh climate conditions including horizontal wind-driven rain.
I chose a weather barrier double skin façade to the southwest and southeast, effectively protecting the inner façade from the wind-driven rain, while allowing more flexibility in the aesthetic of these façades.
The final design I created has won great acclaim from lecturers and fellow students alike. It was designed as a six storey building, incorporating aground floor retail area consisting of a bookshop and bar/restaurant, with twenty-four apartments above and forty-five parking spaces below in the basement, for residents use only. The ground floor retail functions were clearly legible from the outside of the building,
The two key features of the project which I focused on were firstly to ensure continuity of the waterproofing and secondly to maintain the buildings’ thermal envelope. The proposed building’s location left it exposed to harsh climate conditions including horizontal wind-driven rain.
I chose a weather barrier double skin façade to the southwest and southeast, effectively protecting the inner façade from the wind-driven rain, while allowing more flexibility in the aesthetic of these façades.
My design incorporated ‘Kilkenny Blue’limestone cladding at ground and first floor levels, whereas the upper levels were clad in a rainscreen fibre-cement board. One hundred millimetre closed-cell rigid board insulation was used throughout all stories to ensure the complete elimination of thermal bridges.
My design used cast in-situ concrete columns and flat plate floor slabs. I utilized a three hundred millimeter thick flat plate slab, with a regular grid pattern,allowing a maximum span of 8m throughout. The choice of flat slab facilitated ease of installation, services integration and the possibility of exposed ceilings,if required. Upstand edge beams were incorporated to provide an edge to finish the floor insulation and screeds up to, creating a neat, buildable detail. The floors were supported by a combination of 400mm square columns where practical for clean detailing and a more user-friendly choice of 400mm round columns on the external double height open-plan space visible on the south west façade.
My design used cast in-situ concrete columns and flat plate floor slabs. I utilized a three hundred millimeter thick flat plate slab, with a regular grid pattern,allowing a maximum span of 8m throughout. The choice of flat slab facilitated ease of installation, services integration and the possibility of exposed ceilings,if required. Upstand edge beams were incorporated to provide an edge to finish the floor insulation and screeds up to, creating a neat, buildable detail. The floors were supported by a combination of 400mm square columns where practical for clean detailing and a more user-friendly choice of 400mm round columns on the external double height open-plan space visible on the south west façade.
As part of this initial design, I wanted to express the different floor levels on each elevation. I utilized cantilevered sections of horizontal precast concrete bands to define where the floor level was on each façade. In order to eliminate a thermal bridge which would have been created by exposing the structure on the outside, a “Halfen HIT” balcony connection system thermal break was detailed and integrated, to connect the precast units back to the in-situ structure.This also provided a sufficient fire stop in the cavity wall between compartments at each storey-height.
I also specified a non-exposed aggregate, incorporated within a smooth formwork finish for the external precast concrete bands, because this would provide the most aesthetically pleasing finish for his project, in keeping with his designs’overall contemporary look.
I also specified a non-exposed aggregate, incorporated within a smooth formwork finish for the external precast concrete bands, because this would provide the most aesthetically pleasing finish for his project, in keeping with his designs’overall contemporary look.
I used a three hundred millimeter deep in-situ reinforced concrete wall around two central stair-shaft and services core combined installations, to ensure structural integrity in the event of fire and lateral bracing of the structure. Two more fire stairs were located on the external walls at opposing corners of the building, which were designed to rise only to the commercial floor spaces and down into the basement, in accordance with the fire requirements of the current Irish Building Regulations.
A high water table and poor ground conditions were to be expected in the Docks area in Galway, so a concrete ‘plug’ was utilized by incorporating a four hundred millimeter thick foundation slab. The basement was designed as a balanced base foundation, working on the principal that the amount of ground removed was to be replaced with an equal mass from the building. This worked in conjunction with an even load distribution, where excessive and eccentric loading were avoided by keeping the column rhythm uniform and as evenly spaced as possible, with regular span intervals from the floors above.
I used a three hundred millimeter deep in-situ reinforced concrete retaining wall around the basement, with a post-applied bitumen waterproofing layer, thus providing an externally tanked basement.
A high water table and poor ground conditions were to be expected in the Docks area in Galway, so a concrete ‘plug’ was utilized by incorporating a four hundred millimeter thick foundation slab. The basement was designed as a balanced base foundation, working on the principal that the amount of ground removed was to be replaced with an equal mass from the building. This worked in conjunction with an even load distribution, where excessive and eccentric loading were avoided by keeping the column rhythm uniform and as evenly spaced as possible, with regular span intervals from the floors above.
I used a three hundred millimeter deep in-situ reinforced concrete retaining wall around the basement, with a post-applied bitumen waterproofing layer, thus providing an externally tanked basement.
