Client: Ballymore Homes
Architect: McCrossan O’Rourke Manning

One of the common criticisms of new housing developments is the failure to provide essential facilities as an integral part of the development. This criticism cannot be made of ‘Royal Canal Park’, a mixed development centred around well constructed and attractively designed precast apartment dwellings. Royal Canal Park, forms part of the 107 acre site at Pelletstown, one of the largest remaining development sites on the outskirts of Dublin, which will consist of two town centres one being developed by Castlethorn Construction Ltd. and the other by Ballymore Construction Projects Ltd.

Conveniently serviced by rail links, this imaginative development currently being completed at Royal Canal Park, has been designed in conjunction with award winning architects McCrossan O’Rourke Manning, with high quality precast elements supplied by the Concast Precast Group.

Ballymore Construction Projects Ltd., first became involved in major residential developments in the 1990’s when they constructed mixed developments in London’s Canary Wharf. Ballymore’s broad experience was a key factor in developing the brief for the ‘residential town centre’ which is currently under construction at Royal Canal Park. The brief was developed within Dublin County Council guidelines, based on medium-rise living accommodation with careful planning of facilities, integration with the existing rail infrastructure and use of the canal as an amenity. The overall plan for the development incorporates, modern well-serviced housing, underground and surface parking, créche facilities, commercial areas, gym and leisure facilities, bus and rail links, cycle lanes, community facilities and landscaped green spaces and walkways.

The Architect’s design brief was to develop modern, high quality precast concrete buildings, including town-houses, apartments and retail facilities. McCrossan O’Rourke, Manning’s proposal included buildings from 3 to 7 storeys in height, incorporating penthouse units and terraces, constructed using precast cross-wall construction and pre-finished precast panels. The use of flexible panel components and ornate cladding panels is one of the key features of the design. Concast’s precast cross-wall system was selected on the basis of its technical merits and the company’s proven ability to supply quality product on time. Concast’s previous experience, including prestigious apartment developments in Dublin’s docklands area, also meant that they could bring additional know-how to the project. Benefits of the system include the structural efficiency of the frame and the absence of ‘structural downstands’ which maximises floor to floor heights. Longitudinal stability is achieved by the external panels and diaphragm action back to the lift cores and stair wells. The structural elements of the building were designed by John Moylan & Associates, Consulting Engineers, in conjunction with the Concast’s in-house precast engineering team. The design utilised ‘transfer beams’ to create open plan spaces and varying floor levels in commercial areas at ground level, with cross-walls superimposed at first floor and subsequent floor levels to create apartment dwellings.

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