Luxury Apartments and Social Housing in Central Dublin

Project in brief
This large development comprised a basement car park supporting a six storey private apartment block with ground floor office space and a four storey block of NABCO social housing. The dwellings were efficiently fabricated using the precast concrete twin-wall system and utilised kitchen and bathroom pods for additional speed of construction.

The project included an extensive basement car park over the entire footprint of the site, complete with a large stormwater attenuation tank concealed beneath the access ramp; and a podium slab supporting a paved central plaza nestled between two blocks of primarily residential accommodation. The contract included the demolition of several industrial units, and required careful consideration with regard to the foundations of adjacent structures.

Key Features
The reinforced concrete substructure (basement box and podium slab) was constructed using 70% GGBS concrete which both enhanced its strength and waterproofing properties, and also provided significant CO2 savings for superior environmental efficiency.

The site had been contaminated by previous industrial activities, so an extensive environmental assessment was commissioned.

The site investigation revealed an uncharted watercourse and the ground was particularly poor. The foundations were carefully piled to provide adequate support and safeguard against differential settlement. The basement box was carefully tanked to provide a suitably dry environment.