The Minister for Justice and Equality Charles Flanagan T. D. and Acting Garda Commissioner Dónall Ó Cualáin performed the official opening of Kevin Street Garda Station DMR South Central Headquarters, Dublin 8 on Thursday 30th of August 2018.
AtkinsRéalis are delighted to be part of the team who successfully delivered the recently completed new state of the art Garda Divisional Headquarters replacing the existing adjacent Kevin Street Garda station, which is a Protected Structure formerly called St. Sepulchre’s Palace which was built in the 1600’s and was being used as a Garda station up until recently.
This building is an impressively engineered concrete framed structure which cantilevers over Bride Street and has a 5-storey steel frame glazed internal atrium. This building brings character to the area and is a great new addition to the Dublin city centre landscape.
This is the latest project that AtkinsRéalis have provided Civil and Structural Engineering consultancy for the Office of Public Works (OPW). The project includes 6,840m² of office space with a 5,400m² waterproof double basement. One of the most impressive architectural and structural elements of the building is a spectacular bespoke granite stone cantilever stair which spans the full height of the atrium.
The new facility includes offices, conference facilities, vehicular testing, garage/workshops, stores, public reception, prisoner processing areas, plant, ESB sub-station, landscaped roof terrace and associated ancillary spaces. And some of the other exceptional features on this project include the curved curtain wall, state-of-the-art offices and conference facilities.
Martina Finn, Technical Director AtkinsRéalis commented ‘This project is a very important addition to the locality. There were some challenges on the project including the fact that the site is an area of significant Archaeological significance and an Architectural Conservation Area. Along with that we had to ensure that the station remained live and operational for the Garda and the general public at all times during the works with Health and Safety at the fore of all design and construction solutions.
Through close collaboration with the OPW at all times throughout the project we were able to deliver a successful result. The final building provides a great example cutting edge architecture and engineering design which is a great addtion to Dublin City Centre.’
AJ Browne, Project Manager AtkinsRéalis stated that ‘AtkinsRéalis are delighted to be involved with delivering this successful project for the OPW. From the project outset and at all design stages, AtkinsRéalis and OPW worked closely together to ensure that the Kevin Street Garda Station Headquarters will be a major asset for the local residents and wider community’.
Gerard Harvey, Assistant Principal Architect, OPW, commented “The new Kevin Street Garda Headquarters is a contemporary building designed to reflect the public face of the Gardaí as a modern police force and represents a new modern phase in the relationship between the Gardaí and the city. The design has a civic quality responding to the specific site context of its historic surroundings. The building is energy efficient and sustainable with universal access for all. The OPW would like to acknowledged and thank the AtkinsRéalis team for their professionalism and hard work to assist in the delivery of this project.’
Read more:
https://www.rte.ie/news/dublin/2018/0830/990609-kevin-street/
https://www.thejournal.ie/kevin-street-garda-station-2-4209913-Aug2018/