Redevelopment of St. Vincent's, Fairview
This project provides a best-in-class, integrated, and sustainable residential development and a state-of-the-art new mental health facility that will serve the local community.
The residential development will provide much needed housing, while protecting and enhancing the character of Fairview and its environs. New and carefully considered interventions combine with repurposed and restored historic structures which are given a new lease of life in a sustainable urban development that protects and nurtures the cultural and community legacy of the site.
The new healthcare facility is urgently needed to provide modern standards of services and will replace the existing aging facilities.
Living
A critical aspect to any new residential development is the importance of placemaking – to create high quality places for people to live. Placemaking brings character and identity to a new development through working with the existing physical characteristics of the site and surrounding context to inform the design process from initial concept to a considered, resolved design that is the most appropriate development for the site.
Planning permission has been granted for 779 apartments comprising 18 studios, 375 1-bed, 315 2-bed, and 54 3-bed apartments. In line with Dublin City Council requirements, 118 of the apartments are laid out to universal design guidelines.
Extensive shared and public external spaces, incorporating children’s play areas and allotments, are provided with new pedestrian and cycling links to the surrounding neighbourhoods. There is also a range of residential amenity spaces provided throughout the site along with secure car and bicycle parking.
Community
The proposed refurbishment and redevelopment of the retained buildings will allow for the provision of Tenant and Community recreational amenities and services.
Sustainability
The new homes are designed to achieve an A2 BER rating and align with the EU Taxonomy, which will be accomplished through energy-efficient strategies including high levels of insulation and airtightness, good daylight levels, LED lighting, water and energy conservation appliances, and a centralised Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP) heating system. In line with the EPBD recast guidance, there will be zero on-site fossil fuel use.
A compact building form and high-density layout have been adopted to reduce embodied carbon during the early design stages. Further optimisations will focus on lean structural and interior designs, as well as the selection of materials with low embodied carbon and high recycled content.
The development aims to achieve HPI Gold and BREEAM Excellent certifications by exceeding current building regulations for energy efficiency, minimising embodied carbon, conserving potable water, sustainably managing rainwater, enhancing biodiversity, and optimising indoor environmental quality.
Healing
The new Mental Health Hospital replaces aging and outdated facilities. The new hospital is located within a masterplan that creates a park-like setting, making use of its existing landscape of mature trees to create a therapeutic environment for outdoor activity and a natural buffer to the new residential quarter.
The new hospital comprises four wards and can accommodate up to 73 inpatients each within single bedrooms. The accommodation is arranged over two storeys. This creates a relatively small building footprint and allows a significant number of high-quality mature trees to be retained and enjoyed, in addition to providing the hospital with a feasible future expansion strategy.
