Renovation of St. Luke's Church

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

A three-storey office development constructed within the confines of a derelict, roofless church. The ground floor could not be substantially loaded due to the presence of burial crypts below. The upper stories hang from steel roof trusses supported off the existing stone walls. The steel structure at each floor level cantilevers from hanging rods located at quarter points of the span.

Judge's comment:

The original church was built in 1716, but at the start of this project was derelict, roofless and in disrepair. One of the major challenges of the brief was to convert this into a modern office facility but without the addition of structural load on ground floor due to the presence of a sensitive vaulted crypt. This use of hangers up to the node points of the light truss roof structure transferred the first and second floors and stair directly to the external masonry walls. The structural solution maximises structural efficiency as demonstrated in the efficiency of materials in a design that manifests as a fully visible hanging steel structure, which provided three office floors. Additionally, it sees the sympathetic restoration of a very old church to keep our structural engineering heritage whilst aligning to the future redevelopment of this area of Dublin, which was only economically viable with three new floors.