Architecture Ireland
April 2004

WORK PLACES

Client:
Archaeological Development Services Ltd.

Architects:
Box Architecture
David Dwyer, Gary Mongey, Sinead Cullen

Structural engineers:
Lohan and Donnelly
Frank Madden

Main Contractor:
Wellplan Ltd.

Archaeological Development Services Ltd. provide archaeological services to the construction and development industries. The project brief involved the fit-out of a spec built industrial unit to create facilities for the processing of archaeological material.

Located in a new industrial estate to the north of Kells, Co. Meath, the structure (measuring 25-m x 13.5-m) is a portal frame forming a pitched roof, front to rear, with eaves at 6-metres and a ridge level at 8.25-metres. A mezzanine to the front creates a partial void to the rear of the building. The brief required that the industrial feel of the building should be retained and the use of natural daylight maximised.

A series of objects were inserted into the building around which the plan evolved. The functions are delineated by clear glass walls interrupted by timber planes, which designate the access and egress points and allow for the manipulation of space dependant on the particular use of the building. This creates a flexible exposed plan in the centre of the building, allowing daylight to strategically penetrate deep into the structure by retaining the translucent roof lights. Finishes are clean and crisp with minimal amount of detailing, which gives clarity to the function and process sustained by the building.

On the ground floor the reception and administrative areas are located at the front of the building. The laboratory is placed in the centre of the building, flanked on both sides by utility boxes containing vertical circulation, toilets, dark room and abrasive room. Behind this, in the two-storey void, are the preliminary processing and storage for dispatch. The whole of the arrangement allows views of the entire archaeological process on entry to the building, restricted only by solid elements to create a visual dynamic and a clear easing of the process throughout the journey.

A shaft of light filters down the stairs and indicates access to the mezzanine level, where the utility box containing circulation and ancillary services is continued. A plate is inserted on the other side of the mezzanine, under which the formal functions of canteen, director’s office and meeting room are located.

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