This is a complex mix of new buildings and refurbished listed buildings on a tight inner city site to accommodate a 164 bedroom luxury hotel including bars, restaurant, conference facilities, banqueting hall and offices with underground carparking along with new offices for Allied Irish Bank.
The site location in the historical core of the city warranted separate compositional, massing and material studies. The compositional studies of the façades allowed for the design of new infill façades that respected the rhythms and proportions of both retained façades and façades of adjoining buildings. Materials were selected that gave a unity to the entire development whilst allowing the new infill facades to be designed in a modern vernacular.
An existing banking hall (now the banqueting hall) was “bridged” over using two storey high verendeel trusses. All of the construction works were undertaken whilst keeping existing banking facilities on the site, operational.
