PROJECT
TEMPLEMORE BATHS, BELFAST
ARCHITECTS MCADAM DESIGN CREATED A NEW LEISURE CENTRE INSPIRED BY THE HISTORY OF THE ORIGINAL VICTORIAN BUILDING… ARCHITECTS
M cAdam was the lead design subcontracted conversation architects Consarc Design Group to look after the original Victorian building while they focused on the new extension. “Building leisure centres is a big item in our portfolio,” explained architect Rory Rankin. “As team leaders, we were able to oversee the works in the extension and take their specialist advice in the finer details. It worked out well.” The old and the new blend harmoniously across the two buildings, and visitors will notice nods to the past everywhere, as in the glazed passageway that takes them from the original building into the extension, and the glazed brick archways that can be seen from the changing rooms. team architectural firm for the Templemore Baths project. They There were huge efforts to retain the character of the original building, and
McAdam and Consarc worked closely with the Historic Environment Division (HED) to see how far they could go with the refurbishment. There were also a few “unforeseens” that the extensive surveys hadn’t revealed. For example, the timber in the old building was riddled with dry rot, which attacked especially the wooden panels on the second floor of the building. The low level of reclamation of materials was also unexpected. “We estimated about 60% of the slates on the roof could be used again, but we found out they had already been repurposed. We were able to salvage only 20%,” Rory commented. The team also struggled to get the correct red bricks in imperial sizes. “The good news was that Herron Bros did a great job sourcing all these materials”, he added. Another special consideration in the project was the overall height of the new build, as it had
to sympathetic so not to dominate the original one. However, there were good surprises along the way. For the cladding of the new building, Thornton Roofing (Ireland) Ltd provided a Kingspan Dry-Design cassette (see more on page 31) to recreate the copper cladding finish that is one of Belfast’s trademarks “This product will keep its colour for longer and works well with the red brick façade from the original build,” Rory said. Rory and his team were very satisfied with the result. “We had to adapt some details as the full extent of the conservation works revealed itself over the course of the project, but the key design principles are there and evident,” he commented. “During the work, local people would stop by and say, ‘I learned to swim at Templemore’, so it is quite something to work in such a special building for the community.
T: +44 (0)28 9040 2000 E: admin@mcadamdesign.co.uk www.mcadamdesign.co.uk
30 | NI BUILDER
FOLLOW US ON:
www.nibuilder.co.uk
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online