pacstudio ARCHITECTURE + ENVIRONMENTS
PRACTICE PROFILE, WINTER 2019
pacstudio ARCHITECTURE + ENVIRONMENTS
INTRODUCTION PAC Studio Limited is a collaborative architectural and environmental design practice founded in 2007 by Graham Petrie and Peter Crowley. The directors have worked together since 2000, originally with Bucholz McEvoy Architects on several award-winning projects, including the Elmpark Urban Quarter in Dublin 4. Our current studio of 10 architects is coordinated and managed by our longterm associate, Brian Guckian. Rigorous management through the design and construction stages is fundamental in our successful implementation of this approach to deliver unique projects that exceed expectations. Quality of design is continuously balanced with the budgets and timescales our clients demand. Importantly for our clients, we employ a practice stucture that enables our directors to remain intimately involved in our projects at all stages. We work for a range of clients in the private and public sectors, including the Office of Public Works, An Gardia Siochana, the Health Service Executive, Housing Associations, Local Government Agencies and a number of private companies and developers. Our commissions range from private residential to communal housing, offices, workplaces, healthcare, industrial and retail projects including conservation, landscape and interior design services. Our design approach has been recognised by the Royal Institute of Architects in Ireland, with a Commendation for for Best Emerging Practice in 2012 and subsequently PAC Studio was awarded for the Best Commercial Project of 2017 - a town centre food market and restaurant in Malahide, County Dublin. We have been shortlisted for the Building of the Year Award 2019 for our cliff house in Howth, and are shortlisted for the Fit Out Awards 2019 for our Gardai Legal Offices on behalf of Office of Public Works. We were invited to exhibit our work in the Summer Show for the Royal Hibernian Academy in 2012, and our research work on the environmental performance of Local Authority Buildings in Ireland has been presented at a number of conferences and published in the UK by the Royal Institute of British Architects, 2017.
Above: Cliff House, Howth, 2019 - living space and cantilevered sun terrace Left: PAC Studio is situated within a former distillery complex, located in the historic quarter of Dublin 8
ADDING VALUE THROUGH CLIENT ENGAGEMENT The work of our practice is underpinned by good briefing - listening to and understanding our clients’ requirements and constraints. Through developing a shared vision with our clients, we seek and develop design opportunities that add value for our clients, building users and wider society. Through our integrated and collaborative approach to sustainable design, we deliver upon - and exceed - expectations. This dialogue extends to the design teams, contractors and craftspeople we work with, particularly in developing innovative architectural responses and environmental strategies to the brief. Our clear development and presentation of the design ideas includes making physical models at a range of scales, in support of sketches, drawings and BIM modelling. This ensures clear communication of the design intent at every stage. Our design process and studio approach ensures that each project can develop as a unique and specific design solution, always seeking to surprise and add value for our client without compromise on programme, quality or economy. Designing beautifully simple solutions to seemingly complex problems or situations is what we do best.
Below: Model display, PAC Studio
COLLABORATIVE WORKING PRACTICES Our integration of environmental design strategies with architectural design and spatial organsiation is key to the quality of experience for those using our spaces, in terms of stimulation, comfort and wellbeing. We achieve this by seeking to reduce energy consumption through our design strategies of natural ventilation, passive solar heating and good quality daylighting. We look to maintain a relationship with our clients and buildings after completion and handover. Feedback from users, energy monitoring and post-occupancy research are aspects of the design process that we actively seek out to critically assess our own work in developing and improving our strategic design approaches. This has proven to be of benefit to our clients, with ongoing improvements and adaptation of existing buildings giving further economic and environmental value to each project over longer time cycles of refurbishment. Below: Post Occupancy Analysis, Laois County Council Civic Offices
DELIVERING QUALITY RESULTS We take Quality Assurance very seriously - it is the fundamental step towards developing our business through customer satisfaction and recommendations. We aspire to provide architecture of the highest possible quality through innovative and sustainable design in the service of our clients. The directors of PAC Studio have 20 years of experience in the delivery of projects through a precision of contract documentation and technical specifications, particularly in making innovative and low energy buildings. Our library resources and knowledge base enables us to develop solutions as design team leaders, from outline sketch design proposals through to complete tender package documentation and full contract administration and site coordination, through to handover and beyond. The application of our Project Management Quality Assurance systems provides our clients with assurances of the milestones towards ultimate cost, programme and project quality targets. Project specific Continuous Professional Development events are coordinated within the practice, whilst overall research and development goals are encouraged for specific staff. NZEB, Conservation and Planning Policy are specific areas of expertise within our team.
WORKING ENVIRONMENTS Over the last 18 years, we have delivered a variety of working environments, ranging from office refurbishments and space planning services, to the construction of new headquarters buildings both for Government Agencies and for corporate clients in the private sector. We have delivered a range of retrofit, refurbishment and adaptive re-use projects, including protected structures, to providing new kinds of working environments for public and private agencies. We have developed a range of strategies for the delivery of National Health Services, for example 5 Primary Care Centres have been completed to Planning Permission in the last 5 years, each servicing a community of 20,000 patients. A key aspect of our work in this field is that of generating an environmental economy. The inherently high capital costs of highly serviced and inflexibly designed and constructed buildings tend to be magnified over time, as operational and maintenance costs too often lie beyond the scope of project team delivery. Our research work has included auditing buildings in use, even when constructed and designed years ago. We model and assess the predicted performance of the building against the reality of user experience and of service loads, and evaluate the buildings performance and spatial potential against operational needs to optimise value. These studies have enabled processes for proactive management of the building-in-use to be established in collaboration with our Clients, along with proposals for adjustments or interventions to the building fabric. These strategic interventions have typically proved beneficial - happier staff, lower energy demands and a more pleasant working environment, adaptive to changing working patterns and spatial demands. The image opposite is of Limerick County Hall Civic Offices. Graham Petrie was Project Architect for Bucholz McEvoy Architects during design and construction of this project 1999-2003. We returned in 2011 to evaluate the performance and adaptation of the spaces; this research study enabled over 30% savings to the energy demands in operation over a year. This was a naturallyventilated building with ample daylight to negate the use of electric lighting at all times. The lessons learned in this process of post-occupancy analysis creates highly useful design tools and benchmarks for our current and future work.
Malahide Market for Donnybrook Fair A new food market, cafe and retail outlet was inserted to a dense urban site, making new public space to the edges of a Park. A covered entrance from the Green is constructed in a timber dagrid structure with frameless glass covering the sheltered entrance below. The Market was awarded Best Commercial Project in 2017 by the Royal Institute of Architects in Ireland. This is what our client had to say:
Donnybrook Fair had engaged PAC Studio Architects for a variety of refurbishment projects, but this was our first project together on a completely new premises. We had secured the L-shaped site on the basis that it had prime street frontage to the Main Street. PAC Studio quickly introduced the idea of making the most of the second frontage to the Marina and the Green. The extension of the interior retail space to the Green through the layout of an external market and cafĂŠ sheltered by the timber and glass canopy has been fundamental to attracting customers inside, emphasised by the continuation of brick and the timber into the interior spaces. Changes in ceiling height and views to both Main Street and the Green reinforce the open, airy feel for customers. PAC Studio also worked closely with our retail designers to reinforce this flow of space between the two facades through the design of signage, displays and sales counters. We were particularly pleased with the rapid delivery of the project. The briefing process began in early 2015 and the project was partially complete in time for Christmas 2015 before final and full operation by Spring 2016.
Department of Social Welfare, Dublin City Our refurbishment of Elizabeth O’Farrell House on North Cumberland Street involved a partydisused public services building, originally built in the 1940’s, transformed to accommodate the Medical Review and Assessment Service (MRAS) and The Homeless Persons Unit (HPU) within the Department of Employment and Social Protection (DEASP). The existing building comprised of 2,200m2, configured in two storeys over a basement, and was an early example of structural concrete in Ireland. As a result, the building envelope was in critical condition, with spalling of the exposed concrete frame and single glazed aluminium sash windows faced with steel grilles to prevent vandalism. The internal offices lay vacant other than an existing benefits office in the basement, with no access for those with mobility impairments. From the inception of the project, PAC Studio developed comparative analyses of the building in terms of the benefits of demolition/ redevelopments versus refurbishment and upgrade works, evaluated in terms of time and cost. From these studies, a coordinated plan was developed to retain and incrementally upgrade the existing building fabric and interior to provide improved standards of environmental performance and comfort, accessibility for all users, and fire safety. This complete refurbishment of the existing building was undertaken for the Office of Public Works, within a series of phased projects. A new precast stair and lift core was inserted to the existing building to improve accessibility for less mobile customers. Internal hardwood sash glazed screens allowed for improved thermal comfort without disruption to active spaces within the building during the construction phase. Signage and artworks commissioned for the exterior completed the adaptation and transformation of the building.
Eversheds, Legal Office, Dublin PAC Studio was reponsible for the design, tender, contract administration, commissioning and PSDP serivces for the refurbishment and fit-out of their existing 1980’s office building in Dublin city centre. Eversheds is an international legal practice with changing demands in use of their office space for 180 staff. PAC Studio has developed work place solutions for all 5 floors of the building to meet working practices and structures for the legal teams, and to date the lower floor and new reception areas have been implemented and constructed. The first phase of works included a new legal reception, a flexible conference suite and associated meeting rooms, all constructed in coordination with the day to activities of the live working environment. The contract was completed within six weeks, minimising disruption to business.
Door opens
Wall folds
Town Hall setting
Gardai Legal Office, Dublin PAC Studio were appointed by the Office of Public Works to develop an existing ‘shell and core’ building in North Dublin as a bespoke legal office for the Garda. This is what our client had to say:
The OPW Regional Office in Dublin North commissioned PAC Architects to carry out the role of project architect, from inception to completion, for a recent fit-out for civil service legal teams. Two teams, with very differing requirements in terms of workspace, privacy and so on were coming together to occupy this space, and there was an initial apprehension about working together, and a reluctance to operate in an open plan environment. PAC successfully managed a complex series of stakeholder engagements and consultations, including walk-throughs and 3d models, for meetings with all staff members. Special attention was paid to acoustic requirements of the different teams and work areas. The end-user has expressed their satisfaction and happiness with the final product, and the teams are working well together. They see it as an exemplar in open-plan working arrangements, and are using it to try and gain support for relocating more staff from cellular office arrangements, in order to maximise their property portfolio. PAC worked closely with the services engineers to sensitively integrate services within the furniture and ceiling design, and prepared a 3d model of all services installations to ensure a clash-free building phase. The site phase of the project ran very successfully, thanks to PAC’s organisation and a detailed set of tender and construction documents, and the final project was brought in on time and budget. We were very pleased with the service provided by PAC on this project, and like the end –user, we are citing this project as an exemplar of not only office fit out and open plan working spaces, but as a model of successful client consultation and management of expectations in delivery.
Cluid Housing Association - New Hedquarters, Dublin Docklands This new head office for Cluid Housing Association involved the interior planning and spatial design across 6 floors to provide offices, meeting spaces and support facilities for 100 staff, all within an existing fully glazed building facing west over former timber yards in Dublin Docklands. The design of the interior working environments stemmed from our discussions about what transforms a generic office space into a great place to work. Cluid have consistently been awarded for their progressive approach to Corporate Social Responsibility in the workplace, and our challenge was to find architectural and environmental design solutions that could support and nurture staff well-being and comfort. Good daylighting and a connection to the external environment through awareness and views of the changing weather was fundamental to the well-being of staff. We carefully set out all work stations in relation to vertical fabric screens to shade from the sun and soften the acoustics. The use of natural materials and colour tones throughout assists with way-finding in circulation routes, and brings appropriate changes in atmospheres for the dining, meeting or working spaces. New office furniture, joinery and fittings throughout the building were designed by PAC Studio to meet the specific ergonomic and functional aspects of each situation, whilst graphic design, way-finding and other branding elements were developed in collaboration with Red Dog, a graphic design agency. The design of the cafe space in particular reflects the history of the site, with original scenes of the industrial timberyards in operation complementing the natural timber and cork surfaces lining the interiors.
LIVING ENVIRONMENTS PAC Studio have experience across a wide range of residential projects, from the Elmpark Urban Quarter in Dublin (440 apartments within a 100,000m2 development undertaken with Bucholz McEvoy Architects between 2003 and 2007) to a range of public and private sector apartment projects. We have extensive portfolio of new private houses, extensions and refurbishment projects, including protected strcutures and period residences. We are actively engaged in Housing Frameworks for both National and Local Goverment for the development of large scale social and affordable housing, and are currently working with a National Housing Agency for the delivery of both elderly and affordable housing in County Louth, Ireland. Underpinning the design of our living environments is a concern for attention to detail - the precise alignment of rooms to the passage of the sun, the balance of insulation requirements with window design and orientation, and the selection and assembly of durable, natural materials can make a significant difference to the experience of the home for the resident, in terms of environmental comfort and delight. The potential for establishing relationships between the interior spaces and external environment is an important aspect of our work, integrating thresholds, wintergardens and other buffer spaces to protect against the unpredictable nature of the Irish climate. The consideration of landscaping, gardens and courtyards features prominently in our approach to residential design, extending the spatial experience beyond the interior life of the dwelling. We have developed a particualr interest in the possibilities for timber as a construction material and as a durable, renewable and low energy material resource. This interest lies in exploiting the inherent warmth and tactile quality of wood in the design of the domestic setting. Furniture, joinery, linings and structural framing are elements where carefully crafted and natural materials can lend a humane atmosphere to our spaces. Opposite, top: Howth House, interior of lounge overlooking Dublin Bay, 2018 Opposite, bottom: House and garden terrace, Foxrock, Dublin, completed 2013 Below: House in the landscape, Balbbriggan, County Dublin, completed 2016
Above: Red House, Clontarf, Dublin, 2011: An extensive refurbishment and extension captures sun and daylight all year Below: The profiles of the red zinc roof develops changing internal atmospheres in response to the movement of the sun
Above: Journey’s End, Howth Island, County Dublin, 2017: cantilevered terraces on a south facing slope to Dublin Bay Below: Seascape, North Dublin, 2014: A sculpted limestone pavilion is suspended over a changing beach landscape
Below: Apartment blocks with south-facing garden and chamfered terraces to facade Bottom: View of apartment buildings from road to north, with planted edge along roadway forming buffer zone
LIVING ENVIRONMENTS - COLLECTIVE HOUSING The social demographics in Ireland reveal an ever-aging population, bringing new challenges for the design and provision of appropriate housing solutions. In 2007, on behalf of Dublin City Council and in affiliation with Bucholz McEvoy Architects, we delivered a complex of 100 homes for senior citizens, with a community room, nursing rooms, hairdressing salon and other social facilities. This project is arranged around a series of sheltered gardens to encourage activity and social interactions between aging residents. This theme of the garden as a theraputic space was further developed with our housing projects for a former quarry site in Drogheda, County Louth. Original proposals were designed for a new Convalescing Home, with 80 bedrooms all with access to external, sheltered terraced space overlooking terraces of planting, seating, water and trees. This integration of landscape and architecture with the healthcare programme was particularly important in considering the neeeds of patients with Alzheimers. The project was granted Planning Permission in 2012, and is currently being developed toward construction stages. Our proposal for a mixture of social, affordable and elderly assisted living apartments for the adjacent site has been granted permission in 2018 and construction will begin on site during 2019. This former quarry in the centre of Drogheda has been reimagined as a series of sheltered residences and gardens protected by the quarry face from south westerly prevailing winds. To the north of the site, a major transport route into the town centre bounds the edge of the site, falling down to the river. This allows a new raised edge to be formed using changing levels and ramps to make a landscaped access route for residents, connected to a series of particular garden spaces – allotment, orchard, play, lawn and meadows. The scheme has 66 apartments including 30 specifically designed to meet the needs of an ageing population, with study/ living spaces flexibly incorporating the option of additional bedroom space. Private balconies angled towards the sun and shared gardens are complimented by individual roof terraces on the stepping volumes. Below: Overview of model of apartment complex on former quarry - Drogheda, County Louth
Terraced Housing - Ballsbridge, Dublin, 2010
Top:
4 terraced houses in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 - located on the site of 3 original cottages, the south facade is shaded
Above: The internal courtyard within the 4m wide houses allows illumination and ventilation to the depths of the interiors
Above: Apartment blocks with set back terraces within facade zonem and double height connections between neighbours Bottom: Aerial view of apartment buildings from south west, with forest to north and shared gardens, car park to bottom
LIVING ENVIRONMENTS - PUBLIC HOUSING The practice is currently involved with Housing Agencies in Ireland, providing design solutions for a number of potential sites in both urban and rural locations across the country. In each instance, the local housing needs are conidered in the context of issues common to all housing - mobility, private and public space, the integration of landscape, the potential for a mix of uses and users, community integration, adaptability and flexibility, appropriate methods of construction, and so on. In this project for 25 elderly housing units on a backland site behind the main street in a town outside Dublin, the proximity of mature woodland to the north of the site set up a clear sense of place. The accomodation is arranged in 3 blocks running north to south, generating both sunlit gardens between the dwellings, but also oblique views from all apartments to the forest. Car parking is located at the entrance to the site, thus maintaining the courtyard spaces as shared gardens and amenity spaces, to actively garden, sit and or watch or simply meet neighbours or family. At the entrance to the site, there is a common room, a shared larger space for workshops, meetings, medical visits, and other social or community events. Within the scheme, each apartment has a, external ‘yard’ space, with voids in the floor of the upper courtyards allowing light to pass through and to establish visual connections and communication between elderly neighbours. These courtyards bring light deep into the plan of each dwelling, with a spare bedroom in each unit to allow for visitors or carers to stay over. The pages to follow illustrate some examples of our range of private commissions, from new houses to extensions and refurbishments of existing buildings. In each of these projects, the intimate relationships and dialogue with the clients and families involved allow us to explore and experiment with ideas about materials, space and light, in the creation of new experiences of domestic space.
Bottom: Community gardens between two-storey elderly housing
Above: Development of 100 Apartments, Clonskeagh - Planning Stage, 2019
Development of 17 Apartments and 9 House Terrace, Donabate - Construction Stage commenced in 2019
Our Management Team Graham Petrie, MRIAI, RIBA, ARB
DIRECTOR
Graham studied at the Scott Sutherland School of Architecture in Aberdeen and practised for six years in the UK before moving to Ireland in 1999. Prior to founding PAC Studio, Graham was project architect with Bucholz McEvoy Architects for eight years, leading design teams for a number of award-winning projects. Graham has been a member of the RIBA and ARB in the UK since 1997 and became a member of the Royal Institute of Architeects in Ireland in 2007. Within PAC Studio, Graham is responsible for quality assurance and project research. His experience in project management over the past 20 years has particularly focused on integrating environmental considerations within the design process, through the intelligent deployment of construction technologies and material specifications to deliver improved energy consumption and user-comfort. This interest in optimising the life-cycle design of buildings has been developed through Graham’s leading role in collaborative research projects with the University of Limerick.
Peter Crowley, MRIAI
DIRECTOR
Peter studied architecture at the Dublin Institute of Technology and has worked in both the Netherlands and Ireland. Prior to founding PAC Studio, Peter was a Project Architect with Bucholz McEvoy Architects for seven years alongside Graham Petrie, working on projects such as the Environmental Research Institute for University College Cork. Peter was awarded the RIAI Downes Medal for Professional Practice in 2005 for his role on this project, testament to his professional approach to contract administration. Within PAC Studio, Peter is responsible for the design development and coordination of projects, with an emphasis on clear and professional communication with our clients and the project-specific design teams and contractors. Peter’s role in developing the appropriate means of communication and reporting for every stage of our projects is fundamental to successful collaborations; this is evidenced by the number of repeat clients and commissions over recent years. Peter also directs our practice policies for Health and Safety and Continuous Professional Development.
Brian Guckian, MRIAI
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
Brian studied architecture at the Queens University Belfast and University College Dublin. Brian joined PAC Studio in 2008 after completing his post-graduate studies, and has since developed excellent skills in project delivery and in particular, delivering assured project team management and contract administration during the construction process. Brian is responsible for the the technical development and specification aspects of all projects, managing the coordination of design team information and construction documentation to BIM Level 2 Standards for PAC Studio. Core to this responsibility is Brian’s management of our technical library of resources, materials and products, aligned with his coordination of the structured in-house Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programme. Brian also coordinates the implementation of BIM technologies within the practice, and the training required to meet the requirements and protocols associated with BC(a)R requirements and emerging NZEB standards for low energy buildings.
Research, Development and Technology We believe that a deep understanding of craft, technology and material properties is at the core of our professional responsibility. We are committed to sustainable development, applying our extensive experience of implementing low energy and low carbon design strategies as a basis for innovative research and development. Fundamental to this is our three stage approach – reducing the embodied energy in the material construction and operation of our projects, proposing low carbon solutions to meet these reduced energy demands and monitoring the design post-completion to ensure the design performance targets and expectations are achieved in ‘real time’. We continually seek out improvements in our practice, developing innovative strategies through research and modelling. At all stages of the project, we make physical simulations of our ideas, be it through models, samples or mock-ups of specific design ideas, in order to communicate our intentions with clarity to the project team. Level 2 BIM modelling of the environmental performance and constructional documentation for the project support these physical models. All tools are deployed to ensure clear and concise communication with the client, the design team and other stakeholders; communication and collaboration are fundamental to our approach to successful project leadership and delivery. Our low energy design strategies require highly integrated architectural, structural and services engineering disciplines; we work collaboratively with our consultants to ensure that the design is fully coordinated and described prior to tender. This is supported through detailed NBS specifications and coordianted BIM/ CAD drawings in conjunction with models/ mock-ups and environmental, spatial and structural simulations. Our contract administration during construction is delivered on the basis of a fully documented process described by our comprehensive approach to tender documentation, to avoid any uncertainty over the level of workmanship, quality of materials or assemblies demanded. Specifications are written using the National Building Specification system in tandem with current Irish Standards and Euronorms, supported by full BIM drawings. We have recently developed BIM protocols and systems for the integration of multi-disciplinary design team with the Office of Public Works in Ireland, as an example of our progressive approach to coordinated documentation of construction projects. Current research and development within the Studio includes the implementation of NETZEB principles in the design process, new models of urban housing in Ireland, and the structural use of timber. Below: Interior living areas and terrace, House on the Hill, Howth
SELECTED CLIENT LIST Public Sector
Private Sector
- Office of Public Works
- Donnybrook Fair
- Cluid Housing
- Eversheds
- National Health Service Executive
- Danone Nutritia Ireland
- Department of Social Protection
- Electrolux Ireland
- Department of Justice
- Barrack Lane Film Studios
- Dublin City Council Housing Framework
- Gensler International
- An Garda Síochána
- Knight Frank
- University of Limerick
- JR Sweeney and Co, Solicitors
- Westmeath, Laois, Limerick City & County Councils
- Maybeck Developments
- Limerick Clare and Midland Energy Agency
- Currie and Brown
- Institute of Technology Carlow
- Castlerock Developments
Opposite: Eversheds Legal Conference Suite- veneered walnut panelling on rotating wall, Below: Timber-framed conference centre and offices for An Garda Síochána (Irish National Police Service), 2017. This is one of a series of commissions designed by PAC Studio following our Pheonix Park masterplan study.
pacstudio ARCHITECTURE + ENVIRONMENTS
Services Provided - Feasibility Studies
- Scheme Design
- Project Management
- Project Appraisals
- Planning Applications
- Contract Management
- Strategic Briefing
- Expert Witness
- Health & Safety (P.S.D.P.)
- Sustainable Design
- Interior Design
- Assigned Certifier (BC(a)R)
- Environmental Analysis
- Space Planning
- Design Certifier (BC(a)R)
- Masterplanning
- Branding/ Identity
- Post Occupancy Studies
- Urban Design
- Project Documentation
- Conservation Studies
- Landscape Design
- BIM Level 2
- Model Workshop
PAC Studio Limited: Tower 1, Fumbally Court, Fumbally Lane, Dublin D08 PX95, Republic of Ireland Directors: Graham Petrie, MRIAI, ARB, RIBA & Peter Crowley, MRIAI - Company Registration: 443435 Telephone: +353 (1) 453 0406
Website: www.pacstudio.ie
E-mail: info@pacstudio.ie