PUNCH provided Civil & Structural engineering consultancy services for this significant nursing home facility which is located in the village of Drommahane near Mallow in County Cork.

The proposed redevelopment encompassed an overall site area of circa 3.5 Hectares which included a new 120 bed nursing home facility to replace the outdated accommodation in the original building which was no longer fit for purpose. The new facility was efficiently designed to comply with the latest Health Information & Quality Authority (HIQA) requirements. An important part of the brief was maintaining the existing nursing home operational for the full duration of the works. A further part of the brief was the retention and refurbishment of all existing facilities and incorporating same into the overall design.

In order to satisfy these elements of the brief, the project was completed in 2 phases to enable the facility to continue providing residential care during the construction of the new 120 bed facility.

Once the new facility was completed and all existing residents tranferred to the new accommodation, phase 2 of the project was undertaken which included extensive modifications and upgrades to the existing early 20th century Nazareth House building. This now provides support accommodation for the new 120 bed nursing home including extensive function spaces, administrative accommodation etc. The original chapel within the Nazareth House building was also upgraded as part of the overall works.

The original 19th Century Newberry House facility (Protected Structure) was also completely renovated to provide residential accommodation for the Sisters of Nazareth as part of the original works scope along with extensive site development works.

The new overall development was supplied with potable and fire-fighting water requirements through a new onsite bored well with ancillary pumps and storage tanks provided.

The first phase of the works which consisted of a primarily two-storey extension was formed using load bearing masonry walls. External insulation was used in lieu of a traditional external leaf. The floors and roof of the facility were formed using precast hollowcore slabs overlain with a structural concrete screed. Lateral stability was provided by the stair and lift core walls.

The overall construction programme was approximately 24 months which included 16 months for Phase 1 and a further 8 months for Phase 2.