Arcadia Winter 2020

INSPIRING ARCHITECTURE FROM HAMILTON ARCHITECTS WINTER 2020

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Christmas at the Ulster Museum, a Hamilton Architects project.

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A very special Christmas message from all at Hamilton Architects As we near the end of 2020, it is a time of reflection on what has been a challenging year for the building sector and for Northern Ireland as a whole.

Partners Mark Haslett (front left), Paul Millar (front right), Graeme Ogle and Michelle Canning.

We are proud the Hamilton Architects team has pulled together, despite the difficulties, to ensure delivery of an excellent standard of service for our clients.

It is a year which has seen our teams deliver a variety of important projects for clients in diverse sectors. These include an innovative £65m STEHM educational facility for Canterbury Christ Church University, along with a raft of schools across Northern Ireland, a world class Visitor Information Centre for the North West and – over the next couple of months – the £29m Passive Haus Premium campus for South West College.

Looking into 2021, we have a number of exciting projects, large and small, in the pipeline across Ireland and the UK. We look forward to bringing them to fruition, hopefully in a more conducive working environment! You will see details of just some of these projects on these pages, as well as on our brand new website at www.hamiltonarchitects.co.uk.

The new year will bring with it new opportunities - and we believe the secret to success is to be ready when those opportunities arise.

We are ready.

Until then, may we take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous 2021!

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£65m education facility for Canterbury Christ Church University builds on a sense of history with a design for the 21st Century

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Hamilton Architects have a long and distinguished record of designing education facilities of every type. We have built on that reputation in the last few months with the completion of a new £65m STEHM building for Canterbury Christ Church University.

Students will be admitted to the innovative ‘Building 2’ – 17,000m2 over four storeys dedicated to Science, Technology, Engineering, Health and Medicine – in the new year, following the completion of internal fit-out and landscaping.

Building 2, which is situated on a complex historic site with stunning views of the Abbey and Canterbury Cathedral, will be instrumental in creating a new generation of skilled science professionals for the region and nationally.

Hamilton Partner and Senior Project Architect Mark Haslett had worked collaboratively on the project with the CCCU Estates Masterplan Team and contractor Gilbert Ash since October 2018.

“Ultimately, the design for this ground-breaking teaching and learning facility flowed from an intensive collaborative process involving end users and departments,” he said.

“The success of that process should be measured by the reaction of staff and students not just to the functionality of the accommodation, but in the joy of those spaces.”

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A profound sense of place lies at the heart of the design inspiration for the creation of the new education facility for Canterbury Christ Church.

The vertical brick piers and complex layering of the facade express a strong appreciation of heritage which is reflected in the nearby 19th century prison buildings as well as the ancient aspect of St Augustine’s Abbey.

The building’s footprint provides a vista towards St Martin’s Church (recognised as having the longest continuous history as a parish church in the English-speaking world). A new public plaza, Abbey Square, completely changes the centre of gravity within the CCCU North Holmes Campus and becomes its nucleus.

The design maximises stunning views of the Abbey and Canterbury Cathedral with large glazed sections in the façade of the south west section describing a very direct relationship between the building and its surroundings.

Overall, the structural concept is one of honesty: in situ concrete with a flat slab left exposed wherever possible and a contemporary brick façade which echoes the adjoining prison and, indeed, the 1960 Christ Church Campus buildings.

One of the challenges of the project was the complexity of the brief.

Internally, there are very few ‘standard’ rooms and very little use of corridors.

While virtually every space is purpose-designed, flexible areas throughout the structure provide bespoke teaching areas surrounding large scale social learning spaces.

The internal design has a functional aesthetic with exposed services, exposed concrete walls etc, so that the engineering for the building is very much part of the design. Specialist areas include a Sports Science bio mechanics lab, an Anatomy teaching Lab, simulated hospital wards, X Ray suite, hydra suite, collaborative lecture theatres and a super science lab for 160 students.

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Atriums to both the northern and southern sections of the building form the epicentre of social learning and recreational areas. The best example of this, perhaps, would be the 1st floor Maker Space within the Engineering area a triple height top-lit space that sits at the heart of this space with the aim of encouraging sharing with group projects for all subject

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Our multi-million-pound flagship building will transform our city campus for current and future generations of students CCCU

A spokesman for CCCU said: “Our multi-million-pound flagship building will transform our city campus for current and future generations of students.

“It will bring engineers, scientists, doctors and healthcare students together in an inspirational learning environment, with industry-standard, hi-tech facilities on every floor. It will be a space for research, experimentation, industry collaboration and so much more.”

View the Flythrough video

View the Time-lapse video

LEFT & BELOW Building 2 expresses a strong appreciation of heritage.

CENTRE Project Architect Mark Haslett (right) with the project team.

Education News | Projects HAMILTON ARCHITECTS | ARCADIA 8

Hamilton deliver new Gaelscoil for rural Omagh

A brand new Gaelscoil in Killyclogher, Omagh, designed by Hamilton Architects, is up and running for nearly 160 primary and nursery pupils and staff.

Gaelscoil na gCrann features seven classrooms, a single unit nursery, a parent/bus set down area, bespoke parking, grass and hard play areas, and dedicated areas of planting.

Project Architect Tara Florence said: “The intention was to achieve a good balance between aesthetic and function while ensuring the building is sustainable in its look and feel. The resulting design is not unlike a ‘clachan’ or set of farm buildings typically seen in the surrounding landscape.

“The building itself is based on a courtyard design with all accommodation feeding off circulation corridors abounding the courtyard. The entrances and classroom areas are highlighted to create an aesthetic contrast which will retain its look over the coming years.

“There are two distinct blocks defined by roof planes with two smaller scale linking hip roofs connecting the forms.The multi-purpose hall and nursery are separate buildings connected back to the main school via circulation or roof links. Rooflights provide lighting and a sense of drama.”

The Project Manager was Edmond Shipway and the building work was carried out by Woodvale Construction.

First sod cut for new school for Crossmaglen Hamilton are leading the Integrated Consultant Team, with O’Hare & McGovern on board as contractors, for a new school for Crossmaglen with an anticipated completion date of summer 2022.

St Joseph’s High School will get a new school building, sports facilities, car parking, and bus set-down areas and once completed will provide much needed education benefits for pupils, staff, teachers, parents and the wider community.

Speaking at the sod-cutting ceremony, Education Minister Peter Weir said: “Ongoing investment in our schools estate is essential if we are to continue to provide a high quality education for all our young people.

“It also helps the local economy and secures construction jobs.

Schools are very much the hub of any community and this major investment will create many positive outcomes.”

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The design echoes the traditional ‘claghan’ of the surrounding area.

Photo - Tony Mairs Photography

Education News | Projects

Cookstown college design evokes its Sperrins location

Planning permission has been granted by Mid Ulster Council for a new school building for Holy Trinity College. The project is now out to tender for the appointment of a contractor to carry out this prestigious project.

Hamilton are leading the multi-disciplinary client team for the delivery of a 16,000sqm building for 1,300 pupils on a 6-hectare site at Chapel Street in Cookstown. The existing complex – a mixture of Sixties school buildings and mobiles accommodating 1,000 pupils, 75 teachers and 52 support staff falls well short of Department of Education requirements.

The design concept evokes its rural location at the foot of the Sperrins by incorporating large expanses of coloured glass, a brickwork plinth, and a large undulating pitched roof to harmonise the building with the rolling hills of the countryside. A sense of place has also informed the selection of materials being used, such as stone to match Holy Trinity Church, aluminium standing seam roofing, and aluminium glazing with elements of coloured glass and louvred panels.

Construction on the shale pitch at the rear of the existing building will be delivered in two phases: the new school and games pitch, followed by demolition of the old school and completion of siteworks. The main 3-storey building will be positioned along a north-south axis around a central courtyard with single storey Sports and Technology annexes complemented by a 3G full size GAA pitch. Car parking and pedestrian access, along with new bus, car and taxi drop-offs, will provide access at the front of the site.

The concept harmonises the building with the rolling hills of the surrounding countryside.

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Edendork design to provide a community hub.

Hamilton Architects are designing a new primary school for the village of Edendork in Co Tyrone on a 1.78-hectare site which currently accommodates the vacant St Malachy’s Parochial Hall.

The single-storey school will provide 11 classrooms, a multi-purpose dining and sports hall, flexible teaching and staff rooms, resource areas and changing/toilet facilities delivered to the highest sustainable and environmental standards. The concept for the design derives from the school’s rural setting, with classrooms in clusters around a centrally-located staff room to form a courtyard which is similar to historical farmyards found in the locality.

A double height contemporary interpretation of the vernacular pitched roof on the multi-purpose hall will create a strong silhouette on the landscape, to echo the presence of the old parochial hall. The multi-purpose hall and kitchen, also accessed from the main circulation area, will be constructed of brick to contrast the tone of the render of the rest of the building, with the administration block clad in larch and roofed in slate.

The school has been designed to facilitate out of hours activities so the building can develop into a hub for the local community as well as a flexible educational facility for future generations of local children.

Photo - Tony Mairs Photography

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Celebrating the official opening of an innovative new £1m world class Visitor Information Centre for the North West

RIGHT Odhran Dunne, head of Visit Derry, and his team outside the new tourism facility.

FAR RIGHT The exhibitions provide a gateway for the exploration of the whole North West.

Photos | Courtesy of Visit Derry

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Derry’s new Visitor Information Centre, delivered by a team led by Hamilton Architects, has been officially opened by Mayor Brian Tierney. The facility, in the heart of the city centre and adjacent to the historic City Walls, will act as a hub for tourists looking for information on the area’s top visitor attractions and events.

Hamilton Architects led the team which delivered this innovative £1m project to create an engaging immersive visitor experience and gateway for the exploration of the whole North West of Ireland.

Paul Millar, Partner, said: “We are delighted to have steered this exciting, world class visitor facility to completion for the North West at a time when the region needs an economic boost and so many people are seeking to staycation.

“While delivery of the project was challenged by the pandemic, the entire project team pulled together and we were able to get back on track very quickly. We couldn’t be happier with the result and would encourage people to experience the centre for themselves.”

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This is a fantastic facility and I am hugely impressed with the work that has been done to create this world class centre in the heart of our city...

Marcon Fit-Out of Antrim carried out the interior fit-out of the ground floor unit, including mechanical and electrical works, specialist joinery, audio visual and graphics. The interpretive designer was Designmap.

Mayor Tierney said the opening of the new visitor information office marked a significant milestone for Derry and the wider region. “This is a fantastic facility and I am hugely impressed with the work that has been done to create this world-class centre in the heart of our city,” he said.

“This is a very important tourism capital project for Council and all our partners.

Mayor Brian Tierney We believe that it will greatly benefit our tourism business and domestic and overseas visitors and allow us to showcase and promote our tourism product in a much more animated way to a wider audience. This facility will enhance the entire Waterloo Place area of the city and bring new life and activity into a key retail area in the city centre.”

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Funding for the project came from the Council, the Department for Communities, the Department for Economy and Tourism NI. Chief Executive of Tourism NI, John McGrillen, said: “The new visitor centre will provide an interactive experience with enhanced digital offering and, combined with the new central location, this will allow visitors to easily access information on everything the city has to offer.”

New Wins | Update

Hamilton Architects raise the curtain on a new era for Bird College

Hamilton Architects have won the contract to deliver a £15m project which will raise the curtain on a new era for one of the UK’s most highly regarded conservatoires of dance and musical theatre.

theatre/performance space, as well as an updated Wellbeing Block.

The Doreen Bird College of Performing Arts school was founded in Sidcup, London, in 1946 and for more than 60 years has been recognised as a centre of excellence for training young people for careers in the entertainment industry.

The proposal is to remove existing buildings to provide a new three-storey Accommodation and Studio Block with three additional dance studios, a larger three-storey 292-seat adjustable Black Box Theatre space, and a two-storey EB3 Block.

In November 2015, the college moved from its original site to a new, single campus site on Alma Road which currently provides the 640 students and staff with a main office building,10 dance studios and a 130-seat theatre situated around a central courtyard.

Also included is the remodelling of the existing courtyard to provide an outdoor performance space with an amphitheatre area and tiered auditorium step/seating.

In looking towards current and future needs, the college identified a requirement for additional student living accommodation, dance studios, teaching facilities and

Many Bird graduates have played leading roles in the entertainment industry across the world, performing in the West End, on Broadway, in films and with classical and contemporary dance companies.

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All to play for at NICSSA! Hamilton Architects have won the contract to lead an integrated team to deliver a £4.5m refurbishment and extension to the NICSSA Pavilion, which sits on a 25-acre site at the Stormont Estate at Dundonald.

Works will include construction of a modern indoor facility capable of hosting at least five different sports, with associated changing, showering and function facilities.

The project will upgrade and extend the existing NICSS complex to provide a new indoor multi-sports facility, along with demolition of the old single storey changing and shower rooms to provide a new two storey facility on the same footprint.

An exciting €5m revisioning of Bushmills Old Courthouse

Hamilton Architects have been appointed to lead the design team to deliver an exciting new Creative Hub for Enterprise Causeway on the site of the old Bushmills Courthouse.

The hub, which has secured more than €5m funding via the Interreg Peace IV initiative, will offer a vibrant creative space for like-minded designer-makers to work collaboratively to ‘make, market, educate and support’.

Enterprise Causeway’s vision for the project is re-energise the community, create new jobs and build a new peaceful and prosperous economy for people across the Causeway Coast and Glen Borough and border area.

The Co Antrim village of Bushmills, originally known as Portcaman, dates from Norman times and is famous for the Old Bushmills Distillery, which welcomes around 120,000 visitors every year.

The courthouse was constructed in 1834 by the Macnaghten family of nearby Dundarave House.

A Grade B1-listed 222m² structure, it served as a Petty Session Court and included cells along with residential accommodation on upper levels for local police. It has been derelict since the Sixties and the floors are fully stripped out and the staircase has collapsed. The project will be submitted for planning in December 2020 and will feature a café, work space for 14 businesses, and event and retail spaces designed to bring together people from all backgrounds, ages and abilities.

By utilising a passion for culture, heritage art, crafts, food, tourism and creativity, it is hoped the Old Courthouse Creative Hub will open the community to new ideas and provide the collaborative skills and creativity needed to drive change.

A new page in our library projects portfolio In 2019, Hamilton Architects delivered a new library for Coleraine – and in 2021 we will be following that up with a new library for Enniskillen.

The current library building, which suffered significant blast damage shortly after it was built in1978, is to be demolished and replaced with a £4.1m building on the same site at Halls Lane.

The new library will provide customers with internet access, unlock access to heritage resources and provide a comfortable, modern facility for flexible community use, performance space, literacy services and historic archive.

The new two storey library will remain in the heart of the town and continue to respond to the needs of the community it serves with high quality, sustainable and flexible zones where people can meet, seek advice and relax.

Arcadia | Practice News

New CIAT Councillor for NI is Hamilton technologist Chartered Architectural Technologist Jill Alexander has been appointed as the Northern Ireland Regional Councillor for the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists.

The two-year appointment for CIAT, the qualifying body for technologists across Ireland, the UK and other world centres, comes after she attended the AGM in Glasgow with the Northern Ireland contingent in 2019.

Chartered Architectural Technologists are recognised as qualified to negotiate and manage the development of a construction project. Traditionally, the profession has mainly attracted male practitioners, but more and more young women are entering the sector.

“I am delighted to represent chartered architectural technologists in Northern Ireland – especially as our President, Eddie Weir, is an architectural technologist from Holywood, Co Down,” said Jill. “Unfortunately, due to Covid, a number of planned events have not been able to go ahead in 2020 and we will be meeting virtually instead of in person until well into 2021.

“Having said that, CIAT continues to work behind the scenes to help young technologists to get qualified, to represent members’ interests and to drive forward the strategic plans of the organisation at national level.”

Hamilton RUA Award for Sculpture Goes to Catherine McWilliams

Farewell to popular colleague and valued mentor Neil Moore

Catherine McWilliams has won the Sculpture Award, sponsored by Hamilton Architects, at this year’s RUA Exhibition.

The Hamilton Architects team has marked the retirement of Neil Moore, an Associate of the practice and a highly respected and much-liked member of staff.

“Catherine is a highly respected local artist with a track record of producing imaginative, interesting and provocative work,” said Paul Millar, Partner at Hamilton.

Neil, an RIBA Accredited Specialist Conservation Architect of 26 years’ experience, worked with Hamilton on a series of iconic projects over the past 15 years. These include Riddel Hall for QUB; the Schoolhouse for Methodist College; John Bell House in Belfast; SERC for South Eastern Regional College; the Crescent Arts Centre and, most recently, Coleraine Library.

Her sculpture of the mythological ‘Goddess Danu’ is a striking wood and papier maché sculpture standing 6ft tall.

She explained: “Danu was the mother of the mythical Tuatha de Danaan. She is a bit of a mystery as there's little mention of her in Irish lore except as the mother of the Irish gods.”

“Danu, as mother of the Tuatha de Danaan, is also a strong protective sculptural figure; the woman is part of the tree. It's this interdependence, this interlinking and us all being part of nature, that I wanted to show.”

At a farewell gathering, Partner Paul Millar said Neil was not just an accomplished conservation expert and esteemed Associate, but a valuable mentor of junior staff.

“It’s impossible to exaggerate the massive contribution Neil has made to the continuing success of Hamilton Architects,” he said. “Working with him has been a pleasure – a sentiment I know is echoed not just by staff, but by our consultants and clients as well. Apart from being dedicated, dependable and selfless, he has also been a source of advice and wisdom to the young and not-so-young, imparting his wisdom, technical knowledge and insight to generations of students and freshly minted architects.”

Neil was presented with two original drawings by architect-turned-artist Marcus Patton to mark the occasion.

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