Beating the drum for Community Care 

The Project

The new €2.2 million Drumcliffe Primary Care Centre opened for business in July when the services available included physiotherapy, women’s health, dietetics, paediatrics, cognitive behavioural therapy/addiction services, public health nursing/child services, occupational therapy and community medical services.

Facilities will continue to be expanded in the future, including the addition of the Drumcliffe Family Practice of GPs who are also making the 5,915ft² building their new home. In the GP area, there are consulting rooms, a practice nurse’s room, and office space for admin and reception area.

The building also includes a staff kitchen/tearoom and staff changing area, while the public area has a room for parent and baby, a waiting room and a sub-waiting area with a children’s play area and public toilets.

Other rooms in the building include a primary care team office suitable for up to four staff, a child development room that can also be used as a bookable room when not in use by the public health nurses, further bookable rooms for use by other HSE services, and a wound management room.

Challenge

NorthWest Aluminium was tasked to design, fabricate, manufacture and install a range of standard and bespoke aluminium solutions for the envelope of this new primary care building constructed by main contractors Glebe Builders on behalf of HSE Estates North West.

The design of the centre by award-winning Wejchert Architects had to factor in four different buildings, which each required both standard and bespoke products, as well as capitalise on its scenic location nestled under the Benbulben Mountain.

Solution

In the early stages of the project, NorthWest Aluminium received the elevation drawings provided by the client to get a general understanding of the exact requirements, then through continued communication with Glebe Builders and Wejchert Architects designed several unique aluminium features.

As the overall design involved four different buildings which required both bespoke and standard products, NorthWest Aluminium decided to treat each unit separately. Site measurements were taken of each and the RAL colours agreed so manufacturing could progress.

For the traditional pitch roofs, NorthWest Aluminium incorporated several roofing accessory products including the Kytun™ Aluminium Dry Verge and the Kytun™ Universal Dry Verge System. The project also com