CRUN – Causeway Rural & Urban Network

This 3-storey office block was designed in response to the needs of a community charity and was developed on an uncontaminated, brown-field site at a level area on raised ground in Coleraine. The hub has a floor area of approximately 9000 square feet and comprises offices, meeting rooms, kitchen, toilets, etc.

An existing building was demolished and the adjacent properties on three sides of the corner site were shored up to prevent damage during construction. Close monitoring of vibrations and meticulous checking of neighbouring walls allowed construction to proceed without damage. Drainage was integrated with the existing local system and a piling solution allowed foundations to be placed between the various existing subterranean services.

A steel frame and pre-cast concrete floors are footed on traditional strip and pad foundations, that were ‘balanced’ between the existing building footprints on the corner site location. The roof structure is a mixture of steel framed ‘cut roof’ and wooden trusses, which allows a wide and partially vaulted area at second floor for the proposed offices. Original slates were re-used.

Hoarding isolated members of the public from the works. Roads and paths were maintained and the glass frontage of the building’s ground-floor retail unit was finished to complement the streetscape.

(Photographs courtesy of CRUN and P&K McKaigue Ltd.)

Click to expand the photos below