Excellence in design and construction in concrete was evident again at this year’s Irish Concrete Society’s awards evening, which took place on April 9, in the Conrad Hotel, Dublin. This was the 34rd awards evening and the event is always one of the highlights of the construction industry’s calendar with 250 of the industry’s finest in attendance. The awards recognise excellence in both design and construction in concrete. The jury reviewed a total of 26 projects entered in three categories of main awards - elemental, infrastructure and building. The fourth Irish Concrete Society International Award, sponsored by Enterprise Ireland, was also awarded in addition to the annual Sean de Courcy Student Prize and the biennial Sculpture Award. The main awards jury consisted of Philippe O’Sullivan of Grafton Architects, Jim Sherry of Mott MacDonald and John Pentony of Jons Civil Engineering.

Winner – Building Category and Overall Winner

[caption id="attachment_28898" align="alignright" width="300"]dlr lex Team Project team members for dlr Lexicon Library receiving their awards from Society Chairman, Brian O’Rourke[/caption] dlr Lexicon Library Chosen from a total of 11 category entries and 26 entries for overall award. “In this civic building, the use of large elements of concrete was a choice rather than a requirement. Having made this choice the architect and design team have exploited the use of concrete to the full. The large, open well finished concrete elements appear a near-perfect material for the spaces created – finished in areas with oak slats. The massive pre-cast roof beams were a complex piece of construction well delivered. The contractor is also to be congratulated for the overall quality of finish achieved. The extensive use of concrete in this building clearly shows what concrete can add to an award winning building.” Project Client: Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council Project Engineer: Horganlynch Consulting Engineers Project Architect: Carr Cotter Naessens Architects Project Contractor: John Sisk and Son Major Suppliers: Kwik Structures / Banagher Precast Concrete / Kilsaran

Winner – Infrastructure Award

[caption id="attachment_28901" align="alignright" width="300"]Infrastructure Category Winner – Doolin Pier, Co Clare Infrastructure Category Winner – Doolin Pier, Co Clare[/caption] Doolin Pier, Co Clare Chosen from a total of eight projects entered. “This exposed maritime site provided a significant challenge in constructability and in complying with environmental constraints.  Concrete is an obvious choice for this structure in this exposed location, combining strength and durability.  The innovative step was to use precast construction techniques to construct large fully interlocking sections off site.  This reduced the on-site construction time, limiting difficult working conditions and allowing better quality control for the elements which were to be submerged or below the high water line.  The overall quality of finish of the in-situ above water deck and wave wall is good, and precast concrete was also very successfully used for wave dissipating x-blocs.” Project Client: Clare County Council Project Engineer: Malachy Walsh and Partners / Punch Consulting Project Contractor: L&M Keating Major Supplier: Banagher Precast Concrete / Cairealacht Cill-Bhride Teo / Ryan Bros (Ennis) / McGrath Quarries

Winner – Elemental Category

Canal House, Galway Chosen from a total of seven entries. “Concrete is successfully used in this extension of a 1920’s townhouse with very challenging site conditions.  The boundaries between inside and out are blurred using the plasticity of concrete to create sculptural space and forms that are both functional and beautiful. The complexity of the in-situ concrete construction, coupled with the  quality of the finish for this relatively small project is a credit to the contractor and adds significantly to the overall built project.” Project Client: Private Project Architect: lid architecture Project Engineer: Robert Barry Consulting Engineer Project Contractor: Duane Construction Major Suppliers: Cannon Concrete Products

Winner - International Award

Crossrail C310 - Thames Tunnel An award that recognises Irish companies who export product or service off the island of Ireland.  The award reflects the growing emphasis on export for all in Irish construction and is sponsored by Enterprise Ireland. Chosen from a total of eight entries. “To construct two complex tunnels with a total length of about 5.5km, almost 30,000 high quality precast concrete tunnel segments were delivered from Ireland to a site in East London. The judges were impressed with the scale and complex logistics of this prestigious project, with pre-construction full scale verification testing, export of a total of 38,000m3 concrete in over 3,500 articulated loads, and featuring demanding quality control management and with an important research collaboration.” Project Client: Crossrail C310 - Thames Tunnel Irish Supplier: Shay Murtagh Precast

Sculpture Award

[caption id="attachment_28902" align="alignright" width="300"]2016 Sculpture Award winner “Fleeting” by Mel French 2016 Sculpture Award winner “Fleeting” by Mel French[/caption] This award scheme enables the society to acknowledge the work of sculptors who use concrete as a medium of expression. The winner was Mel French with her piece titled “Fleeting”.

Winner - Sean De Courcy Student Award

This is an award given to the best masters project on a concrete-related topic from the engineering faculties of the third level institutions. The award is named after the late Sean de Courcy, an inspirational professor for many years at UCD, a former chairman of the Irish Concrete Society, an author and historian of note. Project title: Performance of ground granulated blastfurnace slag concretes in acidic wastewater environments.