Excellence in design and construction in concrete was evident again at this year’s Irish Concrete Society’s awards evening, which took place on 21 March in the Conrad, Dublin. The Overall Winner this year was the Rosie Hackett Bridge, which also triumphed at the Engineers Ireland Excellence Awards last November, winning Engineering of the Year as voted for by the Irish public. This was the 33rd Irish Concrete Society's Awards Evening to recognise excellence in both design and construction in concrete. The jury reviewed a total of 28 projects entered in three categories of main Awards - elemental, infrastructure and building. The third Irish Concrete Society International Award, sponsored by Enterprise Ireland, was also awarded in addition to the annual Sean de Courcy Student Prize.

Winner – Infrastructural Category and Overall Winner [caption id="attachment_19491" align="alignright" width="300"]Rosie Hackett 2 Project team for Rosie Hackett Bridge receiving their awards from Irish Concrete Society chairman, Brian O’Rourke.[/caption] Rosie Hackett Bridge Chosen from a total of eight category entries and 28 entries for overall award. Jury Quote: “The elegance and simplicity of this hard-working bridge mark it out as a significant recent example of understated civic excellence. Taking the Luas line, buses, taxis, cyclists and pedestrians across the river in a single in-situ reinforced concrete span of 48m, whilst achieving an astonishing visual slenderness at mid-point, this is an extraordinary piece of infrastructure design. The inherent plastic qualities of in-situ concrete are exploited to the full in the sinuous, orchestrated resolution of the curved and double curved underside geometries. Of particular additional interest technically is the use of the in-situ upstanding concrete fins to provide, at once, useful longitudinal stiffening to the upper part of the bridge, separation of vehicular and pedestrian traffic, a base for seating and planting and the main component of the bridge’s clever flood defence system. The Rosie Hackett Bridge is a triumph of graceful design, engineering excellence and advanced concrete technology and a worthy winner of both the Infrastructural Category award and the overall Concrete Society award.” Project Client: Dublin City Council Project Engineer: Roughan & O’Donovan Project Architect: Seán Harrington Architects Project Contractor: Graham Construction Major Suppliers: CEMEX
Winner – Building Award [caption id="attachment_19489" align="alignright" width="300"]Building Category Winner - National Film Studies, Dun Laoghaire Building Category Winner - National Film Studies, Dun Laoghaire[/caption] National Film Studios Chosen from a total of nine buildings entered. Jury Quote: “This is a real concrete construction; that is to say it exploits a full range of the possibilities of the material to provide the building with its main formal qualities. External and internal walls, floors and even ceilings are constituted of in-situ concrete, tooled to expose the aggregate finish, both to provide a pleasing texture and to provide an integral hard-wearing low maintenance finish. The choice of material is especially appropriate given the acoustic sensitivities of the building, whose main space is a technically advanced, fully functioning TV studio, and the robust requirements of a heavily-used student building. It lends the suburban campus in which it sits an air of gravitas and nobility, greatly adding to the quality of the institute’s expanding collection of buildings.” Project Client: Institute of Art Design and Technology Dun Laoghaire Project Engineer: Punch Consulting Engineers Project Architect: ABK Architects Project Contractor: Collen Construction Major Supplier: Kilsaran
Winner – Elemental Category [caption id="attachment_19492" align="alignright" width="300"]Elemental Category Winner - Mount Anville Outdoor Learning Facility Elemental Category Winner - Mount Anville Outdoor Learning Facility[/caption] Mount Anville Outdoor Learning Facility Chosen from a total of 11 entries Jury Quote: “The simple composition of precast and in-situ elements, allied to the technical virtuosity of the cast grass-in-concrete flooring and the place-making aspirations of the designers, combine to produce a work of quiet power. The considered positioning of the elements in the garden landscape that surrounds the school, nestled as it is into an L-shaped southwest-facing corner adjoining the main entrance, give this amphitheatre a sense of place and make of it a profound emblem of assembly. All our schools would benefit from an intervention such as this.” Project Client: Mount Anville School Project Architect: Paul O’Toole Architects Project Engineer: Banagher Precast Concrete Project Contractor: Merrion Contracting Ltd Major Suppliers: Banagher Precast Concrete
[caption id="attachment_19493" align="alignright" width="300"]Reading Elevated Patform Viaduct 3rd International Award Winner - Reading Elevated Platform Viaduct[/caption] Winner of the 3rd International Award “Reading Elevated Platform Viaduct” 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 10 entries. Jury Quote: “This major rail infrastructure project involved the construction of a 1000m viaduct in a 30 week period. This viaduct is a series of flyovers that is the UK’s longest concrete viaduct. The project consisted of 244 bridge beams with spans of 25m, 176 No. precast box culverts, each weighing 28 tonnes, 84 box beams and over 1000 precast concrete panels used for a reinforced earth retaining wall. This project demonstrated both technical and innovation excellence in concrete on this major infrastructural project. It involved close coordination and programming with the client Network Rail when installing the concrete units adjacent to the live railway tracks. The project involved significant use of 3D modelling, especially in the planning of the complex installation. The entrant brought a precast value engineered design solution over the original in-situ specification. The judges were impressed with the scale and complexity of this project on a tight programme.” Project Client: Reading Elevated Platform Viaduct Irish Supplier: Shay Murtagh Precast
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. Winner: Ted McKenna, University College Dublin Project title: Limit State Characteristics of GGBS Concrete in Fire