Coláiste Chiaráin

DBFL have commenced work on the post primary school Coláiste Chiaráin, Croom, Co. Limerick. The €14M project is located on a green field site and has an area of 9455m². It accommodates 20+ General classrooms, 20+ practical class rooms, staff areas, a 594m² sports hall and music/drama room that opens to a 295m² GP area.

The external facilities include a full sized soccer pitch, GAA pitch, rugby bitch and 6 ball courts. There are 105 combined car parking spaces and bus/car set down areas.

DBFL are providing full civil and structural engineering design services for this project. The building structure comprises precast concrete walls and floors and a lightweight roof with structural steel beams . There are steel trusses spanning the sports hall and GP areas both with clear spans of approximately 18m.

The GP area is clad in full height glazed curtain walling supported on a structural steel frame with a rainscreen outside of the curtain walling which is supported on a secondary steel frame. The roof of the GP area projects above the surrounding roof and slopes in two directions leading to a complex geometry and stability issues.

The siteworks incorporate design of drainage to parking areas and playing pitches and numerous SUDS measures have been incorporated into the design including permeable paving to car parking spaces, porous macadam to ball courts and stormwater retention cells.