IMMA, Royal Hospital, Kilmainham

The project involved two parallel phases of work in distinct areas of the Royal Hospital Kilmainham (RHK).

They were:- the fit out of offices on the second floor in the northwest corridor, and the construction and installation of an Art Lift adjacent to the West archway. Fit out work involved repairs to joinery, new partitions, plastering, fireproofing and an electrical installation.

The Art Lift runs from ground floor to the exhibition space on the first floor. The lift car is over-sized to transport very large artworks to and from the gallery. The size of the lift shaft means that it projects into the second floor also. This is in spite of the high ceilings within the historic Royal Hospital. The lift shaft takes up most of the available space in the designated room where it is located. Underpinning was required around the buildings foundations under the West arch and to the external walls.

The shaft was constructed with a mix of reinforced concrete walls, ring beams and blockwork.

Fireproofing and structural alterations took place at all levels through each floor as the shaft was built.

On completion the lift was installed and a breakthrough into the West archway was created to access the lift. New doors were installed flush with the archway walls to enable access. Finally the first floor lobby was completed allowing access into the gallery areas.

• The Art Lift is an extremely large lift for delivering artworks to the exhibition spaces. Its car is 2.8m high and capable of carrying 40 people
• The IMMA gallery reopened to the public during the works following an earlier phase of renovation. The RHK remained open throughout the works and was a live environment catering for admin staff, public, exhibitions, etc.

Location  Kilmainham, Dublin 8
Sector  Heritage
Value  €500,000
Surface  25,000 m² approx
Year Completed  2013
Client  OPW

Architect  OPW
Engineers  OPW
Quantity Surveyors  Aecom