Bridgewater Centre

The Bridgewater Centre in Arklow was a development by local contractors Allen & Smyth. The development included not only retail space with a significant anchor tenant but a central mall, multi-storey car park, commercial office space, apartment block and cinema. The roof area was almost 20,000 sqm with 10,000 sqm of wall cladding.

There were a number of different roof levels with a high volume of plant located on raised platforms. Individual roofs contained specific plant penetrations from tenants creating a complex relationship between shell and core and fit out throughout the build.

The Paralon roofing system was laid in a number of different ways depending on the substrate, being either metal deck or concrete, some laid to falls others created in tapered insulation. Hence the need for numerous specification submittals and approvals as well as well informed and structured management and supervision onsite.  

Due to the scale of the project and the sequence of build, the design had to take cognisance of the need to accommodate some structures which would be built after others, creating complex interface details.

In some cases, the interfaces were done in stages and protected from the elements until adjacent structures reached a level that they could be linked. This happened in several locations around the site and needed careful planning and detailing to make sure the links worked and joined seamlessly.

A number of elevations were enclosed by a courtyard or adjacent buildings with drip levels starting at high levels. We had to make provision in our schedule for the inaccessibility of these areas and make sure that the areas were snag-free. More complex Rainscreen systems used in the framing of glazing and to soffits were designed as features among the expanse of the main elevations.

This was a large complex project successfully completed and  we successfully managed the project from start to finish without any issues in programme or quality.