Spirituality Centre Glasnevin

Planning Report- Architectural Description

Spirituality Centre, Holy Faith, Glasnevin, Planning Report- Architectural Description October 2010
Proposed Spirituality Centre,
Holy Faith Congregation, Glasnevin
October 2010

“ I was never a poet,
but Glasnevin makes one.”

Margaret Alyward

Holy Faith Spirituality Centre,
Glasnevin, Dublin 9

The Holy Faith congregation, located at
Alyward House, Glasnevin wish to develop
a Spirituality Centre on their grounds at Old
Finglas Road, Glasnevin.

The site is in a unique setting, located
within a 10 hectare green field site with
dramatic panoramic views overlooking the
National Botanical Gardens, Glasnevin
Cemetery and Dublin City.

Site

Site:

The site is bordered by the Old Finglas
Road to the north, the Tolka river to the
south and residential developments to the
east and west.

The site contains the Holy Faith
Congregation’s worldwide headquarters at
Alyward House, Holy Faith Convent,
Chapel and nursing home as well as St
Brigid’s GNS primary school and St Mary‘s
secondary school.

The site conciliates existing community
facilities with mature river corridor lands,
and represents one of the finest green field
sites in North Dublin. Located opposite the
Botanic Gardens and overlooking Glasnevin
cemetery the site provides an educational
and recreational oasis in this highly sought
after residential area.

The site is extensively sloped, is south
facing and has many different character
areas within it. It has a unique ecological
setting and is an ideal setting for a
spirituality centre.

3

Brief

Project Brief:

The Spirituality Centre will be a bright and
What is it for? tranquil place for reflective prayer, holistic
therapies, counselling, conversations and
conferences for the order, colleagues and
the wider community.
Moving forward the It will be an inspirational space which
mission of Holy Faith….. provides an immediate sense of
engagement for a broad spectrum of
visitors and participants, offering a
welcome to all who wish to refresh and
renew themselves in a place of natural
beauty and rich cultural tradition.

Its primary purpose is the moving forward
of the mission of the Holy Faith
Congregation.
Site 1

4

Brief

Sisters of the Holy faith User Groups:
Prayer Partners Associates

Parish Community Prayer Partners The Spirituality Centre will be made
Groups available to a broad range of users
Lay Colleagues
A place for the City including the Holy Faith Sisters, Associates,
Who is it for?
University of the
Day Retreats Prayer Partners, lay colleagues and others.
Third age Educational links to school groups will also
The Community
be made.
Heritage Groups Inter Religious Dialogue
Ecology and
Schools The primary use will be grounded in a
Justice Groups
spirituality based on right relationship,
justice and care of creation. The design of
the centre reflects this ethos and also
• Sisters of the Holy Faith Congregation
reflects a strong relationship with the
• Information on the Order and their work nationally and internationally
surrounding site and context.
• Counselling, Spiritual accompaniment etc.
The user groups will include the following
• Le Chéile school groups
interested parties and uses:
• Heritage Groups
• Schools and Educational Groups
• Faith groups including education, development, sharing etc.
• Day retreats and prayer partners
• Inter Religious dialogue gatherings
• Ecology and Justice Groups
• Parish Community Groups
• Older People gatherings
• University of Third Age
• Groups initiating their own projects which reflect the ethos of the Centre
• Possible archiving uses

5

Brief

Sacred Space

Therapy Room
40-50 people Architectural Design:
-lecture space
-Counselling Art Therapy
-Holistic therapy The brief for the building was prepared by
- dance the Sisters of Holy Faith based on their own
Reception/waiting
Cloakroom requirements and based on group dialogue
Sub-division and consensus. The brief comprises
Of large space Brief 490sqm approx of the following uses:
Sharing meals
Parking
Kitchenette Accommodation Schedule:
Archive
Storage Waste/ Services/toilets 1.1 Reception/Waiting Area
1.2 Office
1.3 Therapy Room
Relationship to 1.4 Counseling Room
Botanic Gardens 1.5 Lecture Space/Forum 40/50
Connecting with Seasonal use
1.6 Multi-purpose Space
the History
of the site 1.7 Kitchenette to serve MPS
Relationship to
1.8 Sacred Space
Existing buildings
Path to 1.9 Toilets
‘Sacred site’ Where is the Site?
1.10 Storage
Orientation

Relationship
of Existing Trees Micro-Climate

Shadow casting Views

6

Design

Design:

The design of the new Spirituality Centre is
based on providing an uplifting and
inspirational internal environment, a retreat
and space for contemplation.
Winter
Given the unique landscape
setting of the site we have located the
new facility as a pavilion or folly within a
park. It is sited on a south facing slope to
Spring exploit the dramatic panoramic views over
the Botanic Gardens and the Dublin skyline.
The main glazed areas of the centre exploit
this view and orientation.

The siting of the building on the site has
been given careful consideration. Our
approach is consistent with site planning of
early 18th Century houses and their
relationship with their demesne and
landscape. As such the centre is conceived
as a folly in the grounds of the original 18th
demesne, one that is glimpsed behind trees
and set within the landscape and as part of
the original network of paths and routes.
Furthermore we have located the centre so
as not to detract from the original 18th
Century Protected Structure and to protect
its vista and view.
7

Design

Design Concept:

The concept for the building is many-fold,
it is a pavilion or folly in a park, a light
lantern and a journey of discovery.

Light Lantern:

Out of the darkness comes the light…. The symbol of the Holy Faith Congregation
is the light lantern that Margaret Alyward,
the founder of the order, used as a beacon
of hope during her imprisonment in
Grangegorman female penitentiary in
1860.

The proposed design envisages that the
building will metaphorically act as a form of
lantern and that the main sacred space,
which is rooflit, will act as a beacon of
light.

Through brise soleil, opal glass and
sensitive lighting the sacred space will
illuminate in a play of shadow and light.

8

Design

Journey of Discovery:
The Journey of the building
The building plan has been laid out to
provide a journey of discovery. The route
starts in the grounds of the convent and
the approach to the building is off-set
through the existing trees and path to the
west of the site. The building is removed
from the other Institutional buildings and is
set as a building folly in the landscape. The
The building tells external ramp directs visitors to the main
the story reception area. The plan geometry has
Labyrinth
of the journey been carefully laid out to direct visitors via
internal ramps past the counseling room,
lecture space to the main multi-purpose
space and sacred space above.

Framed Views:

The orientation of windows and circulation
routes have been careful placed to provide
framed views of local architectural
landmarks and natural features such as the
O’Connell monument in Glasnevin
cemetery, the pyramid roof of the Church
of our Lady of Dolours, the Lebanese Tree
Every path opens out to a framed view of the landscape on the grounds and the Palm house in the
Botanical Gardens.

9

Design

Connection with Nature:

Central to the design of the centre is its
Connecting with Nature
relationship and connection with nature
and the surrounding environment.

Careful consideration has been given to the
siting of the building and its relationship
with the strong site contours and
topography. The building is located off the
original 18th Century footpath and will
form a part of the journey through the
grounds.

The reception area is located at a half level
below the sacred space and half level
above the lecture/multi-purpose space. As
such the building follows the slope and
gradient of the landscape that it sits on.

Internally all areas of the building are fully
wheelchair accessible, without the
requirement of a mechanical lift.
The green lawn in front of the convent is
treated as a precious landscape with
minimum building intervention on it. The
ramped walkway to the entrance is
elevated above the ground and supported
off central posts recessed out of visibility.

10

Design

In addition the outer walls of the spirituality
centre are elevated above the ground and
cantilevered off recessed columns, thus
giving the impression that the building
floats above the green lawn. The plan
configuration is like an unfolding flower,
with the outer petals being elevated above
the ground and the central bud being
represented by the more vertical sacred
space.

On the south western façade a sliding
screen off the ramp will allow access to an
out-door terraced area which can used for
contemplation and small groups. The
terrace will be in close proximity to the
trees on the western edge of the site and
will give a close connection to nature.
It is also proposed that a larger out-door
terraced area is provided at roof level off
the sacred space. This will provide very
dramatic panoramic views and will also
allow access to the green roofs for
maintenance.

11

Sustainability

Green and Sustainable Design:

Given the sensitive nature of the site a
strong ecological sensitive and sustainable
design solution has been sought. The
spirituality centre will maximize the
following principles of green and
sustainable design:

• Provide an airtight building to minimize heat loss and draughts.
• The building should achieve an air tightness of 3.5m3 (hr.m2) at a test pressure of 50Pa.
• Provide a high level of insulation to the external envelope with a low u-value.
• Provide a managed and controlled natural ventilation system with heat recovery unit.
• Provide photovoltaic panels to provide domestic hot water.
• Provide a naturally ventilated building with no artificial cooling.
• Maximize solar gain through extent and location of glazing, not to exceed 30%.
• Maximize the sites orientation on a south facing slope.
• Provide Brise Soleil to minimize overheating in exposed glazing areas.
• Target a ‘BREEAM’ rating of very good to excellent.
• Provide a carbon neutral form of space heating system.
• Provide attenuation for rain water through green roof technology.
• Explore use of grey water for toilets.
• Use usage sensors and dual flushing on all toilets.
• Target an annual energy consumption of 100kwh/m2/yr or better
• Specify and use low energy appliance
• Minimize the footprint of the building on the site.
12

Services

Foul Drainage:

See DBFL drainage report and drawings.

In summary it is proposed to take the foul
drainage from the new building to the
existing manhole No. 23 marked on the site
plan.

The floor level of the new proposed toilet
area is at 24.125 OD and the invert level
within MH No. 23 is 22.970 OD which will
provide sufficient fall.

The wastes from the small kitchenette on
the lower floor level at approx. 23.450 OD
can also fall into this manhole.

The foul drain will connect into the existing
300mm diameter sewer which runs on the
Old Finglas Road.

13

Drainage

Surface Water Drainage:

See DBFL drainage report and drawings.

Surface water will be collected in the
attenuation area on the grass/sedum roof
as part of a sustainable urban drainage
system.

Excess water will drain into a percolation
area located within the grounds of the
convent or as part of a landscaped swale or
filter drain as an open and shallow
detention basin.

The attenuation storage capacity on the
roof should minimize the run off into the
percolation area and is dependant on the
depth of roof provided.

The site is on a high elevation and is not
susceptible to flooding from the Tolka. i.e.
the 2002 flooding of the Tolka occurred at
a datum of 14.0m OD. Our site is approx.
10m above this level.
Sacred space as beacon

14

Materials

Construction:

External Materials:

The building is situated in a very sensitive
landscape condition, surrounded by trees
and the historic context of the convent and
chapel.

As a ‘pavilion or folly in a park’ the new
building does not try to compete with the
existing architecture around it or try to
mimic it.

The current façades of the convent, chapel,
nursing home and other buildings are all
inter-connected but use an adhoc variety of
different red bricks.

It was not appropriate to introduce yet
another type of red brick for the spirituality
centre. Neither was it felt appropriate to
make a strong architectural statement that
would detract or compete with the existing
buildings. Instead the design tries to reflect
the wonderful landscape that surrounds it.

15

Materials

The external walls are therefore clad in a
white reflective glass which will reflect the
trees, landscaping and buildings around it.
In general the windows are contained
between the overlapping cranked walls and
frame views and vistas of the external
environment.

Anodised aluminium vertical mullions are
used as external sun and privacy screens to
the counseling and therapy rooms.

The Sacred Space sits as a vertical lantern
surrounded by the lower overlapping
perimeter walls. The vertical form will be
clad externally in a bronze coated/metal
panel on cladding rails fixed to a reinforced
concrete structure. Louvred roof rights and
large glazed sections will allow the form to
be illuminated at night.

The cantilevered perimeter walls will sit on
concrete columns and piles set back from
the building edge to allow the building to
float above the green lawn.

16

Internal Materials:

It is proposed to use a combination of
timber cladding and lining to contrast
against the exposed board marked
concrete walls used to construct the central
sacred space. Other internal walls will be
painted sand and cement render. The
simple palette of natural materials will
create spaces of tranquility and ease.

Parking Requirements:

The car parking requirements for the Holy
Faith site are dictated by the current
Development Plan 2005-2011 which places
the site in Zone 3 and Map J.
The parking requirements for a cultural/
recreational use such as the spirituality
centre are covered by the requirement to
have 1 space per 100sqm. As the
proposed development is 490sqm approx.
we will be providing 5No. car parking
spaces adjacent to the centre beside St
Mary’s car park area. One of these spaces
will be allocated for disabled drivers.
It is also proposed to provide a drop off
point for visitors and servicing adjacent to
the entry path to the centre.

17

Approach showing raised walkway
Model Photos

18


Overview of Entrance Area
Model Photos

19


Aerial view without roof
Model Photos

20


Model Photos

21


Model Photos

22


View of external terrace off internal ramp
Model Photos

23


View from south
Perspective view

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View from west
Perspective view

25


Model views
Sketch model

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