Surface World June 2019 Surface World June 2019 | Page 34

THE GALVANIZERS ASSOCIATION
DETAIL AWARD WINNER
Pálás
dePaor - Galway, Ireland
The project was originally commissioned in
2006, after grant funding was received from the
EU, which was championing the screening of
European-made films in purpose-built cinemas
as a pushback against Hollywood. dePaor
developed the design through analogue means
– hand drawings and models at varying scales
– to test the qualities of rooms, circulation
spaces, the passage of light and the relationship
between structure and linings.
Located in the old town between the docks
that face the Atlantic Ocean and the River
Corrib that flows into it, the building sits
on a very tight corner plot previously
occupied by an early-nineteenth-century
merchant’s house.
language give few clues as to its function.
The grit-blasted concrete façades appear as
render from a distance and have a similar
quality to the exposed firewalls of Berlin.
The façades are punctuated with 25 square
operable windows made of Iroko with
galvanized steel plate sills to throw off the
rain. They are arranged in a seemingly
scattered pattern, giving little indication of
internal use. Indeed, other than the words
‘Palace’ and (the Gaelic) ‘Pálás’ imprinted on
the thinnest sides, the building’s form and
All of the external hardware to the building is
fabricated from 6mm galvanized mild steel
including: the weathervane – a cut profile of
a woman chasing her silhouette for north; the
coping and cornice - cleated for scale when
viewed from the street; the entrance canopy
- a tripartite gutter which ends in the letters
‘pálás’, as well as staircases, gates and
railings at street level.
Galvanizing was chosen for its texture and
colour - flat against the West of the Irish sky;
the way it weathers to a soft grey and how
it complements the limestone and concrete.
ENGINEERING AWARD WINNER
Conservation of Catrine Weir
Addison Conservation + Design - East
Ayrshire, Scotland
The Catrine Weir on the River Ayr (East
Ayrshire) is a 19th Century industrial structure
erected as a water supply to power the
Catrine Mills and their water wheels designed
by the renowned engineer William Fairburn.
These wheels were the biggest in the world in
their time. The weir structure was dilapidated
but, although patched over time, it required
major engineered conservation works to
stabilise and then protect the heritage assets.
The conservation was masterminded to the
smallest detail and later supervised on site
by the late John Addison.
The principle was to retain the weir’s original
fabric as much as possible but encapsulate
it in specially designed lime concrete which
closely match the type used by Roman
engineers. The original wooden weir crest
was replaced with ekki timber. Apart from the
obvious technical logic of the reinforcement,
it was decided the crest should bear a
modern and aesthetic mark. This is where
the galvanized steel apron was introduced.
It creates a sharp very clean line shimmering
in the sun (when the Scottish weather allows).
From past experience it also provides the
most cost-effective long-term solution.
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JUNE 2019
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