June 2014: Innovation in Sustainable Construction

The 815m² centre which is dedicated to the teachings of Ireland’s only female saint comprises of reception and exhibition space, conference room, four self-catering hermitages, spirituality education and library area, hospitality room, chapel/prayer room, spiritual accompanying/counselling room, meeting rooms, residential facilities and ancillary service and utility spaces.

The building which is extremely efficient in terms of building and fabric makes full use of passive systems. The building is to achieve an airtightness of 2-3m³/(h.m²) @50Pa. The buildings external leaf comprises of honeycomb Poroton Pre-Insulated Terracotta block (utilised because of its virtually dry construction) filled with mineral wool and finished with external insulating lime render, stone cladding with preformed metal flashing, and passive timber triple glazing system. The roof is mainly a flat roof membrane finished in a decorative stone ballast, and copper roof ing and fascias over the two central circular rooms.

Clients Testimonial

“I have no hesitation in recommending Manley Construction to any prospective client. Solas Bhríde Centre is a unique project using many relatively new ecologically sustainable materials and features. The quality of the project that Manley Construction delivered s excellent. Their Health & Safety record on site was of a very high standard. I found Manley Construction to be courteous, professional and eager at all times to satisfy the client’s expectations.”

- Rita Minehan, Project Coordinator, Solas Bhríde Centre & Hermitages Ltd.