UU Gate Lodge

Ulster University

Client: Ulster University

Completion: August 2017

Value: £0.45m

Project Summary

This rewarding refurbishment of a two-storey former porter’s lodge, built in 1870, is situated within the Ulster University Magee Campus conservation area. McAdam were appointed to undertake this project due to our status a tier one single service provider on the Ulster University Professional Services Framework. We provided a full Design & Project Management Service from Inception to Scheme Completion via our in-house Lead Designer (Architect) Project Manager, and Principal Designer. We also assembled and integrated into our team the appropriate Civil / Structural / Mechanical / Electrical Engineering service together with Landscape Architects.

Upon inspection it was discovered that the gate lodge was in poor condition with defects evident to much of the external and internal fabric resulting in substantial and costly repair. The Client's brief was to provide office accommodation capable of housing 20 people with a meeting room and associated toilets. To achieve this the project required a new build extension which had to be sensitively integrated into the existing historic building. Key challenges included:

  • Extensive discussions with Historic Buildings to achieve Planning permission
  • Designing a sympathetic extension to a building in a conservation area
  • Working with materials that were over 150 years old

Benefits

The community benefits for restoration and re-use are almost self-evident. It is a strategy that we endorse at McAdam when possible provided the solution can achieve the operational and environmental performance required by the client’s brief. In this instance we could, and the Client was delighted with the results which included:

  • Restoration of an old much-loved building in poor condition
  • Provision of modern office accommodation within the Magee Campus
  • Establishment of a landmark building as a new Northland Road entrance to the campus
  • Provision of enhanced landscaping to Northland Road entrance
  • Provision of additional car-parking within the Magee Campus
  • Restoration of an attractive boundary wall on the Northland Road

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