In 2013 the Health Service Executive (HSE) carried out a program to develop a number of Primary Care Centres throughout Ireland, with a capital value of approximately €115 million.
ABK Architects was commissioned to design two of these centres located in Northeast Dublin City Centre. The final procurement of the buildings will be by Public Private Partnership.
At Coolock the proposal includes a 65-space car park and an Ambulance and Paramedic station. The building provides 4,500m² of accommodation arranged as a three storey brick volume, carved to create a three dimensional volume of varied massing in response to differing site and boundary conditions. The design maximises day-lighting to internal spaces while maintaining the levels of privacy and security required of a medical facility. The building’s scale and volume respond to the height of adjacent buildings including the neighbouring sports hall and community facilities to the west.
The building comprises Consulting and Nursing treatment and Meeting rooms located on ground and first floor with more private areas and staff rooms located at the top floor. Circulation and accommodation throughout the project is organized around a series of open courts and terraces that provide daylight, visual relief and break-out space as well as assisting in orienting visitors and staff as they circulate through the building.