Marina Miceli
Europe Press Office,London
Last week Arup took home two top prizes at the 2014 annual awards dinner of the Association of Consulting Engineers of Ireland (ACEI) held in Dublin.
The awards recognise and commend the work of Ireland's leading engineering practices which demonstrate a high degree of achievement, value and engineering excellence.
Arup won two prizes in the sustainable M&E project category. The Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Our Lady's Children's Hospital won Best Small M&E Project. Arup, as part of a Sisk lead design and build team, redeveloped an ill-fitting 1950s building into a modern state of the art healthcare facility, which, in terms of design, ambience and support for families, will significantly benefit critically ill children.
Dublin Airport's Terminal 2 was joint winner of the President's award with the Mater Hospital for Best Large M&E Project. Terminal 2 showcases a design approach that reduces both energy requirements and energy consumption. The design proposals considered the impacts that selected materials would have in sustainability terms and how material selections affected capital outlay costs, along with their respective maintenance, durability and whole life costs. It is a building of its time and for the future.
Other Arup projects shortlisted for M&E engineering excellence awards included University College Dublin's Student Learning Leisure and Sporting Complex and Cork Institute of Technology’s Zero2020 Energy Project.