New Children's Hospital Ireland hires Arup for engineering services
In Ireland the New Children's Hospital was recently given the go ahead by An Bord Pleanála, although controversy about the new site remains. The new seven-story children’s hospital will be situated at a campus site shared with St. James’s Hospital. Arup has been called in to provide electrical engineering services to the project.
The New Children's Hospital in Ireland was recently given planning permission by An Bord Pleanála* for a campus site, shared with St. James’s Hospital. The new hospital involves the integration of three existing children’s hospitals: Street Children's University Hospital, an acute paediatric hospital that cares for 145,000 sick children per year; Our Lady's Children's Hospital in Crumlin, Ireland's largest paediatric hospital; and the National Children's Hospital in Tallaght. The new project is not without controversy, however, with considerable opposition to the site due to, among others, its lack of proximity to a maternity hospital.
The new hospital is planned to offer patients with a full spectrum of paediatric care services. The new seven-story building, spanning a total 120,000m2, will provide space for 473 beds, 21 operating theatres, clinical examination rooms, outpatients and emergency departments, support laboratories and administration spaces, expansive concourse, roof gardens, a helicopter landing pad and over 4,800 individual spaces.
The development of the new space has gone to a range of architects and design firms, including professional services firm Arup. The firm has been called in to deliver mechanical and electrical engineering services to the project. Arup will provide transport planning and help design spaces and systems suitable for patients, families and staff. The firm will also support the deployment of AGVs (automated goods vehicles) at the hospital, to manage the movement of goods and waste. The hospital will, in addition, be outfitted with a converged ICT network which will allow full digital operation through systems integration.
The project is set to begin this summer, and will be completed in 2020. The value of Arup’s contract has not been disclosed.
Eilísh Hardiman, CEO, the Children’s Hospital Group, says “This truly is a watershed day for children, young people and their families. This decision will positively transform how paediatric services are delivered for children and young people here in Ireland. These buildings are a significant catalyst for how the new national model of care will be delivered. We are now firmly on our way to making this long awaited children’s hospital a reality. Anyone who deals with paediatric services in Ireland – as a patient, a parent or as a member of staff – fully understands how badly this new facility is needed.”
* An Bord Pleanála is an independent, statutory, quasi-judicial body that decides on appeals for planning decisions made by local authorities in Ireland.
