In December 2004, Building Contractors, Cunnane and Donaghey commissioned Riverview TFS to manufacture and erect a timber frame kit that would meet the stringent standards of sustainable building. The Project, ‘The Daintree Building’ is a mixed-use sustainable urban building close to Camden Street in Dublin.
The complexity of the building meant that more than ever, dimensionally accurate panel construction was critical. The three-storey building had been designed to incorporate four and five different levels on each individual floor. Curved walls, curved roof panels and concrete up-stands turned the fitting of glulams and wall panels into an operation of high precision. Structural analysis on each individual structural member resulted in a 300-page structural analysis report of the finished timber frame.
The manufacture of this frame would not be straight forward. Consultations and discussions with architects Solearth and its project team were on-going. If speed is traditionally a feature of prefabrication, and indeed this proved, latterly, to be the case, this was certainly one instance when the advantages of mass production became redundant. Ultimately, it became apparent that our ability to adapt our manufacturing process was instrumental in the success of this project.
From the early stages, consultations with the project team proved to be vital to the manufacturing process. Previous experience in past projects allowed Riverview TFS to assist in solving unforeseen design problems. On our suggestion, and after further discussions, it was agreed by the project team to alter the makeup of exterior walls. The initial proposal to use 170X44mm studding had the potential to compromise the air-tightness of the building. However, as a result of our prior association with ‘Ecological Building Systems’ a division of McCann & Byrne, Athboy we demonstrated that by using standard 140mm studs together with an air-tight membrane and by fixing 40mm battens to the interior of the outer envelope, it would be possible to optimise the building’s air-tightness while maintaining and in fact, increasing the walls u-values.
Riverview TFS also had the foresight to suggest leaving a service hatch for electrical and plumbing services in this 40mm section, which will augment service accessibility in the event of future problems, but more importantly, will maintain the air-tightness of the building at all times. On completion of the project the architectural team reported that the speed of the prefabrication of the kit justified the effort that went into making it and that the frame fully met its ecological requirements.
All in all, our association with the Daintree Building project team of Cunnane & Donaghey, Builidng Contractors and Solearth Architects and their associates proved to be most enlightening. On-going consultations with all members of the project team meant that intelligent solutions to unforeseen design gliches were promptly found - a consequence of the professionalism, ingenuity and wide ranging experiences of all concerned.
Brian O’Brien of Solearth Architects has since writen that Daintree is an ecological or ‘vital’ building that is ‘probably the greenest housing in Ireland’ (Construct Ireland, Vol.2, Issue 11). Daintree and Solearth Architects won the Award for Excellence in Design at the Sustainable Energy Awards in 2005.
