St Mary's University College
Inspiring Design Provides Modern Environment for Tomorrow's Teachers
A Campus University in the Heart of Belfast's Cosmopolitan City
St Mary’s University College is a college of Queen’s University, a member of the Russell Group which is ranked in the UK’s top 10, and with a £700m investment in a 20-year capital development programme is proud to boast some of the best campus facilities in the UK and Ireland.
Since it was built at the start of the twentieth century St Mary’s University College, has acquired a proud reputation in providing high-quality teacher education.
Ambition
As part of an ongoing programme of expansion St Mary’s College was keen to develop a new Staff and Administrative Building by modernising, repurposing and utilising a space which had had various different College uses over the years.
Challenge
The space available for redesign had dual heights. On one side a double height room flanked by floor to ceiling glass windows created an airy open plan space, but one prone to high volume noise.
This was contrasted by a compact first floor area, which through design needed to feel more light and spacious. Linking the two spaces presented design challenges particularly for the ceiling landscape and acoustic performance which was a project imperative.
We had great support from Knauf Ceiling Solutions who helped at the initial design stage and then provided valuable advice in working out the best finishes and systems for the project. We were really happy with the finish and would definitely consider using Heradesign in future projects.
Solution
Knauf Ceiling Solution’s HERADESIGN® baffles and rafts were specified for the project as they offered the perfect ceiling solution, combining great aesthetic qualities and superior acoustic performance.
To unite the space, light grey baffles were used in the double height area and on the first floor. In other areas a mix of rafts in light grey and traffic purple provided an elegant, calm interior design palette with pops of modern colour contrast providing space definition in the open plan layout. HERADESIGN® is a brilliantly innovative and versatile product, valued by specifiers for its high performance and aesthestic wood wool properties. It can be matched to any interior colour scheme and is available in a wide selection of shapes, face patterns, edge details and sizes. It can be fixed to walls or suspended as ceilings, baffles or rafts.
Manufactured from robust sustainable materials it offers high impact resistance, and superior fire safety characteristics, which is paramount for any building.
We worked closely with our specialist subcontractor Convery Ceilings to deliver this project. Support Service from Knauf Ceiling Solutions was a great success factor from the initial sample selection that enabled us to trial various install methods down to the finer details such as the provision of touch up paint to blend in/conceal fixings with the order.
We also had excellent technical support from Aaron at Knauf Ceiling Solutions, to assist with the install co-ordination for second fix Mechanical and Electrical fittings. This M&E co-ordination contributed to the project being shortlisted for a CIOB Ireland Construction Management award. The smooth procurement process with all commitments regarding lead times were met, even with the logistical difficulties caused by the pandemic.
This was vitally important to meet the fast-track programme on this project.
