Case Studies

Clay Farm

TEAM

Assigned Certifier

Sector

Residential

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Assigned Certifier

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Overview of service

Clay Farm is a world-class residential development in Leopardstown, Dublin 18. The 1,658 new homes within the development are situated over 14 acres of inviting parkland. This high-quality A-rated development is enriched by its close proximity to popular amenities and excellent infrastructure services.

The overall masterplan strategy seeks to deliver a mix of housing and apartment types, a street network connecting the parks, and generous public open spaces. There will be a series of character areas, each with a clear identity, and each with different landscapes and topography. These distinct neighbourhoods create village clusters, which allows for a flexible, phased approach to the development.

Sustainability

The overall master plan seeks to deliver a mix of housing and apartment types, consisting of 1, 2 ,3 and 4-bedroom spaces, that go the extra mile to promote sustainable living. Energy-saving technologies such as Heatmiser, solar PV panels, heat recovery ventilation and electric car charging are among the environmental considerations taken. The development of central “Eco Park” sits between Phases 1 and 2 and will serve as a unique public amenity bridged by the new Clay Farm Distributor Road.

The client, Park Developments, appointed ORS to provide Assigned Certifier Services, for the coordination of the design team, contractor and client in relation to the overall compliance and certification with Building Regulations. The BCAR management, inspection and certification of the two apartment blocks with basement car parking ran from the design stage (pre-commencement), through construction until completion. A separate completion was carried out for the communal indoor amenity area fit-out of the meeting room, lounge areas, reception, stores and disabled WCs.

Project challenges

Managing non-compliance

To maintain the high standard required for the project, the ORS team introduced regular fortnightly BCAR meetings with the design team and contractor. They were preceded by status updates of inspection including – last observed, number of BCAR non-compliances recorded and the number still open after a month.

These stats were kept as running totals to see trends in issues by discipline, by the area under construction or by element type in progress. High numbers of individual cases identified areas of concern. They were tackled by addressing the methodology rather than the trade workmanship, or in some cases, greater site supervision was allocated where needed.

Common items scrutinised by Building Control include ventilation, sound and thermal insulation, seeking improved efficiencies within the building fabric. ORS coordinated the response to a Section 11 Request that was raised. The team allocated inputs from various designers and brought them together into a coordinated formal response within a very short timeframe. The prompt and complete response which was structured into compact bite sizes was easy to follow and proved to be the best and most respectful approach.