Health campus up for global award
Waterford Health Park has been shortlisted for World Building of the Year at the World Architecture Festival Awards and is now being promoted as an example of best practice under the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
The inventory is maintained by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht through initiatives including the website, www.buildingsofireland.ie.
Waterford Health Park has been operating since May of 2009 at the former convent on the city’s Slievekeal Rd, and was nominated for World Building of the Year the following year.
It was established by GP Dr Mark Rowe who is now a major figure in the Caritas Project, a US-based non-profit body working to pioneer the next generation of improvements in healthcare through innovative design.
The 30,000sq ft health park is seen as a positive example in conservation and re-use of older buildings and features in the Government Policy on Architecture 2009-2015.
As part of his work with the Caritas Project, Dr Rowe has hosted a range of research workshops and collaborative sessions in Waterford for overseas visitors.
The mid-19th century convent was designed by Augustus Welby Pugin, master of the Gothic revival and best known for his work on the interior of the Palace of Westminster.
The team who created Waterford Health Park included Duffy Henry Bent Architects; Frank Fox Engineers; Pat Sheridan Consultants, Hillary Liddy Design, and main contractors Clancy Construction.
The architectural features of Waterford Health Park can be viewed by the public between 9am and 5.30pm, Monday to Friday, and from 9am to 1pm on Saturdays.
