BDP celebrates seven major wins for projects in Limerick and Drogheda at National Architecture & Design Awards

Both projects were honoured in multiple categories, highlighting BDP’s leadership in designing progressive public and education buildings in Ireland, and the value of sustainable, context-sensitive architecture that brings lasting benefit to students, communities and local authorities.

TUS Coonagh Engineering Campus, which opened its doors to students in April 2024, exemplifies originality and innovative design thinking through the adaptive reuse of an abandoned shopping centre, transforming it into a vibrant, sustainable state-of-the-art engineering education facility. This innovative redevelopment not only advances sustainable design practices but also delivers meaningful social value, injecting new life into the community and serving as a catalyst for economic and social revitalisation.

Developed as the first phase of a wider masterplan by BDP, the brief was to create a landmark place that would set the standard for future development. The campus delivers 5,700 square metres of teaching and learning facilities, social spaces, staff accommodation and student support areas, along with extensive public realm and car parking. The project not only addresses a change of use of the existing building but creates spaces that offer flexibility for future change of use, learning the lessons from the past and reflecting those insights within the design. It represents a progressive approach to sustainable, forward thinking and education building design, earning its place as an exemplar project for both innovation and impact.

This transformational project has now received four national awards. At the Building & Architect of the Year Awards, the campus was named Educational Building of the Year and received the Sustainability Award for a Single Building or Development. At the Irish Building & Design Awards, it was honoured as Sustainable Building Project of the Year and Education Project of the Year.

In Drogheda, BDP has sensitively restored and reimagined two unoccupied Protected Structures to create a new civic heart for Louth County Council. The Drogheda Civic Offices project involved the adaptive reuse of the former Borough Chamber and Community Services Building, located within the Architectural Conservation Area of Fair Street, and the construction of a new glazed link building that brings these heritage assets together into a modern, fully integrated civic complex.

This 2,000 square metre development includes a renovated Borough District of Drogheda meeting chamber, a large multi-use public exhibition space, a new public foyer and counter, conference facilities and a number of administrative offices and meeting rooms. Designed and delivered to the highest standards, the buildings incorporate energy-efficient systems including photovoltaic panels, heat pumps, LED lighting and solar shading, as well as a sedum roof that improves biodiversity and helps the building blend into the urban landscape. The revitalised public plaza and entrance create a welcoming gateway and valuable civic space for the community.

Drogheda Civic Offices received three major accolades at the national awards. It won Building Refurbishment for a Single Building or Development at the Building & Architect of the Year Awards, and at the Irish Building & Design Awards it was recognised as both the Heritage & Conservation Project of the Year and the Retrofit / Renovation Project of the Year.

This recognition not only highlights the architectural excellence of the project but also underscores its wider importance in terms of sustainability, heritage conservation, and exemplar adaptive reuse. The project showcases how a forward-thinking approach to design can breathe new life into old buildings, balancing modern functionality with cultural preservation to create lasting positive impact for the civic community and staff at Louth County Council.