Retail
Shopping for steel
20 NSC
June 18
With two prominent red tower
cranes on site, the extension
and refurbishment of the
Frascati Shopping Centre in
Blackrock, County Dublin, is easy to spot
above the suburban rooftops.
The initial work, involving a new multistorey
car park, has already completed and
the remaining phases, which involve the
use of structural steelwork, are due to be
delivered over the course of this year, with
the final phase to be completed by December.
The shopping centre’s owner Invesco Real
Estate – a global investment manager – is
spending more than £26M to increase the
size of the centre from 9,290m2 to 15,793m2
in order to broaden its appeal to national and
international traders.
The works require main contractor
Collen Construction to build a large Aldi
supermarket unit, further extensions to the
main north east elevation as well as several
new smaller units including restaurants.
The company’s work also includes drainage
diversions, external landscaping and
refurbishment of the existing centre.
The tenant mix at the centre is set to
evolve and improve as a result of the strong
anchor tenants in place, as well as the
additional sizable units that the development
will offer.
Current anchor tenants Debenhams and
Marks & Spencer will be joined by Aldi later
this year.
When complete, the new Frascati
Shopping Centre will be a landmark on one
of the most important routes connecting
Dublin city centre with its south-eastern
suburbs.
The new retail extensions are all
compositely designed with steelwork
supporting metal decking. Stability is gained
from a combination of concrete cores and
cross bracing, primarily located within
partition walls, but some will be visible
behind shopfront glazing.
Although they do link into the existing
shopping centre, the new build extensions
are entirely structurally independent, with
three movement joints separating them into
three structures.
“The old centre is a mix of concrete and
steel construction, as it has been expanded
over the years,” says Barrett Mahony Director
John Considine. “But when it came to
designing the extensions, a steel frame was
the only option as it offers the flexibility to
change and alter shop layouts, and it is quick
to build with.”
The first point has been fully tested, as a
A large retail extension and refurbishment programme, with
added flexibility, is being carried out at the Frascati Shopping
Centre in County Dublin.
FACT FILE
Frascati Shopping
Centre, Blackrock,
County Dublin
Main Client:
Invesco Real Estate
Architect: Newenham
Mulligan Associates
Main contractor:
Collen Construction
Structural engineer:
Barrett Mahony
Consulting Engineers
Steelwork contractor:
Steel & Roofing Systems
Steel tonnage: 850t
/Car_parks
/Retail_buildings#Shopping_centres
/Retail_buildings#Supermarkets
/Composite_construction
/Concept_design#Structural_options_for_stability
/Braced_frames#Vertical_bracing
/Steel-supported_glazed_facades_and_roofs
/Construction
/Retail_buildings#Flexibility
/Car_parks
/Retail_buildings#Shopping_centres
/Retail_buildings#Supermarkets
/Composite_construction
/Concept_design#Structural_options_for_stability
/Braced_frames#Vertical_bracing
/Steel-supported_glazed_facades_and_roofs
/Construction
/Retail_buildings#Flexibility