Cullivan and colleagues receive top marks for school project

Navan-based architect David Cullivan and his colleagues at Gaffney & Cullivan Architects – Anna Fleres, Iana Kuzmych and Andrew O’Neill - were recently nominated for awards for their work on providing the latest extension to St Patrick’s Classical School in Navan.

The extension was nominated in both Public Building of the Year and Educational Building of the Year categories at the Building & Architect of the Year awards.

The nominations for the awards came a year after Gaffney & Cullivan Architects won the Best Public Building accolade at the Building & Architect of the Year awards in the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin.

That particular accolade was presented for the firm’s work on the Castleblayney Library and Urban Regeneration Project for Monaghan Co Council, a project that was completed in September last year.

Bishop of Meath, Most Reverend Tom Deenihan blessed the new work at St Patrick's CS while Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, cut the ribbon, unveiled the plaque and officially opened the new facilities last autumn.

Overcoming challenges is something David Cullivan and his team are accustomed to doing in the creation and fashioning new buildings – and their work carried at St Patrick’s Classical School certainly provided them with plenty of hurdles and dilemmas as they set about the task of providing new, extra classrooms.

The new facilities consist of five new mainstream classrooms, a science laboratory, home economics room, textiles room, applied technology room, a technology preparation area, two new DCG rooms, administration offices, and a large locker room for the current student population of close to 1,000 students and 70 staff.

Previously located in a building in Academy Street in Navan, St Pat’s CS has been based in its current location at Moatlands, opposite the hospital, for over 50 years now.

When the school was first relocated to the area educational facilities were provided for up to 200 students. Now, as poet WB Yeats might have add if he was around today everything “has changed, changed utterly” with the school’s growing population reflecting the rapid increase of the Meath town in recent times.

Charged with the task of providing the new, and latest, extension to the school Cullivan and his team set about finding a balance between one particular objective and another. “Our biggest challenge was to provide additional accommodation but also protect the amenity value of the campus.

“There was a concern that the site might not accommodate an enlarged school of this scale and that the historic home in the town might be lost. We were mindful of the significance the town and the reciprocal role the town plays in the life of the school,” he recalls.

“Another challenge was to create an identity/public face for the school. The existing buildings had evolved in phases over many years in response to different demands, different times, different design teams and lacked a focal point. The main entrance was set back from the street between residences with no urban presence. Given the role of the school in the life of the town, we considered this important to address.

“We talk about urban renewal and how to keep people invested in towns and town centre, particularly provincial towns, and in that context nothing is as important as a school of a over 1,000 people because it brings activity, it brings life so we felt it was hugely important to fit all the new accommodation in the space available.”

Car parking/vehicular access also presented a significant challenge for Cullivan and his team. “We were fortunate to have engaged with Meath Co Council who were considering developing a Park and Ride facility on adjoining lands at Moatlands,” he adds.

“The resulting collaboration succeeded and had a number of consequent beneficial effects. It created a safe area for the bus set down and the front entrance area was added to the fallow triangle to increase space for the new wing (of the school) which became the focal point and main entrance. The shared car park supports cyclists who avail of the dedicated lanes and shelters on this side of the campus.

“The collaboration with the local authority in relation to the car parking space ensured the school could remain at its historic home. This maintains the link between the school and the urban core,” he added.

Originally from Cavan town, David Cullivan studied architecture at UCD and worked in Dublin and London before taking control of Gaffney & Cullivan Architects which was founded by his father, Philip.

The company has been involved in drawing plans for a series of high-profile projects in the north east including extensive refurbishments at Our Lady’s Hospital in Navan and St Joseph’s in Trim, Monaghan Co Library as well as the provision of the Covid unit at St Brigid’s, in Ardee.

David Cullivan has also been closely involved in the running of Navan Rugby Club and has served as club president.