Designated of special national interest, The National Famine Museum at Strokestown Park House is managed by the Irish Heritage Trust. It was the seat of the Mahon family from 1653 until 1981, with the building in its grander, Palladian style being built between 1720-40. The property played a pivotal role in Ireland’s national famine story and how it is remembered.
Modernity and conservation in harmony
AXO Architects of Castlebar, County Mayo, were responsible for the design of the spaces, “This project will provide a new visitor’s centre incorporating a new entrance, cafe, events centre, external landscape and a new interpretation fitout of the National Famine Museum located in the south courtyard. The materiality and external appearance of the new main entrance and the two extensions are consistent throughout and are conceived as simple, contemporary, faceted objects, with glazed apertures. The simplicity of the new interventions will sit harmoniously with the beautiful courtyard buildings. All authentic elements of the existing buildings will be preserved.”
AXO Associate Director, Joana Nunes MRIAI, “We were conscious that these fairly large spaces, which incorporate several hard surface materials, had the potential to become noisy so looked to specify an acoustic ceiling system that would control sound and achieve a smooth surface. We are very happy with the results.”
Versatile and discreet sound control
Kelbuild were main contractor for the project with Reilly Ceilings installing Rockfon Mono Acoustic in the main reception and café. Reilly Ceilings MD, Danny Reilly, “The design called for the ceilings to be suspended from close to the sloped ceiling soffits in order to retain as much height within these rooms as possible. The versatility of Mono enabled this to happen and helped create the perfect environment for visitors and staff alike to enjoy being in.”
The unique system combines the elegance of a seamless ceiling with high performance sound absorption previously thought only possible with modular suspended ceilings. It is Bronze level Cradle to Cradle Certified® and can also contribute valuably to LEED, BREAM and WELL Building Standards.
A leap forward in elegant acoustics
Rockfon Specification Manager, Deidre Mulvaney, “Mono is a great option for ceilings in heritage settings because it provides a completely seamless finish that blends in with the original architecture. On this project, LED linear lighting was designed into the ceiling, giving the entrance a more contemporary feel. It looks great.”
Its monolithic surface looks like plasterboard, but has built-in Class A sound absorption to prevent unwanted noise. The installation process is simple – Rockfon stone wool panels are installed using a suspended grid or, indeed, directly to the soffit or existing substrate. Then a smooth acoustic render is sprayed onto the panel surface, ready for decoration. Lighting, air conditioning and other features can be elegantly incorporated into the ceiling surface as can hidden hatches for access to the services above.
In common with other Rockfon acoustic systems, Mono is made with a core of naturally occurring, non-hygroscopic stone wool, which is virtually non-combustible and provides no sustenance to harmful micro-organisms. It also embodies high humidity resistance and is impervious to most environmental pressures.
