Ensuring safety, minimising disruption, and delivering quality in a live hospital environment

Dublin 7

MCA architects recently completed the design and delivery of a new operating theatre at the Mater Private campus on Eccles Street, constructed on a small courtyard island within an existing building. The client had to respond to a critical need for additional theatre space in a tight urban site.

Unique Challenges

The site was surrounded by operational hospital facilities on all four sides, presenting significant logistical challenges. The project’s complexity was amplified by the need to phase the work carefully, temporarily relocating existing facilities, and building new staff rooms and equipment storage—all within the extremely tight confines of a busy urban healthcare campus.

To overcome these challenges, MCA implemented several innovative and carefully designed solutions. With scaffolding erected around and over the adjacent roofs to facilitate construction, the structure was built from the basement up and the roof down, over the 4-5 storeys. Through close collaboration with hospital stakeholders, MCA developed a detailed seven-phase plan—each phase comprising multiple sub-phases—to deliver a complex build without disrupting hospital operations or services. We meticulously planned the project to work within stringent deadlines, ensuring that patient safety, well-being, and infection control were maintained at all times.

MCA worked closely with the hospital’s operations team to design a process that allowed construction to proceed near operating theatres where live surgeries were being conducted. This required precision, collaboration, and creative problem-solving to protect both the hospital’s critical services and its patients, while still achieving project goals.