Project Overview

St. Francis Hospice opened in 1992 providing day-care and homecare services to the people of North Dublin. This was followed in 1995 by a 19 bed in patient unit. The plan which is extremely compact, took advantage of the sloped site and enabled the building to wrap around stepped landscaped gardens. Great emphasis has been placed on the outdoor spaces which provide a welcome outlook to both existing patients and those confined to the building. To reflect the Hospice ethos, the homely feeling is maintained with the use of maple timber, carpets, textured wall coverings and subdued lighting. External treatments consist of rustic brick terracotta tiles, timber windows pergolas and water features.

The third phase of development at the hospice comprises a New Day Care facility, ancillary accommodation and separate Education Centre. The challenge in this phase was to recreate the qualities of enclosure, security and tranquility tangible in the earlier buildings of Phase 1 and 2, and cherished by those who use and visit the hospice. The design of the building continues these themes, where rooms extend into sheltered gardens and where the calming influence of nature interacts in a positive way with internal space. A pallete of restrained and holistic materials is used including stone, water, copper, timber, glass and landscaping to enhance the restful quality of the environment. As night falls and the buildings’ functions change, the landscape is transformed into a lightscape emphasising the buildings’ lightness and optimism.