Kennedy FitzGerald Architects were appointed by the Health Service Executive in 2015 following a design competition to deliver a new community nursing facility for dementia care patients in Drogheda. The Village, St Mary’s Hospital Drogheda consists of three household clusters interlinked by shared community/circulation spaces and functional staff facilities delivered within a series of domestic scale blocks, forming a homogenous, contemporary aesthetic.

Landscape courtyards provide safe external spaces for patient use within each household. The building provides 30 ensuite bedrooms, assisted bathrooms, quiet rooms, support accommodation, multi-purpose rooms, clinical/administrative facilities, and landscaped courtyards.

The main design challenge focused on the provision of a functional healthcare facility within a home-from-home ambience to enhance patients’ experience and quality of life. Pitched roof single storey blocks of brick, render and slate construction establish a recognisable domestic form within the household clusters. The clusters form a homogenous group of bedroom blocks connected by low-level circulation spaces of extensive glazing which wrap around private landscaped courtyards. These internal ‘cloisters’ form secure patient wandering loops, enable access into the courtyards and also providing visual connectivity from staff bases.

The main social spaces are afforded prominence through their introduction as zinc-clad hearts within each household cluster with direct access into the landscaped courtyards.

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