Summerhill College, the College of the Immaculate Conception, is a historic institution dating back to the 1850s and stands as the largest boys’ school in the northwest of Ireland. Occupying a prominent gateway site overlooking Sligo City, the college underwent a major campus transformation to modernize its facilities for a student population of 1,000. This significant redevelopment involved the demolition of outdated 1960s-era structures to make way for a state-of-the-art 7,000m² educational facility.
The structural design by Jennings O’Donovan utilized a high-performance three-storey composite steel and concrete frame alongside a single-storey portal frame. A key engineering feature is the sports gymnasium, where the design incorporated long-span steel cell beams to support the roof structure while maintaining a clear, open internal volume. Our design philosophy focused on providing a non-intrusive structural frame to maximize service zones and offer complete architectural freedom for this landmark educational building.
Navigating the financial requirements of a publicly funded project was a primary challenge. To address this, Jennings O’Donovan led extensive Value Engineering exercises, presenting sustainable structural solutions that allowed for detailed cost-benefit analysis. This process ensured that the optimal engineering solutions were agreed upon by the Design Team while strictly adhering to Department of Education & Science budget constraints.
The completed facility provides a comprehensive suite of modern educational spaces, including advanced science laboratories, specialized technical rooms for woodwork and metalwork, a music recording suite, and a business hub with over 40 computer stations. The engineering scope also included all site infrastructure, coordination with Mechanical and Electrical (M&E) services, and the seamless connection of new systems into the existing historic campus framework.