Clonmel Hospital
Clonmel Hospital, Tipperary
It’s a long way…
KEIM Mineral Paints have been used to provide a decorative and protective finish for South Tipperary General Hospital in Clonmel, Ireland.
The hospital which is a prominent feature of the town, was originally a workhouse built in the 19th Century and designed by George Wilkinson, as were most of Ireland’s workhouses of the period with a rather institutional appearance.
After well over 100 years, it was made a Protected Structure, more for its historical rather than architectural importance. The building was of originally un-rendered rubble walling with ashlar quoins and was rendered in the middle part of the last Century. This render deteriorated in part over time and a substantial portion had to be removed. Following repair and restoration of this render, the whole exterior has recently been painted as part of a major renovation and improvement programme at the Hospital, led by specialist healthcare Architects Murray O’Laoire/Brian O’Connell Associates.
Specification of the paintwork required careful consideration to ensure compatibility with the various lime and cementitious render materials identified during the surface assessment. Specialist contractors New Look Contracting were consulted and proposed KEIM Royalan to provide a longlife finish which will ensure a consistent and fade free colour finish for the whole of the hospital building even over the various substrates.
KEIM Royalan is a mineral silicate based paint system developed especially to withstand harsh climatic conditions such as extremes of heat and cold or severe exposure for example in marine environments. Like other KEIM mineral silicate paint systems, KEIM Royalan forms a microcrystalline bond with the mineral substrate to which it is applied, ensuring longlife protection and decoration. It is breathable, resistant to the ingress of driven rain, lightfast and resistant to atmospheric pollution. It is environmentally friendly and ideally suited to the restoration of historic and listed buildings with a range of colours allowing specifiers to replicate the original colour schemes of buildings of historic importance.
The Hospital now has an attractive finish as befits its prominent position in the town. Having originally been built in the 19th Century it is still providing an important service to the community for the 21st Century.
