Kalzip provides solution for state-of-the-art healthcare developments

Kalzip has played a key role in one of Europe’s largest and most technically complex healthcare developments, the New Children’s Hospital (NCH) in Dublin. Situated on the St James’s Hospital campus, this €1.7 billion national facility consolidates three existing children’s hospitals, Crumlin, Temple Street, and Tallaght, into a single, state-of-the-art institution that sets a new benchmark for paediatric care in Ireland and beyond.

One of the most striking architectural features is the sweeping, double-curved roof that floats above the building like a protective canopy. It was this complex roofscape that required a technically sophisticated and visually refined solution, making Kalzip a natural choice. Kalzip supplied approximately 4,200 square metres of Kalzip 65/400 standing seam aluminium profile, fabricated from mill-finish stucco-embossed. This textured finish offers a refined appearance while also mitigating glare and enhancing weathering performance over time.

Trevor Smyth, National Sales Manager at Kalzip, said: “To accommodate the roof’s dramatic form, Kalzip engineered a bespoke solution involving a combination of parallel-curved and tapered curved sheets, fabricated using mobile roll-forming equipment directly on-site. The roof panels were rolled and shaped on the Level 4 slab, minimising handling and reducing transport risk. These precisely formed aluminium sheets were fixed onto a substructure of over 650 tonnes of curved, hot dip galvanized structural steelwork, engineered and installed by KH Engineering.”

Architecturally, the design of the hospital is both visionary and highly contextual. Lead architect BDP created a structure that is simultaneously monumental and sensitive to its urban surroundings. Its form steps down the sloping site, while its curved shapes, generous use of glass, and carefully selected natural materials promote transparency, openness, and healing. At its heart lies a series of oval ward pavilions, elevated above a robust stone-clad base, surrounded by landscaped terraces and courtyards. The façade system integrates granite rainscreen cladding at lower levels with unitised curtain walling and glazed screens at the upper levels, creating a dynamic and welcoming civic presence.

Kalzip’s system not only met the aesthetic ambitions of the design team but also delivered on the hospital’s demanding technical requirements. The standing seam construction ensures long-term watertightness, resistance to extreme weather, and reduced maintenance over the building’s lifespan, crucial for a 24/7, high-occupancy facility. Furthermore, the aluminium material’s inherent corrosion resistance and recyclability support the project’s sustainability ambitions, with the recycling ratio for Stucco achieving up to 98%. The hospital has been designed to BREEAM ‘Excellent’ standards and features a wide range of passive and active energy strategies, including natural ventilation, advanced glazing, and a large-scale green roof system.

Beneath the Kalzip roof lies an innovative landscape of intensive green roofs and public terraces, supporting both biodiversity and stormwater management. The roofing system integrates with these planted areas to ensure drainage continuity and waterproofing integrity. In total, the roofscape handles over 35,000 square metres of coverage and incorporates a water retention system capable of managing around 1,500 cubic metres of stormwater, adding a further layer of climate resilience to the project.

Architects OCMA said: “The new hospital sits comfortably within the existing St. James’s Hospital campus, the first views of the hospital being the distinctive oval wards sitting above a pavilion set in a therapeutic elevated rooftop garden. The garden is an integral part of the design as it will give a tangible sense of this being a special place – one for children and young people, elevated above the world of adults.”

Kalzip’s involvement in the New Children’s Hospital represents a commitment to supporting the most forward-thinking architectural projects with precision, performance, and partnership. By providing a roofing system that combines aesthetic excellence with technical reliability, Kalzip has helped realise an iconic civic building, one that embodies innovation, compassion, and a brighter future for children and families across Ireland.

For more information on Kalzip’s aluminium roofing and façade systems, visit www.kalzip.com.