Material from R&H Hall to be repurposed
By Daniel O’Neill
Up to 16,000 tonnes of concrete material taken from the demolition of the R&H Hall silos will be recycled and used in an upgrade to the Midleton to Cork railway line. The project is being undertaken by developer O’Callaghan Properties.
The re-use of the material will save up to 180,000kg/CO2, the equivalent to the emissions of up to 85 long-haul flights or the annual driving of 55 people in Ireland.
Managing Director of O’Callaghan Properties, Brian O'Callaghan said: “We had several options to deal with the demolition material, the simplest of which was to transport it to landfill. Another option was to crush the concrete and seek to re-use it in a sustainable fashion, locally if possible.
“We have been working on site for over a year with our demolition experts, O’Kelly Brothers, on all the processes involved and we’re pleased to announce the transportation of the product to the Irish Rail railway line upgrade. There is a double sustainability gain in that the material has been converted to a resource to be used in a public transport project. We are glad that all the steel reinforcement and structural steel from the silos is also being re-cycled.”
Due to major structural and deterioration issues in the 90 year old R&H building, it was made impossible to re-purpose the building. The structure will be replaced with a new sustainable landmark building with an architectural design that will mirror the original silos.
The practice of recycling mass concrete demolition material is relatively new in Ireland, and is highly regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency. The task involves a lengthy crushing, testing and certification process.
In preparation for the job, O’Callaghan Properties undertook an archaeological recording and conservation process carried out under the guidance of Dr Colin Rynne, Director of the Historic Building Survey Unit, Department of Archaeology, University College Cork. The process involved the dismantling, conservation and display of several key examples of the silos’ industrial fabric. The work was also carried out under heritage conservation specialists, Southgate Associates and Cork City Council’s heritage and archaeology officers.