Dundrum Food Hall

Dundrum Food Hall

The Challenge

When McCarthy & Associates were appointed as project managers for the 600-seat food court at Dundrum Town Centre, a design team had already been appointed by the client. Part of our challenge related to clarifying the client brief and making sure that it was communicated clearly and concisely to all members of the design team and the main contractor.

With a single overall contractor responsible for the delivery of this massive town centre project, there was a very real danger that an individual element such as the food court would miss out on the attention to detail and focus which it required. The project was already behind schedule when we were appointed and our first task was to get it back on track as speedily as possible, ensuring that we delivered the completed food court by the official opening day of the largest mixed-use retail/town centre development in the Republic of Ireland.

Our challenge was further complicated by the need to effectively manage the design and development process, and the variations which emanated from this to deliver the finished high-spec project. Finally, we needed to coordinate delivery of client-procured materials and equipment from Europe.

Solution

We immediately set about clarifying the client brief and ensuring that both the design team and the contractor were fully onboard in terms of the demands which this would place on them. Regular design team and site progress meetings were implemented to ensure that everybody’s focus was on the project brief at all times. By coordinating all aspects of the fit-out project including scope change and liaising closely with both the client and the design team, we managed to incorporate these changes into the construction programme without affecting the target completion date.

Outcome

The state-of-the-art premium quality food court was completed by the official opening day for the Dundrum Town Centre and added considerably to the overall Dundrum offering. The fitting-out of the food court neatly dovetailed with the landlord’s own vast fitting-out works (which were on an equally tight timeframe) to achieve the common goal of being ready for the official opening day.