The winner of the 2019 Galvanizing in Detail Award was Palas by dePaor, a cinema in Galway, Ireland
All of the external hardware to the building is fabricated from 6mm mild steel that was galvanized.
From the apex of the roof , the weathervane – a cut profile of a woman chasing her silhouette for north, the coping and cornice – cleated for scale when viewed from the street, the entrance canopy – a tripartite gutter which ends in the letters PALAS: the name of the building, the overscaled cap to the toplight to the back bar stairs and the underscaled one to the cinema below ground, the window cills – extended 300mm beyond the face for weather and rhythm, the mechanical extract and intake grills – which alternate for emphasis, the gates – of angle mitred for frame, security and the space between, down to the railings at the street which are lap jointed to split the function of guarding and handrail.
Inside the circulation areas of the building are untempered and so bespoke light fittings and conduit are all in galvanized round tube bent and coordinated as part of the architecture of the space.
Galvanized steel was chosen for its texture and colour, flat against the west of Ireland sky. It is good with limestone and concrete, it weathers to a soft grey and chimes with street furniture.
Each detail is bespoke, an element to articulate the plain walls of the volume, a language of parts and livery for the building.
Images © Ed Reeve, Peter Maybury, David Grandgorge
