The transformation of Evans’ Home into the new Butler Gallery brought one of Kilkenny’s significant historic buildings back into public use, creating a contemporary home for art and culture in the heart of the city. Lawler Consulting was appointed as part of the design team to deliver the full Mechanical & Electrical design for this sensitive conservation and adaptive-reuse project
Working within an existing heritage building brings very different challenges to a new-build project. Modern services had to be carefully integrated while respecting the historic fabric and architectural intent of Evans’ Home.
The redevelopment created seven collection galleries, a large double-height temporary exhibition space, learning facilities and a café, alongside contemporary additions connected to the original building. Gallery spaces also required carefully controlled internal environments suitable for displaying works of art.
Lawler Consulting worked as part of the wider design team to develop building services appropriate to both the historic structure and its new life as a public cultural venue.
Sustainability was an important part of the project’s adaptive-reuse approach.
Rather than replacing an existing building, the project retained the embodied value within the original structure while improving its operational performance through the introduction of modern building services.
Lawler’s design incorporated a deep retrofit of the heating, lighting, water and ventilation systems, helping transform the historic building into an efficient, comfortable environment for visitors, staff and the gallery collection.
This is a section I’d definitely retain because it connects heritage + M&E + sustainability very naturally without sounding like we’ve bolted an environmental claim onto the case study.
The building services design needed to respond to the different demands of exhibition, visitor and operational spaces throughout the gallery.
Mechanical services included heating, water services, ventilation, air handling, heat recovery and air conditioning, while the electrical design incorporated internal and external lighting, emergency lighting, power, fire alarm, security, access control, CCTV and metering systems. A new passenger lift also formed part of the works.
Together, these systems support a modern gallery environment while remaining sensitively integrated within the restored building.
The completed project has transformed Evans’ Home from a building that had fallen out of its original use into a major cultural destination for Kilkenny.
Historic rooms now accommodate permanent and temporary exhibitions alongside contemporary interventions, learning spaces and visitor facilities, while the surrounding grounds have been brought back into public use.
For Lawler Consulting, Butler Gallery demonstrates how thoughtful M&E design can support adaptive reuse – improving building performance and creating modern internal environments while respecting the character of an important historic structure.
From sensitive heritage restoration to complex refurbishment and retrofit, our engineers bring together building performance and M&E expertise to help existing buildings meet new demands.
Simply drop in your contact details and let us know a good time to reach you and one of our expert engineering team will call to discuss your needs and how we might be able to help