DJI provided full design, construction & certification services for the refurbishment of the ground floor public areas of the Pillo Hotel in Ashbourne, a contemporary building set on the outskirts of Dublin, within the catchment of Tayto Park & Dublin Airport.

The brief was to provide a modern solution to a deeply set space, creating opportunities for playing with light, textures &. finishes.
The concept needed to appeal both to executive travellers and families alike, to be friendly and robust but to have a modern edge that is conducive to small & large gatherings. We know from recent trading figures that this was a success.

Design Concept

The concept was driven by an obvious need to reconnect the internal bar & restaurant with the light flooded atrium and fields beyond. Fire safety restrictions in relation to the 9 storey atrium meant that a full opening out would not work for the budget, so we reviewed our ‘full open’ concept to include a faceted compartmentation wall with a series of planted glass boxes. This solution provided the necessary visual link with the exterior and also added animation to the space at night as the glazed planters are subtly uplit. The building itself is a contemporary structure with significant curtain walling, but is set in a very rural site, which meant the any extreme concepts would need to straddle both extremes. So we proposed a heavily textured but modern palette that had subtle nods to rural (barn doors, green moss walls, oak) while remaining appropriate to the modern context. The project was not without its site difficulties in that remediation to pyrite was required in sectional phases, dictating the tight programme. We had design restrictions in relation to fire, lack of penetration of natural light & ventilation ands a very tight floor to ceiling height. We installed a diagonal oak timber batten detail to the ceiling to make a feature of the tight floor to ceiling and to force perspective. We also had to maintain full services for the 550 person capacity hotel throughout the entire fit out, working to restricted time frames form a nose & access point of view.