Case Study

St Patrick’s Cathedral

ST. PATRICK’S CATHEDRAL, ARMAGH – Tiling & Mosaic Contract

PROJECT DURATION - NOVEMBER 2002 – 26TH MAY 2003

The work we completed for the extensive refurbishment of St. Patrick’s Cathedral,

Armagh was the most significant conservation and restoration project in Ireland in

recent years. One of the most important factors in the winning of the contract to supply

material to this project, was the extent of our manufacturing facility. You will find below

a case study of this project. The intention here is to provide a detailed analysis of the

approach we take with these complex projects.

PROJECT ARCHITECT - P & B GREGORY ARCHITECTS, Belfast

SANCTUARY DESIGN - ROONEY & McCONVILLE ARCHITECTS, Belfast

We manufactured product for use in a number of areas for this project:

• The Sanctuary

• The Baptistery

• The Synod Hall Washrooms

I have detailed the work involved in each area below:

THE SANCTUARY

The responsibility for the design in this area lay with Brian Quinn of Rooney &

McConville Architects (Belfast). In our initial discussions with Brian Quinn concerning

the design, we told him that if he can draw it, we can cut it – he took us at our word.

The design that was presented to us incorporated some very detailed and intricate

patterns. As a result of the various cutting technologies we possess and our previous

experience in this field, we were able to deliver these intricate designs without

compromising on the architects’ original vision. The design of this area was made up of

several different schemes and I have dealt with each individually below.

Celtic Pathways

The original mosaic work that exists in the Cathedral portrays a Celtic theme and the

new design set out to echo this theme. Whereas originally the design had been achieved

through the use of extensive mosaic work, it was decided that given the time constraints

on the project, waterjet technology would allow us to produce Brian Quinn’s new design

to the highest standard possible and in the required time frame.

The first job here was to select the appropriate materials for the project to marry the

new design with the original mosaic work. After careful consideration over many weeks

the material chosen was Italian porcelain stoneware from Italian manufacturers,

Floorgres,

The design on the main Sanctuary floor was also repeated in the surrounding areas. It

was decided that in order to highlight the main Sanctuary and make it stand out we

would use a polished finish here and a Matt finish on the surrounding areas.

You can see from the image above that the Celtic pathways form a cross leading to the

altar in the centre of the Sanctuary. The material chosen as infill for these areas was

polished 45x45cm porcelain stoneware from the Chromwork range by Floorgres. The

design on the tiles you see here is a process we have developed to create the

impression of cuts in the tile. When grouting is completed on these pieces, they appear

to be cut. The purpose of this process is to provide for ease of fitting – each tile can be

fitted as one piece.

While considering the design for this area, careful consideration was given to each and

every aspect of the design. The exact area that we had to cover was considered in

determining the dimensions of the pathways on the Sanctuary. Every effort was made

to ensure that when laid, there would be no small or irregular pieces needed to fill in

around the edges of the design. Only half and quarter tiles were used. The cutting

technologies we possess at our manufacturing facility allow us to factor these

considerations into the design and ensure that every aspect affecting the aesthetics of

the job has been taken into account. The size of the 45x45cm polished tiles was set, but

we were able to manipulate the design of the pathways to help us reach the desired

conclusion.

Another area of the Sanctuary design where this precise approach was taken was with

the polished marble that is featured on it’s steps. There are a number of pillars situated

around the Sanctuary and some of these encroach onto the steps. In order to ensure a

neat finish on these steps we utilised our waterjet cutting facility. We were able to take

templates of the parts of the steps affected by the pillars, take them back to our

manufacturing facility and the required marble pieces were cut to fit. Without the use of

this approach it would have been necessary to cut several small pieces at the foot of the

pillars in order to complete the fitting right up to the pillar. This would have again

affected the overall aesthetics of the Sanctuary. This particular aspect of the service

Armatile offer is unique in the Contracts field in Ireland – not only because of the

technology required to achieve the above results, but as a result of the high level of skill

and experience that is needed to ensure the successful completion of this work

Original mosaic piece

We were also responsible for the manufacture of an original mosaic piece that is

featured behind the Sanctuary. This piece came from a drawing that the Clerk of Works,

Mr. Gerry Gribben, had discovered at the outset of the project. It is believed that this

piece was intended for use in the original construction of the Cathedral, but for some

reason it had not been included. The architects on the project decided they would like

to use this piece in the restoration.

We took the drawing back to our design team, sourced materials to use in the piece and

after careful consideration it was again decided that porcelain stoneware from Floorgres

represented the best material to use for this piece, although it also included some real

gold mosaics. In terms of the actual manufacture of this particular piece, it is a

combination of traditional mosaic and waterjet cutting. The piece measures 3.2m in

length, contains 12,000 mosaic pieces (14mm x 14mm & 10mm x 10mm) and 200

waterjet cut pieces.

The large mosaic was assembled on a mesh in one piece at our factory. Upon

completion it was then cut into seven sections which were individually labeled and the

installers were given detailed instructions concerning the fitting of this piece. The actual

fitting of the piece on site took 2 hours for 2 men. The process of assembling this piece

at our factory and delivering it to site in a series of meshed sections offers dramatic time

savings in terms of the time spent fitting the piece.

Archbishop’s Coat of Arms

On the upper level of the Sanctuary there is a repeat of the Celtic pathway that leads to

the Cathedra. In the centre of this pathway there is a waterjet cut emblem of the

Archbishop’s Coat of Arms. This piece was commissioned by Archbishop Sean Brady.

This emblem measures 800mm diameter and contains some 250 waterjet cut pieces.

This piece was manufactured in one piece and fitted in 10 minutes.

Cathedra

There is also a design cut on the raised area where the Cathedra is placed. This

particular piece is manufactured from polished marble. This particular piece was an

original design by Armatile and was designed to fit in with the original design work by

Brian Quinn. We again used waterjet cutting to create this design.

THE SYNOD WASHROOMS

There is an old Victorian style floor design in the entrance to the Synod Hall. This design

continued into the washrooms just off this entrance hall. While the floor in the entrance

hall remained in good condition, the floor in the washroom area had become badly

damaged and had to be replaced.

We have come across a situations like this before, the most notable being in the

refurbishment of Stormont Castle in Belfast in 2001 – the home of the Northern Ireland

Parliament buildings. The architects had been trying for several months to locate

someone who could supply a new floor similar to the original without any success. They

then approached us with a sample of a Victorian encaustic design and asked for it to be

reproduced. This work involved the complete removal of the old damaged floor and the

laying of our new design.

This Cathedral was potentially more problematic in that our new design was to be laid

beside the original floor. If the old floor is being completed replaced, there is some

room for maneuver concerning the design and colour scheme – it does not have to be

an exact match. However, in this instance we were faced with having to find an exact

match to the original floor.

The original floor had been manufactured from encaustic tiles. This is an old and lengthy

process and the cost can be prohibitive. We realised from previous experience with this

type of material that waterjet technology presented a more efficient alternative in

terms of both time and cost.

The first task of our production and design team was to identify material to be used for

the reproduction of the floor. We set about producing several lab samples to present to

the client and after much consideration agreement was reached on a colour scheme.

Given the complexities of this project we were able to match the colours from the

Progetto range from Floorgres. This is an extensive range of porcelain stoneware in a

wide variety of colours and is the material we use to produce our own Cathedral range

of Victorian style flooring.

The final material was produced on a repeating series of mesh-mounted panels which

offers savings in terms of labour time and therefore cost. We also manufactured borders

to run around the outside of the design – again, an exact replica of the original floor in

the entrance hall. In addition to this there were a number of hand decorated borders

used with the wall tiles featured in this area.

THE BAPTISTERY

At a late stage in the restoration it was decided to rearrange the Baptistery to bring it

into line with current Liturgy. This entailed re-siting the Baptismal Font in the centre and

the removal of balustrades. Once this had been done half the floor was concrete and

the other half was an original mosaic design.

The Restoration Committee were faced with two problems – time and cost. With this in

mind we again set about producing a number of lab samples for approval. To the

surprise of the Restoration Committee we were able to reproduce the original floor with

a combination of mosaic and waterjet cut pieces in our factory well within their budget

and on time. The floor was assembled on a repeating series of mesh-mounted panels as

with the Synod Washrooms. This approach offered considerable time savings over the

alternative of installing the mosaic work piece by piece on site.

The emphasis in this particular area was to create the impression that the original floor

had simply been restored. Since the completion of the project, several parishioners have

commented that they are particularly pleased that this floor did not need to be replaced

which would indicate that our objective has been achieved.

Adhesives & Grouts

All adhesives & grouts used on this project were supplied by Evode Industries (Ireland).

All products came from the Evo-Stik Technik range.

CONCLUSION

From the work outlined here it can be seen that conservation and restoration projects

require a wholly different approach to any other commercial contract. In the vast

majority of cases, the maintenance of the original features in the building is the Primary

concern. However, what is also apparent from our experience in this field is that in most

cases there are some aspects of the original design that are simply too badly damaged

to be refurbished. It is in situations like this where the modern cutting technologies we

possess can allow for the effective reproduction of old designs to a standard that makes

them indistinguishable from the original. The technology itself does not provide the

answer. The whole process of identifying alternatives to the original materials used and

knowing how this material will respond to the various treatments they will be subjected

to requires considerable experience in this area. The work we have completed at St.

Patrick’s Cathedral demonstrates that we have the level of experience required to

complete projects such as this to the high standard that is required and on time.

It is also important to remember that the type of work outlined above is not solely

applicable to conservation & restoration projects. All the techniques and technologies

that have been employed on this project present architects and designers with

unrestricted design possibilities on the full range of commercial projects. As with the

Cathedral project, this ensures the delivery of a unique tile design concept that is

tailored to the specific needs of each individual job.

Contact Details;

Armatile

Station Road Industrial Estate

Loughgall Road

Armagh

Northern Ireland

United Kingdom

BT61 7NP

Tel: 028 37527007 (Head Office)

Tel: 0207 1111 613 (London Office)

Email: design@armatile.com

Web: www.armatile.com