Aldi Terenure
A modern supermarket and underground car park delivered around the retained and reconstructed fabric of an 1882 Dublin tramway station.
Find a viable new use for a complex historic site.
Terenure Tramway Station opened in 1882 and served the Dublin and Blessington route until 1932. Its engine sheds, carriage sheds, workshop and smithy later became storage facilities before finally closing in 1948.
Aldi acquired the site for a purpose-built store and warehouse. Following intervention by the heritage authorities, the scheme was redesigned through consultation and negotiation to preserve and reconstruct important parts of the former station.
Construct below and around fragile retained fabric.
Unstable walls had to be assessed individually while the perimeter and principal gable wall were underpinned and retained. An underground car park required diaphragm piling beside the historic masonry. Timber columns, mixed timber-and-steel roof trusses and the former tram entrances also had to be preserved or accurately reconstructed.
Salvage the station’s materials and make its history legible.
Stone from unsafe walls was cleaned, catalogued and rebuilt in its original position using lime mortar against new reinforced-concrete structure. Original timber columns were protected within stone and brick jackets. Roof trusses were removed, repaired on site and reinstated.
The blocked tram entrance was reopened and reconstructed in salvaged stone and red brick around new structural support. A second arch was rebuilt at the back-of-house entrance. Modern glazing and travelator access were then introduced to create a clear contrast between old and new.
Heritage requirements integrated with complex retail delivery.
- Heritage consultation and negotiation
- Retention and underpinning strategy
- Salvaged-material management
- Underground car-park co-ordination
- Historic roof-truss repair
- Integration of modern retail access
A working supermarket that reveals the site’s industrial past.
The completed building combines a contemporary Aldi store with retained walls, columns, trusses and reconstructed tram entrances. Extensive use of salvaged stone, brick and traditional roofing materials met the heritage brief, and the project was subsequently put forward for a national award.