RPP Architects collaborated with O’Hare McGovern (OHMG) for the technical design and delivery of a new Test Centre and Operational Depot building for the Driver & Vehicle Agency (DVA). Appointed in 2020 as part of OHMG’s Integrated Supply Team for RIBA Stages 4-6, RPP developed the concept design by Michael Whitley Architects, and the buildings were handed over in early 2024.
Located on a brownfield site at Hospital Road, Hydebank, and including associated offices, landscaping and site works, this important strategic project was delivered to BIM Level 2 standards, ensuring a high quality of building information, from construction through to the client’s operation and asset management. The Buildings were also be delivered to a BREEAM Excellent rating reflecting the importance of energy-efficiency and sustainability as a key driver of the project.
The Test Centre contains a large, naturally-lit, column-free space for vehicle testing with a dedicated HGV test lane. The Depot building provides offices and ancillary space for staff with a large central atrium providing an interconnecting hub to the different levels and spaces.
Excerpt from news article, linked below.
“Councillor Jonathan Craig, Chairman of the Planning Committee, welcoming the recommendation said: “Sustainability is high on the council’s planning agenda and this proposal allows for the sustainable reuse of a former brownfield site. The test centre at Hydebank will be the first of an entire new infrastructure network to cover all of Northern Ireland, as it has been 40 years since the current network was built.
“The establishment of this regional facility will contribute significantly to the Lisburn Castlereagh economy with the employment of 175 staff at the offices and operational depot and a further 40 at the test centre.”
