At O Caoimh and Associates we produce buildings of merit and distinction. We are dedicated to quality of design, service, and building efficiency. Our goal is to meet, not only the functional and budgetary aspirations of our clients, but to produce strong, exciting, dramatic buildings of worth and note.

The planning stage can span from those first tentative thumbnail sketches right up to the submission of large scale planning applications to various statutory and legislative bodies. We go to great lengths, as the project develops, to ensure that the developing design encapsulates all of the needs of our clients while, at the same time, capturing their essence and ethos in a confident self assured manner. Having identified an exciting and appropriate design solution, we guard it jealously throughout the development stage to ensure it is not compromised or watered down in any way. In this way we produce buildings of great note.

At O Caoimh and Associates we have accumulated the very highest levels of experience in the areas of Project Management and Design Team Leadership. We work across a wide range of project sizes, from large commercial projects, to retail units, and one-off houses. Throughout these works our goals are always the same, to meet our clients specialized requirements on time, on budget, and to the very highest of standards.

We specialize in the areas of large scale Office Fit-Out and Commercial Space Planning. Indeed we have completed more than 550,000 sq ft of office space for some of Ireland's largest and best known commercial brands. That's a lot of office space, and we have accumulated a vast amount of experience on the way. And again, as always, our goal is to encapsulate our clients cultural and corporate aspirations while, at the same time, producing dramatic, attractive, efficient, comfortable, practical work environments.

Working on some of Dublin's oldest and most esteemed period buildings is both a challenge and a privelage in one, and we have completed a large number of complex conservation projects for a wide range of commercial and residential clients. Please feel free to browse the "Conservation" section of this website for more information.

The Building Regulations (1997 to 2015) lay down a complex set of statutory standards and practices for the construction of new buildings, extensions, material alterations, and changes of use of existing buildings. They provide for the health, safety, and welfare of building occupants, and set down new standards in terms of thermal insulation and building efficiency. As project architects it is our role to ensure that all of our buildings meet fully with the requirements of the Building Regulations.

 The Building Control (Ammendment) Regulations of 2014 take this compliance one stage further. They introduce new requirements for commencement notices, new Certificates of Undertaking and Compliance, new duties for designers and specifiers, and the all-new "Assigned Certifier" role.  They  introduce new "Notices of Assignment" (Forms of Appointment) for designers, builders, and assigned certifiers, and set down substantially increased penalties for non compliance. Under these new regulations, the building owner is ultimately responsible for ensuring compliance with the Building Regulations, and must appoint competent designers, builders, and assigned certifiers.

The Building Control (Ammendment) Regulations of 2014 introduce new requirements for commencement notices, new Certificates of Undertaking and Compliance, new duties for designers and specifiers, and the all-new "Assigned Certifier" role.  They  introduce new "Notices of Assignment" (Forms of Appointment) for designers, builders, and assigned certifiers, and set down substantially increased penalties for non compliance. Under these new regulations, the building owner is ultimately responsible for ensuring compliance with the Building Regulations, and must appoint competent designers, builders, and assigned certifiers.

We promote and incorporate the very latest and best practices of sustainability in all of our design solutions. From the very outset of the design process we factor in orientation, shading, and thermal mass, to produce highly efficient building solutions, and we suppliment this approach with the use of high-efficiency low-energy technologies such as heat pumps, heat recovery ventilation units, and photovoltaic farms. Where required we work with a range of specialist mechanical and ventillation consultants to both BREEAM and LEED standards. In today's world environmental efficiency is vital to our clients needs,we take it very seriously indeed!

Many commercial and civic projects require the submission of an application for a Fire Safety Certificate. This is a certificate issued by a Building Control Authority which states that the works or building to which the Certificate relates will, if constructed in accordance with the plans and specifications submitted, comply with the requirements of Part B of the Second Schedule to the Building Regulations 1997-2013.  The preparation and submission of applications for Fire Safety Certificates is an integral part of our work.

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 A Disability Access Certificate (DAR) is a certificate granted by a Building Control Authority which certifies compliance of the design with the conditions of Part M of the Building Control Regulations, 2010. A Disability Access Certificate is required for all non domestic works which require a Fire Safety Certificate. The Act states that buildings shall not be opened, operated, or occupied, without the granting of a Disability Access Certificate.

Under the Safety Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations 2006, the services of Project Supervisor for the Design process (PSDP) are required to ensure that all health and safety issues that relate to the design of a building are addressed in full. OCAA offers a wide range of services in this regard, including PSDP services, and the preparation of Preliminary Safety and Health Plans, and full on-site Safety Planning.