IN2 on RTE's Great Irish Interiors

13th July 2022
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IN2 on RTE's Great Irish Interiors

IN2 were delighted to be invited to appear on RTE 1's hit show Great Irish Interiors to discuss our Conservation work on the historic heritage building Strokestown Park House. Project Director, Ian Carroll appeared on the show to discuss how IN2's essential work will help protect this prestigious building and its valuable contents far into the future.

Strokestown Park House, located in Co. Roscommon is an 18th-century Palladian house situated on site with the National Famine Museum and 100 acres of gardens and woodland. IN2 were appointed to perform Environmental Analysis as the varying levels of humidity were resulting in mould growth and deterioration of building fabric. This was extremely concerning for the client as this building houses thousands of original famine-era documents which are of great historic significance. To propose a suitable solution IN2 used Dynamic Simulation Software to design a solution to protect this historic building and its valuable contents.

Heritage Strokestown 12

IN2 employed the use of Dynamic Simulation Modelling to replicate existing temperature and humidity conditions, which were then utilised to demonstrate that the fluctuating humidity levels within the building were outside the recommended range for Heritage buildings. Many technological solutions were assessed for the building, including full air conditioning systems to maintain close control, which would unfortunately be costly to operate.

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However, an alternative solution we pioneered involved the use of electric heaters controlled for relative humidity as opposed to temperature. The simulations demonstrated that this less expensive approach could be relied upon to maintain humidity levels within Heritage guidelines and protect the building and its valuable contents. The chosen strategy devised by IN2 will also result in an overall 15% carbon reduction for the building.

Strokestown Park House is now open along with the new National Famine Museum in Co. Roscommon, visitors now have a truly immersive experience as the Museum breathtakingly takes local and national stories from this tragic period in Ireland’s past and brings them dramatically to life.