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PROFILE |
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Murray Ó Laoire Architects is a firm of architects, urban designers and interior designers. Established in 1979 in Ireland, with offices in Dublin, Cork and Limerick, MÓLA opened an office in Russia (Moscow) 1992. In 2006 we opening offices in both Slovakia (Bratislava) and at Aachen and Germany.
MÓLA is a design-led company whose focus is on contemporary design across a wide range of sectors and building types. At the heart of the professional commitment of Murray Ó Laoire Architects, is our belief in the art of architecture as a vital ingredient in all our lives. We're committed to good design in the broadest sense, including a concern for sustainable design, efficiency in use, plus the public and cultural context in which our buildings evolve.
We equally recognise that if good design is to succeed it must be supported by an excellent quality of service and a profound awareness of our Client’s needs and resources.
We pride ourselves on being able to provide our clients with creative design solutions and to combine a high quality, reliable service and imaginative design with practical management and financial skills.
Our services include architecture, interior design, master planning and urban design. We have particular experience in mixed-use urban centres, health care, residential and urban planning.
The quality of our work is reflected in over 70 national and international awards and competitions including: The RIAI Triennial Gold Medal Award for the Arthur’s Quay Park and Tourist Information Office, Limerick; five Irish Planning Institute National Planning Awards, fourteen RIAI Awards, a Silver Diploma in the Moscow International Festival 'Zodchestvo' in 2005 and the winning design in a competition for the Irish Pavilion at Expo 2000 in Hannover.
We are currently designing projects in Ireland, Russia, Slovakia, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Belgium, and have completed projects in Germany, France, and Egypt among other countries. Our clients include major Irish and International commercial firms and developers, and many national and international organisations. |
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| QUALITY |
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| We place great emphasis on achieving a high level of quality in all aspects of their work, from initial conceptualisation to production information and project management. We aspire to provide architecture of the highest possible quality and to be synonymous with innovative and sustainable design in the service of our clients... (more) |
| QUALITY |
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We place great emphasis on achieving a high level of quality in all aspects of their work, from initial conceptualisation to production information and project management. We aspire to provide architecture of the highest possible quality and to be synonymous with innovative and sustainable design in the service of our clients.
The firm’s objectives are to gain a clear understanding of the needs of our clients, to meet those needs by producing solutions which are satisfying, economic, buildable, and responsible to society.
MÓLA have recently embarked upon a process to attain ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management Standard accreditation, in association with the Irish Quality Centre. This process will take in all our existing QA procedures and documentation and update these in accordance with the Standard. We project that we will be in a position to implement compliance with this Standard by late 2006 with a view to an audit for accreditation in early 2007.
MÓLA has drawn up and implemented throughout each of our offices a Quality Assurance procedure, which is seen as a key element in our objective of proceeding to formal quality assurance certification. At the core of this policy is the office manual, known as ‘The Checkbook’.
The structure of The Checkbook is project related and covers the following areas:
- Client and Fee Agreements
- Briefing Procedures - Client and Design Team
- General Project Administration
- Statutory Authorities - Planning, Building Regulations
- Health & Safety
- Drawing and Information - Practice and Procedures
- Building Contract Administration
- Tendering Procedures
- Site Inspection and Building Practice
The Checkbook is the subject of active and continuous development, review, and audit, the objective being to define every aspect of our work in the form of written procedures and to implement these systematically and in a co-ordinated way throughout all offices.
Technical Groups
In addition to adherence to the “Checkbook” systems, MÓLA have organised a number of specialist groups within the practice of staff members with particular experience in sectors such as Conservation, Sustainability, Building and the Law, etc., the rationale that these “experts” would initiate a number of proposals for the dissemination of their “embedded” knowledge within the practice.
The Groups have instigated a system of internal Design Reviews at which specific projects are critiqued by a panel of group members. These reviews afford the opportunity for the collective experience of the review panel and their knowledge of similar or relevant projects to be passed on to the project team for the ultimate benefit of the project.
These reviews which occur in advance of the completion of key stages add another filter to the design process to assist in quality control and to ensure an efficient and imaginative response to the building brief... (revert) |
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| KNOWLEDGE |
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Our collective knowledge is one of MÓLA’s greatest assets, especially when it is allied to creativity. What we know and learn from our projects benefits the entire organization.... (more) |
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| EUROPEAN ARCHITECTS' ALLIANCE |
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 MÓLA is a member of the European Architects' Alliance (EAA). The EAA is a consortium of architectural and design firms founded on the principle of mutually beneficial co-operation. With more than 20 offices across Europe and 650+ staff, the Alliance brings international experience and local knowledge to projects across a wide range of sectors.
www.eaa.eu.com
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| KNOWLEDGE |
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Our collective knowledge is one of MÓLA’s greatest assets, especially when it is allied to creativity. What we know and learn from our projects benefits the entire organization.
Ensuring that data, information, good ideas, lessons learned and best practice is disseminated throughout the office is key to efficiency and providing a quality service to our clients. This is done in a number of ways, through staff training, on-going programmes of design reviews and regular in-house lectures on various design and construction topics.
In addition to these, MÓLA operates an intranet site, Fios. This is central to our Knowledge Management at MÓLA, vital to knowledge sharing and is the main repository of all the company's information and key documents. It allows us tap into MÓLA best practice and to the vast accumulated knowledge.
It also has a role in both training and quality control, allowing all new staff to be easily inducted and to quickly learn about MÓLA's systems, procedures and protocols and to take advantage of the organisation's embedded knowledge.
Every two years, Murray Ó Laoire Architects convenes staff members from all of our offices to engage in two days of presentations, debates and exhibitions at the biennial MÓLA Colloquium. These gatherings offer the opportunity to meet and interact, for cross fertilisation of ideas and experiences, and to build bonds which are essential in a team-working environment.
Subjects reviewed to date include the Design Agenda, Future Directions of Housing, the Design Process. The theme of the 2005 Colloquium, held in Cork on November 17th and 18th '05, was ‘Knocking on Heaven’s Door: Heavenly Cities’.
In conjunction with our biennial Colloquium, we hold an Innovation Award Competition, where innovations on recent MÓLA projects are exhibited reviewed and appraised as part of a competition. These are then featured on our intranet as an on-going resource...(revert)
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