Northern Ireland contractor Gilbert-Ash has premiered Building Culture, a short film on five architecturally significant buildings it helped deliver, at a Dublin screening on 22 October, as reported by Business First from a Gilbert-Ash press release, an event that matters to building and architecture professionals because it shows a contractor promoting its design-led track record to Irish clients. 

Gilbert-Ash is a Belfast-based construction and fit-out contractor with offices in Belfast, Dublin and London, the Belfast News Letter reported, and Business First said it is currently on site on Premier Inn O’Connell Street and Premier Inn Jervis Street in Dublin, both due to open in 2027.

Business First reported that the film features the Lyric Theatre and the Giant’s Causeway Visitor Centre in Northern Ireland, the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool, the National Portrait Gallery in London and Cambridge Central Mosque, all shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize.

Ray Hutchinson, managing director of Gilbert-Ash, said in the press release, as carried by Business First: “Our teams were challenged by each design, pushing the boundaries of what could be built.”

Business First reported that a Q&A after the screening included Róisín Heneghan, co-founder of Heneghan Peng Architects, and Ian Rudolph, practice director at Marks Barfield Architects.

The structural driver is Gilbert-Ash’s push into Ireland, with the Irish News reporting that it has Premier Inn schemes of €41 million on Jervis Street and €37 million on O’Connell Street through its link with Whitbread, after completing the €47 million citizenM hotel in Dublin.

For the sector, the timing matters because an earlier Irish News item reported that the firm turned over £268 million and posted a pre-tax profit of nearly £7 million in 2024, and the later report said profit rose again while turnover fell.

Global Construction Review reported that Mr Hutchinson said the firm wants to deliver future Irish projects across hospitality, workspace and residential sectors.

The broader implication for the sector is that contractors from Northern Ireland are marketing design collaboration as well as delivery capability in Dublin, which could shape how architects choose build partners.