Delivering certainty through design and build

Ireland’s housing challenge requires delivery partners capable of taking projects from concept and planning through construction, completion, and occupation. Increasingly, success depends on integration, innovation, and the ability to deliver at scale while maintaining quality, sustainability, and customer focus.

As Ireland continues to address significant housing demand, the scale and complexity of modern residential developments require more than construction expertise alone. Successful projects depend on early planning input, design coordination, programme certainty, modern methods of construction, and a clear understanding of future residents’ needs.

GEM’s approach is built around a fully integrated design and build model that combines planning support, pre-construction services, design management, construction delivery, customer care, and residential sales within a single accountable structure. By managing the entire development lifecycle, the company identifies opportunities earlier, reduces risk, improves efficiency, and provides greater certainty for clients, stakeholders, and homebuyers.

A key advantage of this model is early contractor involvement. By engaging during the planning and design stages, construction expertise can influence buildability, procurement strategy, sequencing, and programme development long before work begins on site. This collaborative approach helps ensure projects are commercially viable, efficiently designed, and positioned for successful delivery.

The effectiveness of this approach can be seen across some of GEM’s largest and most complex developments.

At Churchfields, GEM delivered 517 residential units on a greenfield site between February 2024 and July 2026. Delivering a project of this scale within a 29-month period required robust programme management, strong supply chain coordination, and the successful implementation of modern construction techniques.

The development demonstrates GEM’s ability to transform undeveloped land into a completed residential community while maintaining quality, certainty, and high standards of delivery.
The same capability is evident at the Malahide Road development, where GEM delivered 331 apartments within a 28-month construction programme. High-density urban schemes require extensive coordination between design teams, structural systems, building services, compliance requirements, and finishing trades.

The successful delivery of this project highlights GEM’s ability to manage complex apartment developments while maintaining programme performance and quality throughout the construction process.

GEM’s expertise extends beyond traditional residential developments. At Parnell Street, Dublin, the company successfully delivered a 276-bed purpose-built student accommodation scheme on the site of the former St Peter’s Bakery under a design and build arrangement.

Delivered within a constrained city-centre environment, the project required careful planning, stakeholder coordination, and meticulous logistics management, demonstrating the company’s ability to deliver high-density accommodation projects across multiple sectors.

At The Willows, Dunshaughlin, GEM is delivering one of Ireland’s most significant new residential communities. When complete, the development will comprise approximately 1,045 homes, supported by parks, a crèche, retail facilities, medical services, and community sports amenities.

The project reflects the growing industry focus on creating sustainable, integrated communities and demonstrates the importance of long-term master planning and placemaking in delivering successful residential neighbourhoods.

Churchfields, The Willows, and Malahide Road have all been delivered, or are being delivered, under design and build arrangements, with GEM also acting as sales agent across these developments.

This provides continuity throughout the development process and gives the company direct insight into purchaser expectations and market requirements. By connecting project delivery and sales, GEM ensures that design quality, construction quality, and customer experience remain aligned from project inception through to occupation.

This integrated approach delivers significant benefits. Design decisions can be assessed through the lens of construction efficiency, customer expectations, and long-term performance, while lessons learned through purchaser engagement can be incorporated into future developments. The result is a continuous cycle of improvement that benefits clients, residents, and communities alike.

Innovation also plays a critical role in GEM’s delivery strategy. Across Churchfields, Malahide Road, Parnell Street, and The Willows, the company has embraced modern methods of construction alongside lean planning and delivery processes. These approaches improve programme certainty, enhance quality assurance, reduce waste, and support more sustainable construction practices.

GEM’s integrated capability has also been recognised through its appointment as Clúid Housing’s construction partner under the Clúid Innovation Partnership. This long-term programme is focused on accelerating the delivery of high-quality housing through collaborative design and build arrangements, where lean construction principles, innovation, sustainability, and continuous improvement are central to successful outcomes.

Churchfields, May 2026.

The first scheme under the partnership comprises 144 apartments at Bannow Road, Cabra, which has recently commenced on site. A further 323-unit residential development at Sillogue, Ballymun, is expected to commence construction in the coming months.

Each project presents unique challenges, whether related to planning, logistics, sustainability objectives, stakeholder engagement, or technical design requirements. GEM’s role is to bring together the expertise, resources, and delivery capability required to address these challenges while maintaining quality, value, and programme certainty.

Importantly, Bannow Road and Sillogue represent only the beginning of a broader pipeline of developments planned under the Clúid Innovation Partnership. Additional schemes are expected to progress over the coming months and years, creating a significant programme of residential delivery and further supporting the supply of much-needed housing.

The successful delivery of 517 homes at Churchfields, 331 apartments on the Malahide Road, 276 student accommodation beds on Parnell Street, and the ongoing development of the 1,045-home community at The Willows demonstrates GEM’s ability to consistently deliver large-scale projects across multiple sectors and under demanding conditions.

As the construction industry continues to evolve, clients are increasingly seeking partners capable of providing certainty right from the outset and throughout the development lifecycle. For GEM, design and build is not simply a procurement route but an integrated delivery model that connects planning, design, construction, sales, and occupation into a single coordinated process.

Through this approach, GEM continues to demonstrate how early engagement, collaboration, innovation, and accountability can accelerate project delivery while maintaining the highest standards of quality and customer focus.

The company’s objective remains clear: to deliver high-quality homes, create sustainable communities, and provide certainty at every stage of the development lifecycle while making a lasting positive contribution to the places in which it builds.

W: www.gemconstruction.ie