RTE Room to Improve viewers were moved to tears tonight as an old home was transformed into something “amazing” for Cystic Fibrosis families.
Architect Dermot Bannon returned to screens for a special episode, designing four homes away from home for families of people with Cystic Fibrosis.
Dermot returned to screens tonight for a special episode of Room To Improve[/caption]
Dermot teamed up with former Dancing With The Stars judge Julian Benson and a team of volunteers to convert an old Victorian house into four self-contained pods for the families.
Tranquillity House is set to be a safe, warm, comfortable home from home, and that is priceless for people with Cystic Fibrosis and their families.
Ireland has the highest rate of CF per capita in the world, around 1,400 adults and children are living with the condition.
Julian was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis when he was two and his mother was told he probably wouldn’t live to become a teenager.
He has gone on to become a successful choreographer, TV personality and in 2018 founded the Julian Benson Foundation.
In 2022, the foundation purchased an abandoned Victorian redbrick in the south Dublin suburb of Rathgar.
As founder of JBF, it was Julian’s dream to build a space that could cater for people with Cystic Fibrosis and their families when they travelled to Dublin for treatment.
Patients can be in hospital for long periods of time, which is very difficult for both the patient and the families and Julian, throughout his life, has witnessed the low moments for patients while in hospital.
For families to visit and spend time with their loved one is expensive and stressful so Julian’s plan was to build a home away from home for the families – a “home with a hug”.
Dream team Dermot Bannon and Patricia Power QS were on board for this massive project tonight.
But the figure needed to complete this renovation was way beyond what Julian and the Foundation could afford.
The original plan and budget were “worlds apart” as the build needed a full upgrade and restoration in order to be lived in.
The initial budget they hoped for was €250,000 but it had to be raised to a whopping €1.6m.
And so began the journey of getting volunteers and companies to come on board, to donate time, people, materials and resources for this mammoth project.
At the helm of the project was builder Brandon Duarte, who was overseeing and coordinating the teams of builders, restorers, electricians, plumbers, cabinet makers, fire specialists, painters and many more construction experts from around the country.
Working alongside Brandon was CEO of the Julian Benson Foundation, Louise Doogan, who had to manage the two biggest personalities of the project, Dermot and Julian, as well as coordinating over 120 companies.
And amongst the team of workers was an endless amount of hard-working volunteers who gave their time to the build.
PASSION PROJECT
On tonight’s show, viewers met Lar Brennan and his family, who opened up about the stress and sadness they have experienced in the past when Lar has had to go off to stay in hospital and his family haven’t been close by for many months.
As the design process began to implode, they all knew that they had to work out their differences to complete this project on time.
The build was completely transformed into a whole new home, with multiple bedrooms, bathroom and dining areas.
However, the most important part of this story, is the people who will benefit from staying there.
Moved by the build’s result, RTE viewers flocked to social media to express their overwhelming emotion.
Deborah said: “I have goosebumps.”
Adam wrote: “Crying my eyes out at this – seeing everyone coming together like that would really give you some hope.”
Suzanne said: “In bits here. My new favourite Sunday night viewing. Well done all. A beautiful and meaningful project.”
A fourth viewer wrote: “What a good man! Crying already!”
Another added: “It looks amazing. Well done to all who helped out in bringing Julian’s dream to life.”
