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NEW OFFICES FOR CRH plc
Belgard Castle, Clondalkin, Dublin 22
2005 - 2006
Client:
CRH plc
Project Management:
Clifton Scannell Emerson Associates
Structural/Civil Engineering Consultants:
Clifton Scannell Emerson Associates
Mechanical & Electrical Consultants:
JN & G Traynor & Partners
Contractor:
Collen Construction Ltd.
Accommodation: 600 sq.m offices
The new offices for CRH plc form another keystone of the Master plan (2000-2001) for the CRH plc Headquarters at Belgard Castle after the completion of the refurbishment of the former Stables as office space in (1999-2000).
The brief for the new offices responds to the growing special requirements of the Headquarters and contains office area for 25 staff members, a boardroom as well as office space for external auditors.
The site for the new offices is part of the farmyards to the rear of the Main House. Existing storage structures with no relationship to the original courtyard buildings gave place to the new two-storey office structure. The adjacent small two-storey structure beside the main entry gate to the walled garden referred as the Annex building (probably dating from the late 18th century) is retained, carefully refurbished and connected on both levels with the new offices.
The main design objective for the new offices is to reinforce the spatial arrangement of the farmyards with a contemporary building, which relates through its scale to the adjacent structures.
The main entrance to the new offices creates a focus of the western courtyard. A ramped and stepped entrance area relates the alternating external levels and connects the entrances to the adjacent buildings through its geometry.
The eastern courtyard is completed by the new office elevation and the refurbished Annex. The projecting core of the building creates a threshold between the western and eastern courtyard.
The double-sided office layout allows a differentiation into various volumes, which transforms the overall scale of the building into the scale of the surrounding structures. The height of the building relates to the ridge of the Stables building, taking advantage of the sloping ground.
The distinct contemporary language of the new building creates a contrast to the existing old structures providing harmonic balance between Old and New. The Annex building is refurbished with simple measures adopting the design objectives of the refurbishment of the former Stables to maintain the existing character.
The design further reflects the different orientations of the buildings. The North side provides views to the garden and is clad in cedar sheeting to emphasize the garden context.
The South facade is facing the western and eastern courtyards. Sliding stainless steel mesh screens (operated by motors) characterize the South facade providing solar shading for the completely glazed facade without blocking the view.
The mobility of the screens leads to a continuously changing face of the building. The gable ends of the building are designed as monolithic elements and clad in a honed basalt stone.
The office layout consists of various office sizes and is based on the 1.2m facade grid and provides flexibility.
The new offices are designed as an energy efficient structure providing a pleasant climate to work in. The entire building can be ventilated naturally throughout the year; only the boardroom is equipped with an additional air conditioning unit.
In the warmer season fresh air is taking in through the vents in the glazing system while the warmer used air in the offices travels up into the first floor corridor zone through a system of fire rated louvers and voids and is discharged through the roof light vents. Controlled night time ventilation cools the thermal mass of the exposed concrete slabs (finished with a cementituous coat), which provides cooling for the offices during the daytime.
The stainless steel mesh screens give effective shading to avoid unwanted solar heat gains.
In the colder season the warm used air is taken in at high level on the first floor and used to pre-warm fresh air from the outside via a heat exchange wheel. The pre-warmed fresh air is distributed into the offices through the raised access floor.
A thermal simulation based on a model was carried out by Vesol Ireland Ltd. and was used to modify elements of the building affecting the airflow.
The integration of a sustainable attitude beside the historic context created another interesting design challenge.
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