One Le Pole Square, Ship St, Dublin 2
The scheme sits within the existing city block, redefining the scale of its built environment, whilst creating a new desire line through the new square from Dublin Castle to the Liberties. The massing of the building fits in with the existing streetscape and brick textures of Dublin Castle while establishing a hierarchy of façade treatment through the depth of façade elements. The development consists of a convention centre over 2 levels, basement accommodation over two levels and a large office development over 6 floors forming the city block between Ship Street, Chancery Lane and facing on to the new civic square Le Pole Square.
The project is the second phase of the development to the rear of the Radisson Hotel on Golden Lane which forms a new civic square on the site of Dublin’s earliest Christian church, 6th century Michael Le Pole Church and graveyard. The buildings ranges in height from 6 and 10 storeys but sits comfortably within the streetscape through a stepping back at the upper levels. There are over 10,500sqm of office accommodation over 6 floors with stepped terracing and set-back ensuring a variety of façade treatments to the differing streets and environmental constraints. The completed development provides a significant impetus to the redevelopment and upgrading of an important civic thoroughfare set in the context of the historic city core, creating a strong sense of place in an area undergoing significant renewal and rejuvenation. The excavations at Ship Street revealed centuries of the city’s history, including additional remains of a previously discovered early Viking settlement. The archaeologists, led by Alan Hayden, discovered new information of Dublin’s oldest church, St. Michael le Pole, which was founded in the sixth century A.D. Outside the church cemetery, Hayden and his team also found evidence of a Viking Burial as well as Viking Pottery. They also unearthed the remains of a medieval farm, twelfth-century quarries that supplied the stone used to construct the castle, and cells belonging to a police station built in 1830.
The discovery of these Viking artifacts heavily influenced interior scheme for this project, such as the handcrafted oak Viking Boat wall to rear of reception to the Convention Centre which was made by Irish Artisan Craftsman Luke Bulfin. The exterior landscaping mosaic also draws inspiration from the Viking pottery found during the excavation works and is spot lit for maximum night time impact. Lastly a modern interpretation of ships lap wall claddings are used through the office scheme to emulate the woodcraft techniques used by Viking Boat makers and link the scheme to the sites rich history and archaeological significance.
The Office Building is designed to be LEED Gold, WELL and WIRED Certification, A2 energy rated and has large flexible floorplates designed to optimise daylighting, provide flexibility and enjoys views over the city centre.
The design of this development has been a collaborative process involving a cross-section of design, built environment and historical consultants. OLPS has a distinctive character generated for the most part by the history of the site, surrounding context and the sensitivity with which new buildings and public space have been designed.
