Brick Shell and Landscape Core

In a partially listed Georgian neighborhood in the center of Dublin, sixteen townhouses were demolished in the 1960s and an office complex, neither beautiful nor permanently usable, arose in their place. The new headquarters of the Electricity Supply Board (ESB) is now both beautiful and usable and – on an area of 120 by 60 meters – a piece of city that is permeable, oriented to architectural tradition and at the same time an example of modern office architecture in terms of spatial configuration, resource usage and the development of a high-quality working environment.

The architects emphasize the integration of landscape elements into the building structure as crucial to the design. The interweaving of a series of slender buildings and planted courtyards ensures a pleasant microclimate, natural ventilation, and daylight. What is a good place for employees is also attractive for passers-by, because public passages have been created between the streets that border the block – a gesture of opening, and not just in spatial terms.

The Electricity Supply Board headquarters was built from prefabricated concrete elements. Along the streets, however, there are exposed brick façades and colonnades made using traditional 18th-century craftsmanship methods, establishing an immediate connection to the neighborhood. A repair of the urban fabric is not achieved through imitation, but through a serious examination of the historical circumstances. When walking down Fitzwilliam Street, one can feel both: familiarity and forward-thinking.