Lioncor and Urban Agency collaborated to redesign an old dock building in the Dublin Docklands. With the use of sustainable materials such as cross laminated timber to form a light tower, the UA design shows how we can enhance and green the existing built environment.
The brief was to design a state of the art sustainable and flexible building in the Dublin 'Silicon QuarterTo fulfil the sustainability criteria, Urban Agency chose to work with cross-laminated timber (CLT), which would suit the restrictions of the site and help with time efficiency.
Dock Mill's existing facade and the floor plates of the industrial mill would be maintained and restored. A sustainably-sourced timber extension would then be added.
The roof is to be removed and the localised CLT columns are to be inserted in the four corners of the existing floor plate all the way to the ground floor. From ground floor to basement level those columns are to seat on underpinned concrete perimeter walls.
The building would house office spaces in the new timber tower, while the existing mill would be home to apartments. Its double-height top storey will have a winter garden with tall trees and plants.
A double-skin glass facade is designed to wrap the timber structure of the new extension, which the UA studio envisions as a "modern take on the glasshouse".
