International real estate advisor Savills has announced that construction of ‘The Reflector – a 125,000 square foot Grade A office building on Hanover Quay and Grand Canal Dock – has commenced.

The €100m Reflector will be a landmark office and residential building with impressive water frontage spanning almost 75 metres. Situated in the heart of Dublin’s central business district, it is due for completion in Q3 2018 and is being developed by Park Developments Group, who were one of the original Grand Canal Dock developers over 10 years ago with the highly successful Hanover Quay scheme. Upon completion of The Reflector, the office element of the scheme could comfortably accommodate in excess of 1,000 employees.

The six storey over basement office building extends to over 125,000 sq.ft. with floor plates of 23,000 sq. ft. finished to the highest standards, featuring LEED Gold V4 accreditation and A3 BER Certification. The building can be split in to two distinct wings (with separate entrances and generous receptions that have clear ceiling heights of 4m throughout), both with their own terraces.  It has been designed to readily and efficiently split to accommodate requirements of all sizes from 500 square metres up. The floor plates have been specifically designed to maximise the space along the south facing, waterfront which has an eye catching design by leading architects BKD incorporating mesh panels in a waterfall formation.  Leading Irish construction company Sisk has been appointed as the building contractor.

The development will also incorporate 40 exclusive 1-3 bedroom luxury apartments and a single 3,500 sq.ft retail/restaurant unit all of which is due for completion in 2018.

Grand Canal Dock is a thriving business district in central Dublin and houses a broad range of national and multi-national companies, including, Accenture, Airbnb, Facebook, Google, Twitter and LinkedIn. Due to its popularity, this is a cosmopolitan area with a broad range of excellent amenities, from theatres, hotels, cafes, restaurants, shops and outdoor water sport activities on the Dock.

Low-rise buildings adjacent to The Reflector creates 215° views across Dublin – from the 3 Arena right round to the Grand Canal Theatre, picking up the Aviva Stadium and the iconic Dublin view of the Pigeon House on the way.

Andrew Cunningham from Savills commented: “The integration of The Reflector with the existing dock-front buildings will create dynamic new relationships between old and new within the waterfront context. The Reflector offers Grade A sustainable and energy efficient office space, fantastic natural light, and great views, making it a top class working environment.” 

Design

The building – designed by Dublin-based BKD Architects – features a layout that provides dynamic, contemporary and flexible buildings which will enhance the existing waterfront environment. The unique exterior mesh design element will also provide solar shading without impacting the views from within the office space. This cascading feature will be framed within a high quality stone-clad structure which is elevated above the street level to create a setback ground plane which will provide a relief and continuity for the adjoining low level buildings. 

Michael Ennis from BKD commented: “The building elevations will include a dynamic facade design with a pixelated cascading metal outer skin to reflect the southern site aspect and the waterside location. This will consist of high quality bronze coloured mesh panels suspended in front of the clear glazing systems”.

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Transport

Dublin Bus, the DART and Luas light rail system all provide reliable access links to this central location with stations within easy reach. The area has excellent road infrastructure with the Samuel Beckett Bridge providing speedy access to the North Docks, IFSC and to Dublin Airport.

A new bridge is also planned connecting Grand Canal Dock with Ringsend. With five dedicated Dublin bike stations located within the Grand Canal Dock and ample bicycle storage within the building, it is set to serve both the casual and the most perennial of cyclist commuters. 

The Developer

Park Developments Group is one of Ireland’s most respected and long established development and building companies. Established in 1962, it has forged a reputation for building high quality residential and commercial properties. 

In the last 60 years PDG has built numerous residential schemes and commercial properties predominately in the Dublin area.  Park Developments Group is synonymous with an established brand that encapsulates product reliability, deliverability and a quality finished product that is consistently delivered to the highest building standards. PDG has always been proactive in keeping abreast of regulations and environmental changes, and has employed a professional team to regenerate this brownfield site and create a development of excellent quality. 

In 2005, PDG in a Joint Venture with John Sisk & Sons, constructed a significant residential scheme on the corner of Hanover Quay and Grand Canal Square, which was the instigator in the regeneration of the South Docks. Park Developments Group is continuing to leave its mark at Hanover Quay with the development of ‘The Reflector’ as a cornerstone of the dock.