Location: Dublin 1, Ireland
Architect: Shay Cleary Architects
The tallest office structure in Ireland is the iconic EXO building by Shay Cleary Architects. The building, a singular engineering challenge, has a remarkable and highly inventive external exoskeleton that serves as the major structural support, leaving a floor plate largely devoid of columns and paying homage to the iconic blue gantries of the Dublin docklands. All tenants have access to the building’s large, 1,000m2 planted roof garden.
The location, a long, narrow strip of land between the 3 Arena (previously the Point Depot) and East Wall Road, is strategically important since it serves as a border between the historic city and the port and will eventually deliver the last piece needed to create Point Square. Also addressed on the site is the northernmost portion of the East Link Bridge, which spans the Liffey here. The SDZ gave Point Square the chance to have a significantly tall skyscraper.
The need to incorporate the building into its surroundings by making reference to the iconography and expressive structural components of the blue cranes and gantries—icons of the docklands—led to the development of the building’s language and aesthetic. This constructivist design strategy aimed to give the structure a distinctive personality that was fit for its specific environment. The main structural support for the beams that span the building’s width is provided by two giant trusses that border the building volume. Only three places—at the midway of the elliptical mega columns—are used to support these trusses on either side. The unitized panel structure that makes up the glazed facade has projecting mullions that give it a pronounced rhythmic feel. It turns into a silver airplane as a backdrop to the blue trusses when viewed obliquely.
