Located on City Quay, in one of the most spectacular recent additions to Dublin’s skyline, are the headquarters of Grant Thornton Ireland. In 2019, the Grant Thornton head office was voted Commercial Office Building of the Year, and SOPREMA is proud to have been involved in its construction, together with main contractor Bennett Construction and Henry J Lyons Architects. Read on to find out all about the building’s green roof and the waterproofing system for the central courtyard’s podium slab.
Landscaped plaza on a tight city site
At the centre of the glass and aluminium structure of the Grant Thornton building is a landscaped plaza. SOPREMA was responsible for the waterproofing works around the podium, opting for a DUOFLEX hot melt system to overcome some of the challenges that came with this particular construction site. The headquarters of Grant Thornton are situated in the heart of Dublin, bounded by City Quay, Princess Street South, Gloucester Street and St Mary’s Church. The location made for a very tight site that benefited from SOPREMA’s inverted roof system, which was so robust it could easily be used as a loading bay, with no risks of compressing the material.
LEED Gold Certification V4
The 14,000 sqm building on City Quay achieved a LEED Gold Certification. SOPREMA assisted in achieving the project’s highest environmental and sustainability standards by designing and installing the green roof terraces that step down from the ninth to the fifth floor. Again, the team opted for a structural hot melt system with GEOFLEX, and inverted XPS insulation.
Public’s favourite
Works on the nine-storey development began in 2017 and were completed in 2018. The resulting building not only offers beautiful views over the River Liffey but the building itself is a pleasure to look at. The public agrees, having voted Grant Thornton head office third place in the ‘Public Choice Award’ at the RIAI Awards.