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1

“SuStainable deSign integrateS conSideration of reSource and energy efficiency, healthy buildingS and materialS,

ecologically and Socially SenSitive land-uSe, and an aeSthetic SenSitivity that inSpireS, affirmS, ennobleS...”

declaration of interdependence for a SuStainable future, uia| aia congreSS of architectS, 1993.

fingal county hall client fingal county council

contact david o’connortel + 353 (1) 890 5055

Size 11,244 m2 conStruction period auguSt 1998 - June 2002

proJect value eur 21 millioncontractor pJ hegarty & SonS

contractS manager gerry o’Keefe

Fingal County Hall is an open and transparent expression of local government, providing a sustainable, low energy working environment for 450 Council employees.

An existing crescent of tall Holm Oak trees and a 150-year-old Himalayan Cedar along the western edge of the site are retained establishing a civic scale befitting that of a County Hall. The trees together with the building give form to a new civic space, the ‘public foyer’ of the County Hall, part internal, part external. Visitors arrive in a green floored ‘piazza’ colonnaded with the trunks of Holm Oaks and roofed with their foliage. The five-storey high atrium, defining the edge of the space is the meeting point of public and private, a ‘vertical main street’, extending in an open gesture towards the community.Using the mild climate of Ireland to its best effects, Fingal County Hall is a building in which the form and fabric have been carefully ‘tuned-in’ to the environment. Maximizing the use of natural day-lighting and ventilation were fundamental generators in the creation of the office environment. The heating, cooling and ventilation requirements change with the seasons - a flexible environment responding to these seasonal changes creates a comfortable place to work.

A balance was sought between automatic controls and human intervention. People’s perception of their comfort level depends on their ability to open a window or vent ie., on whether or not they can have some control over their immediate environment – for example vertical ventilators, person-sized in scale, divided (at midsection) like people tend to dress, offer a user-friendly way of letting the façade breathe.

fingal county hall

atrium vieW

fingal county hall fingal county hall 32

multi-diSciplinary deSign proceSS

energy targetS

building conStruction

Advanced computer modeling (CFD) was used alongside traditional 3D models to predict thermal performance, levels of ventilation airflow, natural daylight throughout the year. Computer models were continuously improved until design requirements were met. Good communication and commitment of all design team members to producing a low energy and environmentally conscious building was essential from initial concept design.

An ambitious energy consumption target for the building was set at 97kwh|m2|year (electricity plus fossil fuel) according to “Econ19”. The building is currently in a “settling in” phase as facilities managers and occupants become familiar with how the building performs etc.; it has therefore not been possible yet to achieve accurate in-use figures.

A short word about the way of making Fingal County Hall: Our approach was focused on craft and human skill; materials, structures, surfaces, are created by human thought and formed, touched by human hands. We sought to imbibe the building with a level of sensuousness and longevity that we feel is critical to the concept of ‘sustainability’. In our increasingly digital, disposable culture, we feel that expressions of human creation must reflect that humanity in their making.

The internal public space is organized along a curved atrium ”buffer” space; a spine to which are attached three office wings - in between these are landscaped gardens or ‘outdoor atria’.

Shallow office ‘bars’ (13.2m) orientated on the east-west axis allow movement of the sun and wind to play an important role in natural lighting and cross-ventilation of open-plan office space. Cellular offices located at the ends of the ‘bars’ ensure an open path for cross ventilation. Areas with heat producing equipment (photo-copiers etc.), tea stations, toilets, are located in vertical cores with direct access to outside air.Future flexibility is guaranteed by use of a 1.5m planning grid in office areas allowing numerous permutations of possible space divisions

Cross ventilation is employed to naturally ventilate the office and public areas. Office areas are cross-ventilated – Supplemental ‘stack-effect’ ventilation is provided by stairwells at extremities of the plan – louvres are located in upper levels, doors to office areas are held open on electromagnetic basis.Atrium is ventilated by natural convection, with vents at the top and bottom of the space. Also acts as ‘chimney’ to drive ‘stack-effect’ ventilation exhausting air from offices overlooking it via subtle vertical vents (smoke evacuation uses same strategy).

Sculpted structural concrete slabs are exposed to maximize thermal mass, which evens out temperature gradient. Summer – slabs cooled by night ventilation Winter – slabs absorb casual heat gains from the space, retain this heat thus reducing energy required for morning pre-heat

Light is one of the most important ‘materials’ employed in the project. Building structure designed to optimize daylight penetration, by sculpting the floor|ceiling slabs, using upstand beams to increase the height of façade glazing.Concrete soffit| rib combination is shaped into gently opposing curves, which, in combination with light shelves internally and externally reflect light deep into space in an even distribution, resulting in a naturally lit office for a large proportion of the working day. BMA-designed uplighters integrated into the concrete slab and facade provide ambient, diffuse light to the work-plane, when daylight is insufficient, reducing eyestrain and eliminating glare on VDUs. Daylight sensors prevent energy wastage through unnecessary lighting.

Intelligent” north and south facades are articulated differently to control solar gain, ventilation rates, glare and daylight levels according to their orientation. They are composed of different combinations of:Brises-soleil to reduce solar gainHigh-level windows on a BMS to control peak summer ventilation and the night cooling strategyAbove desk-height manually opening windowsManually operated vertical vents with opening doors for winter use, fitted with rain and insect screens to allow use without draughts or rain ingress

The building is designed as an enduring part of the community it belongs to and which it supports – with a specified 120-year design life, durability and on-going maintenance were of paramount importance in the selection of materials. Materials are used to fulfill these and environmental requirements– terracotta is used on the south façade to absorb thermal energy, glass (recyclable) and aluminium (recyclable) is used on the facades to maximize daylight.

Underfloor heating to the Atrium is provided via a heat pump whose heat source is ground water from a 160m deep bore-hole. Other heating is provided by condensing and high efficiency gas-fired boilers. Water conserving toilets and taps are used throughout.

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building plan form

ventilation Strategy

thermal maSS | Storage

lighting

facadeS

materialS

heating etc.