Case Studies

Stemple Exchange

TEAM

Multidisciplinary Team

Sector

Commercial

Related Services

Assigned Certifier, Fire Safety and Disability Access Consultancy

People To Contact

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Overview of service

The designers of Stemple Exchange are breaking the barriers between the standard of suburban and city office development. The concept centres around the belief that an office should be a place that cultivates creativity and collaboration. With a landscaped plaza and impressive, mirrored buildings, Stemple Exchange elevates the definition of a suburban office.

The two buildings provide 170,000 sq. ft of premium office space in Blanchardstown Corporate Park, extending to approximately 85,000 sq. ft., over six floors, with 500 car parking spaces in a common basement and podium level. The commercial space provides an onsite gym and café with advanced air conditioning and over 34 showers per building. The park is home to multinational companies and high-profile brands such as NIKE, Puma, Bank of Ireland and the HSE and is located off the M5 along the N2/N3.

Stemple Exchange has already achieved an A2 Energy Rating and is LEED Gold Certified while being a very aesthetically pleasing piece of architecture.

ORS was appointed to provide multiple services – Assigned Certifier, Fire Safety and Disability Access. It is an excellent example of how the firm delivers complex multidisciplinary solutions by taking an efficient and simple approach for the client. This involves appointing a project coordinator as the client’s single point of contact.

ORS Fire Safety Team provided extensive pre-planning advice to ensure no delays arising from the Fire Safety Certificate (FSC). In the FSC, numerous sub-division options were incorporated into office layouts on different floors to provide flexibility for tenancy sub-divisions. The ORS team undertook regular construction inspections throughout the project, offering technical support and guidance throughout the complete project lifecycle.

Project challenges

Response to design requirements

A considerable challenge ORS faced on the project was that the architect and the client wished to utilise the floor space as efficiently as possible. With this in mind, ORS proposed a cost-effective solution to remove one stair core from the building.

Using fire engineering modelling and pressurisation stairwells, ORS negotiated the removal of the stair core with the Local Authority. The client had significantly more rental floor space thanks to this innovative solution.

As part of this design solution, bespoke directional grilles were incorporated to direct pressurised air from horizontal to vertical downward airflow in a more akin to aeronautical engineering design.

Additionally, the high proportion of glazing façade for the external envelope of the building demanded a specialist inspection approach. The ORS team conducted separate workshops with the ORS fire safety engineer, façade designer, architect and builder to establish the inspection regime specifically for building regulations compliance with Part B – Fire Safety and Part L – Conservation of Fuel and Energy. This approach was an invaluable part of the overall process and will lead to a more streamlined completion stage with detailed tracking and testing.

The scheme also included attractive American-style standpipe fire hydrants encircling the podium, which involved significant liaison with suppliers to ensure European Standards were achieved, and Fire Authority approvals.