DCC PLC Headquarters

DCC PLC is an international sales, marketing, distribution and business support services group with its headquarters located in the landscaped outlands of the Leopardstown Racecourse in Dublin 18. The building is a highly stylised composition with an arrangement of ‘postmodern’ features such as a bowing central prominence with the focus drawn to the octagonal lantern over a lofty foyer atrium. Attached to this building, at the side, is a single storey annex and behind this is a large garage structure. Construction of the structure was typical for its time – early 1980’s – and included rendered uninsulated twin leaf cavity walls with single glazed coated aluminium sliding sash windows and a slated pitched roof.

The project consisted of the retrofitting of a prominent, self-contained office building arranged over two floors as well as the adjacent three-bay warehouse/storage unit. The building provided a mix of open plan and cellular office space arranged around a double height reception area.

The overall project benefitted from suspended ceilings with recessed light fittings, double glazing, underfloor trunking in part and oil fired central heating.

The development involved extensive internal demolition and reordering of the space and building services without affecting the structure or appearance of the existing building. Both floors were fitted with wheelchair accessibility as well as universal shower and toilet facilities at the ground floor level. With no floor void space in the majority of the office accommodation coupled with limited space in ceiling voids around the atrium, coordination of services was a major challenge.

The lifecycle of the newly refurbished building, as a result of the approved mechanical and electrical designs, has been substantially extended and operational costs reduced by virtue of the improvements in the building fabric and building services.

The restored development with minimal changes to the exterior will draw focus to the historical features while providing the client with a modernized office interior.