Phoenix House

The client, the Office of Public Works, a state agency of the Department of Finance, is a service organisation that focuses on Estate Portfolio Management, encompassing Heritage Services and Flood Risk Management. Its responsibilities include ownership, maintenance and conservation of historical buildings in Ireland.

The project consisted of a fit-out of 3 floors of Phoenix House on Conyngham Road in Dublin 8. The 3 floors were refurbished to CAT A standard consisting open plan office space, meeting rooms, break-out spaces, canteen and tea stations, printing area, storerooms, comms room, gym, showers and locker areas.

Axiseng was commissioned by the client to lead the mechanical and electrical services design of the fit-out, based on our broad experience with office fit-outs.

The office now serves as a new office for An Garda Sióchána (AGS) who relocated here from an overflow office accommodation within AGS’s HQ.

The project came with a few challenges. Working within existing building with limited as-built services information was one of them. Building was occupied during construction by another tenant, so minimising disruption was a key element. Another challenge we successfully overcame was project extension and resourcing during the COVID pandemic.

We also had to adjust to additional client requests, in particular data and power infrastructure. In line with the sustainability targets, we were challenged to reuse and test some existing equipment which was deemed too close to end of life during works and we had to advise on decisions to replace it. With some modifications and additions, we were able to reuse the existing heating/cooling VRF systems.

Another challenge was working in constrained height space in basement to incorporate gym and wellness for occupant’s use, which was enhanced with feature lighting and natural daylight from Translucent skylights at grade to achieve the architect’s vision.