Client South Dublin County Council
Location Dublin, Ireland
Architect McCullough Mulvin Architects
Building the future of flexible coworking in Dublin
About the project
The Tallaght Innovation Hub is a four-storey hub providing flexible coworking spaces, private offices, meeting rooms, and a ground-floor “Town Hall” public engagement space. It acts as a catalyst for economic and research activity in South Dublin, co-located with TU Dublin and forming part of the Innovation Quarter Masterplan. A first of its kind, the building is among the first commercial buildings in Ireland directly powered by district waste-heat sourced from a data centre, marking the Innovation Hub as an example of outstanding sustainability.
IN2 were appointed to provide full M&E services that involved conducting the site’s lighting design that was aimed at maintaining safe levels of illumination to circulation areas whilst minimising light overspill into neighbouring properties. Alongside this, IN2 also provided conclusive daylight and sunlight analysis, using Tas Dynamic Simulation modelling (DSM) to determine Average Daylight Factors (ADFs) for each room in accordance with BRE guidelines. In-depth analysis discovered that 88% of rooms satisfied BRE guidelines, the other 12% of which were allocated as meeting rooms. IN2 also employed DSA to assess overheating risks, confirming CIBSE, TM52 and TM59 compliance.
A thermal analysis was also conducted by IN2 using a 3D model of the building. IN2 engineers could confirm that natural ventilation was a viable environmental strategy for all occupied areas, going on to advise about the extent of opening windows and vents that lead to occupied spaces.
IN2’s contribution ensured that the Work IQ Innovation Hub achieves NZEB design compliance and an A3 BER rating, making it a model for urban low-carbon development, and future-proofing the building with the capabilities of solar thermal, geothermal, and thermal storage. Set to achieve an annual reduction of 1,100-1,500 tCO2, the Innovation Hub sets a precedent for other projects hoping to reduce their carbon footprint and be climate neutral by 2030.
