Environmental Awareness

The Spencer Dock Development is the biggest urban regeneration project in Ireland’s history and we have combined new technology and features with old buildings and materials to ensure the impact on the environment is kept to a minimum.

Designed to embrace Dublin’s modern urban lifestyle, the 53-acres at Spencer Dock boasts state-of-the art office buildings which will be become home to a number of high profile financial services head offices and a wide range of companies, as well as luxury high specification waterfront apartments and large green open spaces for residents and workers to enjoy.

Energy Efficiency

The buildings under construction are designed to meet the highest energy efficiency standards, with office buildings featuring shading louvers on the facades, to limit solar gain, reducing costs. Both commercial and residential buildings are also designed and constructed to ensure that they can be connected to the district heating system which will reduce the energy needed to heat the buildings and also has the option of being connected to renewable energy further down the line.

Landscaping & Green Areas

Spencer Dock will be home to several hundred trees and plants, most notably in Central Square, a 2.5 acre landscaped area with over 250 mature trees being planted. Streets will also be tree lined and throughout the development there will be a number of courtyards, which will provide a sense of serenity to the area, as well as environmental benefits.

Re-use of old buildings and material

Spencer Dock is an important part of Dublin’s cultural heritage, housing a number of historic buildings, such as the old British Rail Building and the Woolstore building. We have cherished the historic aspect to the area and integrated these facades to become part of the overall development.

Wherever feasible, excavated materials are being reused as backfill and walls and existing buildings cleaned up and repaired rather than rebuilt from scratch. The Royal Canal is being cleared of debris and the wall repaired alongside this.

Recycle Bins

The bins proposed for Spencer Dock are multicompartment recycle bins. Each separate zone is dedicated to a particular material, e.g. plastic, aluminium, paper/packaging, etc. The benefit of this is that it allows for an immediate collation of similar materials for onward recycling and also acts as a reminder to residents and users of the Spencer Dock development to be environmentally aware.

Public Transport

For those trying to reduce their carbon footprint, the area is very well serviced by public transport — the new rail station opened recently and future plans for the docklands include a LUAS line extension, stopping in Central Square. In an effort to minimise truck journeys, we are currently using some of the good quality excavated material from the site as temporary backfilling materials. The development will have bicycle lanes and plenty of bicycle spaces for those who choose two wheels as their mode of transport!