Salesforce Tower, Spencer Place
Henry J Lyons’ design for the landmark new Salesforce EMEA HQ at Spencer Place creates a dynamic, future-facing, and elegant campus for the multinational software company.
Part of an overall masterplan for the area, the Salesforce building improves connectivity and permeability at this key node in the city. It links the new Central Bank of Ireland Headquarters to the future Spencer Dock DART Underground Station, the National Convention Centre, the Royal Canal and beyond towards the city. Active frontages are provided at street-level, to enliven the street and the new urban spaces created between the buildings. The LEED-Platinum design seeks to maximise the development potential of a prominent Docklands site whilst complying with the North Lotts and Grand Canal Dock Strategic Development Zone scheme and respecting the former British Railway Hotel building which occupies the southwest of the site.
Three new commercial buildings were constructed at Spencer Place, together with the rejuvenation of the protected structure, the former British Railway Hotel.
The original Hotel was built by the London and North-western Railway Company in 1883, to service its Irish terminus at the bustling North Lotts international port. The building features exceptionally decorative brick detailing, and the chimney stacks also are highly detailed. Proposals for the former hotel are sensitive to the existing fabric, and relate to access, egress, legibility, and utility of the space. A key intervention was the removal of the single-storey structure at the centre of the plan to create an internal courtyard space which serves the ground-floor restaurant facilities. Offices are located on upper floors, making use of the cellular arrangement of the existing structure. A new escape stair to the north end of the east-wing sits within a modern enclosure, where new and old are clearly demarcated.
