Surety Bonds, leading provider of Bonds and Sureties to the Irish construction industry, have been proudly sponsoring the Irish Construction Excellence Awards (ICE) for many years now. This year, as is always the case, the standard of entries and those shortlisted is exceptional. We are delighted to continue our sponsorship for the Fit Out or Refurbishment Category for 2020, which sees this category now subdivided into projects over €5million and under €5million. Over the next few weeks, in the run up to Award Night we will showcase the projects that have been shortlisted in our Category. We invite you to read on and learn abou the incredible projects that have been shortlisted for the prestigious category: Fit Out or Refurbishment.
Our first finalist in the ICE Awards 2020 Fit Out or Refurbishment Over €5m category, is The Masonry on Thomas St. in Dublin’s Liberties. CGDM Construction Ireland Ltd. completed the renovation, construction and fit-out of this 200-year-old building for client Iconic Offices.
Spanning 70,000 sq. ft. over 6 floors, The Masonry is a truly unique property and one of the rare repurposed warehouses in Dublin City.
Joe McGinley from Iconic Offices told Premier Hospitality:
“I think you see a lot of buildings like this in London but not to this kind of scale in Dublin. Most of our Georgian or Edwardian properties are around 5,000sq. ft., whereas this one is close to 35,000sq ft. with another 35,000 sq.ft. warehouse to the rear, so it is a really unusual property for Dublin. From the outset we had a really good idea of what we wanted to do. When we saw the building, we knew it lent itself to a particular use and was a space that could be divided in a particular way.”
Having lain idle for years, this historic former seed warehouse has been rejuvenated to a lively workspace with capacity for 900 workers. The building is exceptional in its functionality, offering everything that professionals and companies require under one roof, from world-class IT infrastructure and on-site community teams to internal heated courtyards, a large event space and a café and restaurant in a modern setting. Many of the original features have been restored and retained to honour the history and character of the building while modernising the development for the needs of today’s business professionals.
The Building
The Masonry has a unique character, boasting a classic design with a colourful, contemporary twists mixed with elements of the building’s industrial past – a ‘New York Loft’ style look and feel, in the heart of Dublin.
An expansive reception offers a stylish yet relaxed lounge and casual breakout space for members as well as a welcoming point for visiting guests. Features include distressed antique mirrors and marble countertops, as well as reminders of the building’s history, including restored seed drawers and ledgers from the building’s former occupants, the Irish Agricultural Wholesale Society.
The café and restaurant feature retained 1930’s style timber panelling and provide comfortable spaces away from the working desk or for business meetings.
Flexible meeting rooms, with sliding partitions allow for the creation of larger spaces. Richly covered soft furnishing and carpets are contrasted by bespoke partition detail with framed Edwardian wire glass sections.
All existing cornicing and decorative elements were retained in the Edwardian offices at the front of the building, forming key elements in the new design. A co-working space allows for multiple ways of working where members can choose from a studio, dedicated desk, hot desking or light memberships, working from a different spot every day. The former warehouse at the rear of the building retains timber flooring and exposed brick detail, providing a bright and elegant workspace.
The former external courtyard where grain would have been dispatched to horse and carts below has been transformed with a glass roof and provides a unique al fresco dining area and break out space, which celebrates the original courtyard and building history.
Image source: www.iconicoffices.ie
A minimalist style kitchen with black units and stainless steel counters acts as a congregation and networking point. Top lit, with voids to the floors above, highlighted with planting around the void perimeters, the space is contemporary with an industrial feel.
The Contractor
CGDM Construction Ireland Ltd is a multi-award-winning company specialising in commercial construction and fit-out projects, with offices in Dublin, Newry and London.
CGDM were tasked with structurally adjusting the building while maintaining original pillars, glasswork and brickwork and incorporating facilities required for a modern office space, without impacting on the original character of the building.
This was an extremely complicated project for the contractors, calling for the finest attention to detail. With tight deadlines and huge challenges, all employees were involved in the delivery of the project, with CEO Cathal Grant himself working weekends on site supporting employees and labouring. This project created a great sense of teamwork in CGDM.
The team at Surety Bonds wish all those who have contributed to this project the very best in the ICE Awards and commend them for this truly stunning building. (To read more about this project see Iconic Offices blog post: The Masonry; Why we choose the Liberties.
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