The Office of Public Works (OPW) is pleased to note the inclusion of one of its major capital projects within Ireland’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) 2021, announced by Government yesterday. The Public Sector Retrofit Pathfinder Project at Tom Johnson House, located in Beggars Bush Dublin 4, will involve a significant refurbishment of this five storey over basement office building that was constructed circa 1975. This energy efficient project will be an exemplar of a ‘deep retrofit’ refurbishment project and will represent the OPW as a leader in the transition to a sustainable, low-carbon, resource-efficient economy.
The works will consist of a significant upgrade to the building thermal fabric and overall energy use – that will upgrade the Building Energy Rating (BER) from a C3 rating to an A2 rating, resulting in a 75% reduction of annual energy use.
The refurbishment will retain the existing 1970s structure, taking advantage of the energy already embodied in the concrete structure and brick external facade. By retaining and upgrading these resources rather than demolishing and rebuilding, the works will have significantly less impact on the carbon footprint of the building. Internally, the existing cellular office layout will be modified to a more open plan arrangement – increasing the overall building occupancy – while the introduction of a new central floor void will create improved daylight and natural ventilation conditions.
Emphasising the central role of both sustainability and climate action in the OPW’s decision making processes, Minister Patrick O’Donovan, T.D., Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works said: “The National Recovery and Resilience Plan published by Government yesterday identifies advancing the green transition as a top priority and allocates significant funding towards decarbonising projects such as the retrofitting of public office accommodation. The OPW is deeply committed to helping advance sustainable solutions that mitigate against climate change, including through the new Public Sector Retrofit Pathfinder Project as well as through a Public Service Innovation Fund project, which will develop guidelines for the deep energy renovation of historic public sector properties.”
When the proposed works are complete, the building, which is currently occupied by the Labour Relations Commission and the Geological Survey of Ireland, will become the new headquarters of the Department of Environment, Climate & Communications (DECC).
