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1

Client SAP irelAndContACt liAm ryAn, md

tel + 353 (01) 474 0010Size 6,000 m2

ConStruCtion Period ComPleted nov 04ProjeCt vAlue eur 15 millionContrACtor Heron BroS ltd.

ContACtS mAnAger noel mullen

SAP Building gAlWAyThe speed with which office development happens in Ireland often produces buildings that have no relationship to their environment. They are placed and constructed from so-called ‘practical’ or ‘utilitarian’ reasons. Given specific time constraints and specific environmental and functional constraints how can Architecture be created from purely utilitarian interpretation of these constraints? That is the problem we had to solve in the design of SAP’s Galway building.

SAP Galway is a ‘contact center’ for a German software company with 360 staff, located on a business park to the east of Galway, on an exposed site elevated from the surrounding landscape. Direct technical queries are received and dealt with on the telephone. The staff are from a variety of nationalities, dealing with technical queries from around the Western hemisphere according to time zones and languages. The typical building occupancy is from 7 am to 1 am (18 hours), with teams working in 3 shifts.

The building had to be completely designed before site selection was finalised; therefore it was decided to treat the function, a workplace with a specific task for a software company, and the environment, Longitude 9° W and Latitude 53° 15’ N, as the site. A building optimised to these conditions could fit in any site. The building is designed to create a balanced environment for employee comfort and working, which used the minimum amount of energy from non-renewable resources. The building, environmentally is a high density occupancy building with high ventilation demand and high cooling load. Free cooling using outside air is the only cooling source utilised. An atrium separates office floor-plates which are connected via bridge structures.

On the floor-plates are the work spaces, and on the bridges are the relaxing zone. The atrium is the driving environmental force for the building and obviates the need for

SAP Building gAlWAy

32

mechanical extraction systems. The atrium is treated as an unheated (thus rent-free) space, which is used as a low-pressure exhaust air space for the offices in the case of cross ventilation, and supply air for the offices in case of single sided ventilation. The air temperature within the atrium floats naturally. In order to enact this ventilation regime openings at the top and bottom of the atrium are required to establish the necessary air exchange rate due to stack effect. The building is organised as two blocks either side of the landscaped single glazed atrium – a “ buffer” space. The shallow office ‘bars’ (13.0m) are orientated on the north-south axis to prevent thermal insulation through the long facades, and are offset to minimize the number of fire escape stairs required, with maximum efficiency of plan area, and therefore reduction in the amount of building required to provide the net floor area.Cross ventilation is employed to naturally ventilate the office and public areas. The building is ventilated from the outer facades, and the atrium is used as a supply and exhaust air volume, single glazed and consequently free-floating in temperature. The ventilation and heating function is controlled by vertical elements which are included into the façade. Light is one of the most important ‘materials’ employed in the project. Building structure designed to optimise daylight penetration, with the arrangement of the plan on the north south axis allowing maximum glazed area along the length of the office space with solar gains minimized through the employment of vertical cedar brise soleil.

The atrium similarly employs timber elements to shade the glazed facades either side of the atrium. Specifically designed uplighters integrated into the concrete structure, across the section of the offices provide ambient, diffuse light to the work-plane, when daylight is insufficient. These uplighters project light accross the exposed concrete soffit, reducing eye strain and eliminating glare on VDUs.

SAP BUILDING GALWAY: ATRIUM VIEW

SAP Building gAlWAy SAP Building gAlWAy