Aliva UK’s £1.4m silver finish for Microsoft’s Dublin HQ

Aliva UK put the finishing touch to Microsoft Corporation’s new Irish headquarters with a shimmering aluminium façade in four natural silver hues in a contract worth £1.4m.

The UK leader in façades and interior finishes designed and supplied the façade for Microsoft’s new Dublin office using 9,300 sqm of anodised aluminium cladding from its Alucovering range. The ‘random’ pattern used four different shades of silver anodising with brushed and polished finishes for the five-storey 35,000sqm campus in Leopardstown.

Bam Construct UK awarded the contract for the work to Gunn Lennon Facades (GLF) who selected Aliva’s Alucovering after careful review with RKD Architects.  Aliva worked on a detailed design with GLF to ensure its system could be adapted to meet specific project requirements.

The new HQ brings all 1,200 of Microsoft’s employees in Ireland under one roof for the first time. It is the company’s first data centre outside the US, and home to European and global teams.

Amidst a wooded setting at the back of Leopardstown race course, the campus also features a running and walking trail around the perimeter, and rooftop terraces overlooking the Dublin mountains.

Aliva’s Managing Director James Ormerod said:

“We were delighted to use our team’s considerable design skills to bear on this landmark project. The architect and specialist installers were looking for the ‘wow’ factor for the building – and we feel we have delivered a façade that lives up to Microsoft’s huge global brand status.”