Taylor Maxwell helps create award-winning new council building

Dundee House is headquarters to Dundee City Council and facilitates the provision of the council’s office services.

The new building contains approximately 900 staff, with a floor area of 12,500sqm. The new headquarters for Dundee Council is an important catalyst in the regeneration of this part of the city centre.

The historic and protected derelict Edwardian former D C Thompson printing works was retained, and ingeniously combined with bold new build extensions above and to the rear of the historic block. The original listed machine hall is incorporated into the new building to form a dramatic arcade that is used for offices and meetings.

The building was designed on sustainable principles, with a narrow floor plate to allow natural lighting and ventilation, and the contrast between new and old building material, is consciously juxtaposed.

The restrained, formal façade and simple palette of materials, provide a modern finish, along with subtle hints of Scandinavian style. An elegant long, thin brick produced by a Danish manufacturer, was selected by Edinburgh architects Reiach and Hall, and used with flush white mortar joints. From a distance, the brickwork appears like a monolithic piece of stone, yet close-up you can see the crafted quality and details of the individual bricks.

A variety of brick colours, textures and sizes are available from Taylor Maxwell in this increasingly popular utilization of clay in a linear long brick or thin brick format.

Sizes range from 140 to 215mm in height and 215mm to 490mm in length, with an extensive colour range, plus glazed and semi glazed finishes.

The building has won a host of accolades, including Brick Development Association Awards Best International Project in 2011.