Business law firm Mason Hayes and Curran last week moved to South Bank House, a purpose-built nine-storey building at Barrow Street.

South Bank House's 60,000 square feet are entirely open plan, a first for an Irish law firm. The building has an atrium extending up five floors to provide natural light and a fifth-floor landscaped garden with views over Dublin Bay.

The atrium has built-in sound-absorbing tiles to combat noise. Flood gates were designed and built in Cologne and installed in the basement car park. Two floors of meeting rooms have also been incorporated into the plan.

Other features include multimedia facilities, a fully equipped kitchen, a dedicated training area, gym, exercise space and top of the range IT and communications systems.

Meanwhile, Beauchamps solicitors last week moved from Wellington Quay to take up residency as the anchor tenant in the new Riverside Two office development at Sir John Rogerson's Quay. The firm has taken possession of 27,500 square feet of space in the six-storey development.

Designed by KMD Architecture, the fully-fitted waterfront property has impressive environmental design, including low emissions of noxious substances and reduced energy consumption.

In another development in the area, Castleforbes House, a new landmark HQ building, has come to the market through HT Meagher O'Reilly. The building is at the gateway to Dublin's north docks, beside Spencer Dock and the Point Village. It extends to 5,193 square metres with 45 basement car spaces.

This is a unique opportunity to acquire a prestigious headquarters in the heart of Dublin north docks, " says Robert Fay of HTMOR.