Sandyford Business District Digital Twin Project: Video Presentation

Ger Corbett is Chief Executive Officer at Sandyford Business District. At Eirmersive’s Outward event he made a presentation on the Sandyford Business District Digital Twin Project aimed at sustainability, stakeholder engagement, and visualisation.

Project Goals

• Vision: Position Sandyford as Ireland’s leading sustainable business district.

• Engagement: Bring residents, businesses, local authorities, and other stakeholders along on the journey.

• Approach: Use immersive technology and digital twins to show rather than tell—visualisation is key for awareness and reducing objections.

Sanford Business District Overview

• Location: Southwest Dublin, ~3 sq km, bordered by M50 and Green Luas line.

• Composition:

  • 4 business parks (Stillorgan, Sandyford, Central Park, South County).

  • Major multinationals: Microsoft, Mastercard, Vodafone, Meta, Google.

  • 26,000 employees, ~1,000 companies, 6,000 residents (expected to grow to 48,000 by 2028).

• Unique feature: Mixed-use district with significant residential presence.

Strategy & Pillars

• Brand Engagement: Build awareness through visualisation.

• Infrastructure: Showcase green infrastructure plans via digital twin.

• EU Projects:

  • IB Green Project: Multi-city approach to tackle heat islands and promote green spaces.

Digital Twin Features

• Built on detailed aerial and street-level mapping for spatial fidelity and photo realism.

• Models designed for real-time rendering; compatible with standard architectural/engineering software.

• Uses RealSim’s EnviroSim software for ease of use by non-technical stakeholders (RealSim is a member of Eirmersive).

• Outputs available for desktop, web, and VR viewing.

Capabilities

• Simulate traffic congestion, flood scenarios, and heat islands.

• Visualise future developments based on planning permissions.

• Support planning discussions by showing proposed changes (e.g., converting commercial sites to mixed-use or residential).

• Enable creation of 15-minute community concept.

Example Use Case

• Transform three outdated buildings into a two-acre park as part of IB Green Project.

• Visualisation helps residents and stakeholders see the benefit (e.g., replacing eyesores with green space near new apartments).

Key Takeaways

• Digital twin technology is central to sustainability, planning transparency, and community engagement.

• Visualisation reduces objections and accelerates decision-making.

• Future focus: leverage immersive tools to manage growth, infrastructure, and climate challenges.

Watch Ger’s presentation in full, below.