The Tribune

A firm of Bahamian architects has just finished work on its first overseas project - the headquarters building of Bahamas First’s Cayman affiliate.

The 28,000 square foot office building for Cayman First Insurance, designed by Arcop Architects, is intended to be fully operational during a major hurricane, such as Ivan, which devastated George Town in 2004. The office areas and emergency generator are raised 10 feet above ground to be fully operational even if the site is flooded. The undercroft is used for parking.

For sustainability, and to reduce electricity costs, the building generates about 50 percent of its energy consumption from solar panels mounted on the car park canopies.

The design respects the scale of George Town, and interprets the architecture of the Cayman Islands in a modern and contemporary way.

Doug Smith, of Arcop, said: “We provided the full service from inception - through design, construction documents and contract administration. It was interesting working under a different regulatory regime, and especially as the Cayman authorities had just adopted the International Building Code.

Arcop was associated with Malcolm Stephenson, the Cayman-based architect of Rrcord. The MEP engineering services were provided by Nassau-based EDSL, and the interior design was by Jacqui Derbyshire of Inner Space Design.

Arcop has won many Governor General’s Awards for Excellence in Architecture, including most recently for a beach house in Abaco, and the conversion of the Hansard building on Parliament Square to courts.