Central Quad, TU Dublin Grangegorman Campus

Completed in March 2021, Central Quad is an interdisciplinary teaching building for the TU Dublin Grangegorman Campus. Science, research and innovation-focused, the Central Quad accommodates ten schools from the College of Sciences & Health, College of Engineering & Built Environment and College of Arts & Tourism, alongside general learning space, distributed learning commons, staff accommodation and building support. The building is a contemporary and dynamic interpretation of the classic university quadrangle, split into two L-shaped forms blocks around a landscaped courtyard. A simple, but generous, colonnade provides shelter and a collegiate atmosphere. Large windows look inwards to the green space of the quad and outwards to the Grangegorman Campus and its neighbourhood. A clear entrance to the quad is marked by a double height atrium. The 35,000sqm building contains general learning space – including a 250-seat lecture theatre and informal learning and commons areas, staff accommodation and building support - as well as a range of specialist learning facilities such as wet and dry laboratories, workshops, kitchens, support spaces and teaching restaurants. Routes through the building make it an open and accessible building and announce its role as a teaching and social centre for the university. Reflecting the ambitions of the new Campus, the Central Quad brings together the whole of the university ecosystem to interact, engage and learn together. We have concentrated on creating a rich variety of space types ranging from a dramatic double height reception which is the buildings social hub, through to more intimate informal learning areas along the circulation routes that gradually reveal themselves. The incorporation of colour and texture create a rich social learning environment, while clear wayfinding and signage makes the building easy to navigate. At the heart of the secondary atrium, Solaris Nexum, a site-specific kinetic sculpture by the artist Alexandra Carr, is suspended across five storeys and reflects the shifting light, drawing attention to the upper stories and connecting the schools within the building. TU Dublin’s vision is of a Campus that is part of the community and the city. Grangegorman Campus is the largest higher education development in Europe, accessing a previously closed site to welcome in locals, students and visitors alike. The campus has relocated TU Dublin’s 20,000 staff and students, currently housed in 39 buildings across Dublin, bringing them together in a single campus.