Steven Holl Architects have been announced as winners of the University College Dublin Future Campus Competition, overcoming 98 total entries, and a shortlist of Diller Scofidio + Renfro, John Ronan Architects, O’Donnell + Tuomey, Studio Libeskind, and UNStudio.
The winning design features seven new quadrangles designed around historic features and woodland, integrating sustainable features such as solar connectors and water retention ponds. The competition sought to express UCD’s creative abilities and strengthen its physical presence and identity, signifying a major educational project for the Irish capital.
Holl’s 24-hectare scheme focuses on the creation of an exhilarating Centre for Creative Design, serving as a gateway for seven new quadrangles of green space. A new pedestrian spine runs parallel to an existing path, creating a H-plan lined with weather canopies. Social spaces and cafes are lined along these paths for informal gathering, while landscape spaces are activated by water-retention ponds, protected seating, and preserved specimen trees.
The Centre itself adopts a prismatic form inspired by the geology of the Giant’s Causeway, a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the north coast of Ireland. Two vertical structures, angled at 23 degrees to mirror the earth’s tilt, capture an abundance of natural light while an auditorium embodies the shape of the university’s iconic 1970s water tower. A plan organized as a “circuit of social connection” enables students, faculty, and visitors to peer into creative classroom spaces through glass walls, counteracted by quiet spaces for thought and concentration.
We are very honored to win. It’s a very important and inspiring project for Steven Holl Architects and we look forward to working with UCD. Our masterplan and the new UCD Centre for Creative Design are not just iconic objects − they reflect on the history and quality of UCD’s campus, responding to the particulars of the site to create place and space.
-Steven Holl
For the project’s development, Holl was supported by Dublin-based Kavanagh Tuite Architects, US analysts Brightspot Strategy, structural engineers Arup, landscape architects and urban designers HarrisonStevens, and climate engineers Transsolar.
While awarding the commission to Steven Holl Architects, the competition jury gave special commendation to the team led by John Ronan Architects for “a masterplan of great clarity that was beautifully thought through.”
The Future Campus – University College Dublin International Design Competition was organized by University College Dublin in collaboration with Malcolm Reading Consultants.
News via: University College Dublin
Steven Holl Architects, Studio Libeskind Among Finalists for University College Dublin's Campus Makeover
After receiving 98 entries from teams based in 23 different countries, the jury for University College Dublin's Future Campus project has selected six proposals for their shortlist, putting each selected firm's design on display to the public on the project's website.
