THE administration and student centre at Cork Institute of Technology (CIT), which ran €6 million over budget has been chosen as one of the world’s best-designed education buildings.
The project is one of just seven third-level facilities included in the latest Designing for Education, the OECD’s salute to exemplary educational facilities produced every five years.
The three buildings are constructed around a circular green and were opened in 2006, accommodating the college’s student centre, administration offices and CIT’s tourism and hospitality studies block.
The 10,000-square metre complex was designed by two architectural firms, de Blacam and Meagher, and Boyd Barrett Murphy O’Connor Architects.
CIT development director Michael Delaney, said that the college authorities are delighted with the accolade which places it alongside designs of universities and other higher education settings in Belgium, China, France, Poland, Britain and the US.
"It’s a really timeless building, as well as being an iconic design, we’re really pleased with it. It will still look great in 20 or 30 years time," he said.
The jury of six distinguished architects for the OECD’s Centre for Effective Learning Environments reviewed 166 projects from primary to third level in 33 countries and selected 60 of them based on innovative design, fitness for purpose, sustainability and safety.
The three-page entry on CIT in the just-published compendium says the buildings give the campus in Bishopstown a distinctive character, gravitas and sense of place, with the predominantly brick construction giving permanence and a sense of solidity.
The construction time for the project was almost twice as long as expected when various delays saw it take almost three years to complete. A report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) last year showed that the cost ran to almost €20m, compared with a €13.7m budget.
The reasons for the overspend and delays included requirements to divert power cables and a water main, unforeseen changes to the foundation structure and disputes over the delay costs.
Almost €1m of the additional cost was spent on conciliation, although far higher legal costs could have been incurred if the issues in dispute with the main contractor had gone further.
The Department of Education told C&AG, John Buckley, that CIT could not have predicted the various delay and cost factors.
Meanwhile, work could begin on a new library building at the CIT campus before the end of the year, after a recent planning decision by Cork City Council.
Solas Education for Life Ltd has appealed a condition, believed to relate to development levies, but no third parties have objected to the permission. The company is involved in a public private partnership to build the 6,800sq/m, three- storey facility, to include book collections and reading areas, IT workstations, learning café, group study and postgraduate research areas along with a lecture theatre.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Showing posts with label planning and architecture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label planning and architecture. Show all posts
Thursday, 20 October 2011
Monday, 17 August 2009
ESB names architects shortlisted to design new Dublin headquarters
SOME OF Ireland’s leading architects as well as several well-known international names have been shortlisted to prepare detailed designs for the redevelopment of the ESB’s headquarters on Lower Fitzwilliam Street, Dublin.
The selection includes Grafton Architects, who won the 2008 World Building of the Year award for their Bocconi University faculty building in Milan; they entered into partnership with O’Mahony Pike Architects, who have designed some of Dublin’s best apartment buildings.
Also on the shortlist is Gilroy McMahon Architects, headed by Des McMahon, who was responsible for the redevelopment of Croke Park and is currently preparing plans to replace Liberty Hall; his collaborators for the ESB competition are Henry J Lyons and Partners.
Scott Tallon Walker, one of Ireland’s longest-established architectural firms, has also been selected. It appears on the shortlist in its own right, as it did not need to find partners to fulfil the ESB’s stipulation that entrants must have a turnover of at least €2.5 million a year.
This “entry bar” was the most controversial condition in the competition, as it effectively excluded most Irish architects unless they teamed up with other practices. It was strongly criticised by their professional body, the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland.
OMS Architects, formerly known as Ó Muiré Smyth, found partners in Copenhagen-based 3XN Architects to meet the ESB’s condition, and they have jointly made the shortlist. A daring design by 3XN recently won an international competition for the Museum of Liverpool.
Other big names from abroad on the ESB’s shortlist are Skidmore Owings and Merrill, designers of numerous high-rise buildings including the Sears Tower in Chicago, and Rafael Vinóly, who is masterplanning the Battersea power station site in London for Treasury Holdings.
The shortlist also includes a joint submission by London-based BDP Architects, who has an office in Dublin, and Dixon Jones, who are chiefly known for their cultural projects. Another joint entry consists of London architects and space planners DEGW and engineers BDSP Ltd.
The ESB received a total of 44 submissions from more than 60 Irish and international practices, including a number of joint entries, as part of the initial phase of the competition.
Those on the shortlist have until November to prepare detailed designs for the Fitzwilliam Street site.
The company said it anticipated that three “winners” would be announced in early 2010. It will then be up to the ESB’s board to decide how to proceed with the project, which would provide a new headquarters containing at least 35,000sq m of office space.
The jury that selected the shortlist was chaired by ESB chairman Lochlann Quinn.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The selection includes Grafton Architects, who won the 2008 World Building of the Year award for their Bocconi University faculty building in Milan; they entered into partnership with O’Mahony Pike Architects, who have designed some of Dublin’s best apartment buildings.
Also on the shortlist is Gilroy McMahon Architects, headed by Des McMahon, who was responsible for the redevelopment of Croke Park and is currently preparing plans to replace Liberty Hall; his collaborators for the ESB competition are Henry J Lyons and Partners.
Scott Tallon Walker, one of Ireland’s longest-established architectural firms, has also been selected. It appears on the shortlist in its own right, as it did not need to find partners to fulfil the ESB’s stipulation that entrants must have a turnover of at least €2.5 million a year.
This “entry bar” was the most controversial condition in the competition, as it effectively excluded most Irish architects unless they teamed up with other practices. It was strongly criticised by their professional body, the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland.
OMS Architects, formerly known as Ó Muiré Smyth, found partners in Copenhagen-based 3XN Architects to meet the ESB’s condition, and they have jointly made the shortlist. A daring design by 3XN recently won an international competition for the Museum of Liverpool.
Other big names from abroad on the ESB’s shortlist are Skidmore Owings and Merrill, designers of numerous high-rise buildings including the Sears Tower in Chicago, and Rafael Vinóly, who is masterplanning the Battersea power station site in London for Treasury Holdings.
The shortlist also includes a joint submission by London-based BDP Architects, who has an office in Dublin, and Dixon Jones, who are chiefly known for their cultural projects. Another joint entry consists of London architects and space planners DEGW and engineers BDSP Ltd.
The ESB received a total of 44 submissions from more than 60 Irish and international practices, including a number of joint entries, as part of the initial phase of the competition.
Those on the shortlist have until November to prepare detailed designs for the Fitzwilliam Street site.
The company said it anticipated that three “winners” would be announced in early 2010. It will then be up to the ESB’s board to decide how to proceed with the project, which would provide a new headquarters containing at least 35,000sq m of office space.
The jury that selected the shortlist was chaired by ESB chairman Lochlann Quinn.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Tuesday, 23 June 2009
Thomond Park voted public’s favourite building
MUNSTER might not have won the Heineken Cup this year but the province can claim another title as its home ground, Thomond Park in Limerick has scooped a prestigious architecture award.
The redeveloped rugby stadium ground was voted the public’s favourite Irish building in the annual awards ceremony hosted by Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland in Dublin last night.
The famous home of Munster rugby, which now has a 26,500-capacity, was re-opened last year following a 20-month construction project that cost around €40 million.
Plans for the new Thomond Park were designed by leading architectural firm, Murray O’Laoire.
One of the practice’s founders, Hugh Murray – a brother of the Chief Justice John Murray – said he was delighted to accept the Public Choice award "as an architect, a Limerick man and a Munster supporter."
"The firm is really pleased that the project is getting the recognition it deserves," said Mr Murray. "Maintaining the atmosphere and close relationship between players and spectators was a key requirement."
The winner of the RIAI’s Public Choice award was chosen by listeners of RTÉ Radio’s Morning Ireland programme.
No doubt backed by the famous support of Munster rugby fans, Thomond Park easily beat off strong competition, receiving around 37% of the 5,000 votes submitted in the online poll. Other popular public buildings such as the new Opera House in Wexford and the new library in Abbeyleix, Co Laois finished in second and third place respectively.
The much-praised Opera House, designed by OPW architects and Keith Williams Architects, went on to win the award for best cultural building, while De Blacam & Meagher received the Best Conservation/Restoration Award for their work on the Abbeyleix library.
Murray O’Laoire also won an award for its design for the Midland Regional Hospital in Tullamore, Co Offaly in the category for healthcare building.
However, Thomond was beaten by the Ballyfermot Leisure & Youth Centre Project for the award for Best Leisure Building.
A total of 17 projects, ranging from small house extensions to large-scale public building projects, were presented with their awards by Environment Minister John Gormley.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
The redeveloped rugby stadium ground was voted the public’s favourite Irish building in the annual awards ceremony hosted by Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland in Dublin last night.
The famous home of Munster rugby, which now has a 26,500-capacity, was re-opened last year following a 20-month construction project that cost around €40 million.
Plans for the new Thomond Park were designed by leading architectural firm, Murray O’Laoire.
One of the practice’s founders, Hugh Murray – a brother of the Chief Justice John Murray – said he was delighted to accept the Public Choice award "as an architect, a Limerick man and a Munster supporter."
"The firm is really pleased that the project is getting the recognition it deserves," said Mr Murray. "Maintaining the atmosphere and close relationship between players and spectators was a key requirement."
The winner of the RIAI’s Public Choice award was chosen by listeners of RTÉ Radio’s Morning Ireland programme.
No doubt backed by the famous support of Munster rugby fans, Thomond Park easily beat off strong competition, receiving around 37% of the 5,000 votes submitted in the online poll. Other popular public buildings such as the new Opera House in Wexford and the new library in Abbeyleix, Co Laois finished in second and third place respectively.
The much-praised Opera House, designed by OPW architects and Keith Williams Architects, went on to win the award for best cultural building, while De Blacam & Meagher received the Best Conservation/Restoration Award for their work on the Abbeyleix library.
Murray O’Laoire also won an award for its design for the Midland Regional Hospital in Tullamore, Co Offaly in the category for healthcare building.
However, Thomond was beaten by the Ballyfermot Leisure & Youth Centre Project for the award for Best Leisure Building.
A total of 17 projects, ranging from small house extensions to large-scale public building projects, were presented with their awards by Environment Minister John Gormley.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Thursday, 22 May 2008
New Lighthouse a beacon for cinema design
The design of the new Lighthouse cinemas in Smithfield - miles away from the multiplex model - has real star quality, writes Frank McDonald , Environment editor
FOUR CINEMAS in a basement - it sounds terrible, evoking fears of claustrophobia and being shovelled into the bowels of the Earth. But with the new Lighthouse cinemas in Smithfield, DTA Architects has turned the idea of a basement upside down and transformed it into a "scenographic experience".
The inspiration, believe it or not, came from the Palais Garnier in Paris - not the opulence of the opera house, but the sense of arrival and procession through various levels, going down rather than up. "We wanted to create maximum drama of coming to the cinema, a different experience than going to a multiplex," says Derek Tynan.
Multiplexes have become so commonplace that we overlook how bad they really are. Cineworld on Parnell Street is one of the worst.
It's like finding yourself in a very congested airport terminal, suffused with the smell of popcorn, with escalators going up through several floors to disgorge you into corridors with rooms off (ie, the cinemas).
The Lighthouse, run by Neil Connolly and Mareta Dillon, was always different. A beacon for arthouse movie buffs (pre-dating the IFI on Eustace Street), it thrived on Middle Abbey Street until the building was gobbled up by Arnotts in the mid-1990s. And since then, it had been without a home - at least until two weeks ago.
Its re-materialisation in Smithfield was a long drawn-out process.
A cultural use had to be found for the huge scheme of apartments, offices and retail units built on the west side of the square by Fusano Properties, led by Paddy Kelly, John Flynn and Joe Linders. Indeed, it was one of the conditions of Fusano's planning permission.
Various options were examined, including a science museum and even a reincarnation of Donie Cassidy's Waxworks, before Fusano finally did a deal with the Lighthouse. Fusano put up €3.75 million for the project, with a further €1.75 million coming from the Arts Council, the Irish Film Board and the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism.
The original Lighthouse had been designed by O'Donnell and Tuomey Architects, and they did a feasibility study for the Smithfield scheme. In the end, however, the developers chose DTA Architects to carry out the challenging task of installing four cinemas in two enormous voids, 9.5 metres (over 31ft) deep, below ground level.
Derek Tynan had previous experience of cinema design with the Northgate in Cork, which is still highly rated, and he worked on the Smithfield project with Colin MacKay and Dermot Reynolds. To get their heads around it, they made models to show how the cinemas, back-up services and circulation space could be slotted in.
Flanked on both sides by a three-level car park, the four-storey void under HKR's tower block was linked to a three-storey void beneath Market Square on the podium in front by a structure that already had floors and a staircase. Reinforced concrete columns supporting the apartments overhead were another design constraint.
What the architects did was to install screens 1 (the largest, with 288 seats) and 2 under the podium, while screens 3 and 4 are under the ground-floor cafe and the stepped terrace - more than a mere staircase - that leads down to the depths. The latter two intersect to form an angular ceiling for the bar area below.
The volumes are all clearly expressed, clad in black aluminium, and "you can see the top, side or underbelly" of each of them, as Tynan says. They are also used to form the processional route to the four cinemas, so that "at every turn, you're informed of what we've inserted as opposed to what was given", according to MacKay.
Behind the scenes, in the area that was already floored, the architects located all the back-up services, including projection suites, management offices, staff areas and a multi-purpose room that could be used for seminars. There are also two lifts, to ensure universal access, but hardly anyone uses or even notices them. At the foyer level, glass balustrades give views down so that cinemagoers can get a sense of the depth and scale of the new Lighthouse. "You can't drop people down three floors - it just makes them feel uncomfortable and claustrophobic," says Tynan. "So what we were at was to provide a sequential experience of descending."
THE ENTRANCE, tucked away near the corner of Market Square, is marked by an elongated upstand in mirror-finish stainless steel, with a large rectangular cut-out - an extension of the wall inside - and the idea is "to draw people in physically, hook them into the space", as MacKay says. Above it are vents for the air conditioners.
Mirror-finish stainless steel is also used for the poster board on one side of the foyer, the box office and the counters of both the cafe and bar. Floors are all done in American light oak, at least in the circulation areas, with simple resin-coated floors alongside. The carpets in the cinemas seem a bit cheap, reflecting budget constraints.
Altogether, the Lighthouse has a capacity of 600 and each of its four cinemas has a different colour code. Screen 1 is all blue, Screen 2 (which is peculiarly narrow) has grey walls and multi- coloured seating, Screen 3 is red and vivid, while Screen 4 has multi-coloured walls and black seating. In other words, it's nothing like a multiplex.
Clusters of fluorescent tubes, huge vertically, provide lighting in the circulation areas, which could provide dramatically different settings for fashion shows, product launches and receptions such as the opening bash on May 8th, when the place was thronged with sightseers from the southside, marvelling at what the northside has to offer.
Smithfield is off the beaten track, even though it's a short hop on the Luas from Abbey Street. But then, most of the city centre cinemas are actually located on the northside. South of the river, with the exception of the Screen and the IFI, so many cinemas have closed that the nearest now is probably the multiplex in Dundrum.
There is a large public car park underground, beside the Lighthouse, so anyone with a car can easily get to Smithfield without having to worry about parking. The office of film censor John Kelleher is to relocate here from Harcourt Terrace, using the smallest of the Lighthouse cinemas as a screening room - and helping with the rent.
There is an obvious payback for Fusano in playing host to Connolly and Dillon's new venture, not least because it will increase "footfall" in the area and make it easier to find tenants for several vacant retail units. Creating "critical mass" is what it's all about, and this 5,500sq m (59,201sq ft) cultural facility is a step towards that goal.
Market Square, previously a vacuous space, is already more lively, with the Thomas Read pub spilling chairs and tables outside. People were also making use of the limestone benches, which pre-exist the Lighthouse, to loll about or read the cinema programme.
But there was litter everywhere. Doesn't anyone have a brush?
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
FOUR CINEMAS in a basement - it sounds terrible, evoking fears of claustrophobia and being shovelled into the bowels of the Earth. But with the new Lighthouse cinemas in Smithfield, DTA Architects has turned the idea of a basement upside down and transformed it into a "scenographic experience".
The inspiration, believe it or not, came from the Palais Garnier in Paris - not the opulence of the opera house, but the sense of arrival and procession through various levels, going down rather than up. "We wanted to create maximum drama of coming to the cinema, a different experience than going to a multiplex," says Derek Tynan.
Multiplexes have become so commonplace that we overlook how bad they really are. Cineworld on Parnell Street is one of the worst.
It's like finding yourself in a very congested airport terminal, suffused with the smell of popcorn, with escalators going up through several floors to disgorge you into corridors with rooms off (ie, the cinemas).
The Lighthouse, run by Neil Connolly and Mareta Dillon, was always different. A beacon for arthouse movie buffs (pre-dating the IFI on Eustace Street), it thrived on Middle Abbey Street until the building was gobbled up by Arnotts in the mid-1990s. And since then, it had been without a home - at least until two weeks ago.
Its re-materialisation in Smithfield was a long drawn-out process.
A cultural use had to be found for the huge scheme of apartments, offices and retail units built on the west side of the square by Fusano Properties, led by Paddy Kelly, John Flynn and Joe Linders. Indeed, it was one of the conditions of Fusano's planning permission.
Various options were examined, including a science museum and even a reincarnation of Donie Cassidy's Waxworks, before Fusano finally did a deal with the Lighthouse. Fusano put up €3.75 million for the project, with a further €1.75 million coming from the Arts Council, the Irish Film Board and the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism.
The original Lighthouse had been designed by O'Donnell and Tuomey Architects, and they did a feasibility study for the Smithfield scheme. In the end, however, the developers chose DTA Architects to carry out the challenging task of installing four cinemas in two enormous voids, 9.5 metres (over 31ft) deep, below ground level.
Derek Tynan had previous experience of cinema design with the Northgate in Cork, which is still highly rated, and he worked on the Smithfield project with Colin MacKay and Dermot Reynolds. To get their heads around it, they made models to show how the cinemas, back-up services and circulation space could be slotted in.
Flanked on both sides by a three-level car park, the four-storey void under HKR's tower block was linked to a three-storey void beneath Market Square on the podium in front by a structure that already had floors and a staircase. Reinforced concrete columns supporting the apartments overhead were another design constraint.
What the architects did was to install screens 1 (the largest, with 288 seats) and 2 under the podium, while screens 3 and 4 are under the ground-floor cafe and the stepped terrace - more than a mere staircase - that leads down to the depths. The latter two intersect to form an angular ceiling for the bar area below.
The volumes are all clearly expressed, clad in black aluminium, and "you can see the top, side or underbelly" of each of them, as Tynan says. They are also used to form the processional route to the four cinemas, so that "at every turn, you're informed of what we've inserted as opposed to what was given", according to MacKay.
Behind the scenes, in the area that was already floored, the architects located all the back-up services, including projection suites, management offices, staff areas and a multi-purpose room that could be used for seminars. There are also two lifts, to ensure universal access, but hardly anyone uses or even notices them. At the foyer level, glass balustrades give views down so that cinemagoers can get a sense of the depth and scale of the new Lighthouse. "You can't drop people down three floors - it just makes them feel uncomfortable and claustrophobic," says Tynan. "So what we were at was to provide a sequential experience of descending."
THE ENTRANCE, tucked away near the corner of Market Square, is marked by an elongated upstand in mirror-finish stainless steel, with a large rectangular cut-out - an extension of the wall inside - and the idea is "to draw people in physically, hook them into the space", as MacKay says. Above it are vents for the air conditioners.
Mirror-finish stainless steel is also used for the poster board on one side of the foyer, the box office and the counters of both the cafe and bar. Floors are all done in American light oak, at least in the circulation areas, with simple resin-coated floors alongside. The carpets in the cinemas seem a bit cheap, reflecting budget constraints.
Altogether, the Lighthouse has a capacity of 600 and each of its four cinemas has a different colour code. Screen 1 is all blue, Screen 2 (which is peculiarly narrow) has grey walls and multi- coloured seating, Screen 3 is red and vivid, while Screen 4 has multi-coloured walls and black seating. In other words, it's nothing like a multiplex.
Clusters of fluorescent tubes, huge vertically, provide lighting in the circulation areas, which could provide dramatically different settings for fashion shows, product launches and receptions such as the opening bash on May 8th, when the place was thronged with sightseers from the southside, marvelling at what the northside has to offer.
Smithfield is off the beaten track, even though it's a short hop on the Luas from Abbey Street. But then, most of the city centre cinemas are actually located on the northside. South of the river, with the exception of the Screen and the IFI, so many cinemas have closed that the nearest now is probably the multiplex in Dundrum.
There is a large public car park underground, beside the Lighthouse, so anyone with a car can easily get to Smithfield without having to worry about parking. The office of film censor John Kelleher is to relocate here from Harcourt Terrace, using the smallest of the Lighthouse cinemas as a screening room - and helping with the rent.
There is an obvious payback for Fusano in playing host to Connolly and Dillon's new venture, not least because it will increase "footfall" in the area and make it easier to find tenants for several vacant retail units. Creating "critical mass" is what it's all about, and this 5,500sq m (59,201sq ft) cultural facility is a step towards that goal.
Market Square, previously a vacuous space, is already more lively, with the Thomas Read pub spilling chairs and tables outside. People were also making use of the limestone benches, which pre-exist the Lighthouse, to loll about or read the cinema programme.
But there was litter everywhere. Doesn't anyone have a brush?
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Wednesday, 24 October 2007
Architect survey rejects U2 hotel
U2 should not be allowed to go ahead with their ambitious plans to transform the Clarence Hotel, according to a survey of architects.
Online architecture discussion board, Archiseek, found that more than three-quarters of those canvassed felt that planning officials should not allow the €150m revamp of the Dublin hotel, owned by Bono and The Edge.
The supergroup has applied to Dublin City Council to demolish four neighbouring listed buildings to make the Clarence "the most spectacular hotel in Europe", erecting a skycatcher atrium, resembling a spaceship, visible from all over the city. Objectors include An Taisce and the Irish Georgian Society.
Those who logged onto Archiseek were asked: "Should the Clarence Hotel redevelopment get permission?"
The answer was a vehement 'no', with 78pc against it and just 22pc in favour.
Those who logged on blasted the plans as "awful" "rubbish" and "hideous."
One urged: "Object, object, object. It is far too bulky and would dominate everything. We have made this mistake too many times.''
Larissa Nolan
Irish Independent
Online architecture discussion board, Archiseek, found that more than three-quarters of those canvassed felt that planning officials should not allow the €150m revamp of the Dublin hotel, owned by Bono and The Edge.
The supergroup has applied to Dublin City Council to demolish four neighbouring listed buildings to make the Clarence "the most spectacular hotel in Europe", erecting a skycatcher atrium, resembling a spaceship, visible from all over the city. Objectors include An Taisce and the Irish Georgian Society.
Those who logged onto Archiseek were asked: "Should the Clarence Hotel redevelopment get permission?"
The answer was a vehement 'no', with 78pc against it and just 22pc in favour.
Those who logged on blasted the plans as "awful" "rubbish" and "hideous."
One urged: "Object, object, object. It is far too bulky and would dominate everything. We have made this mistake too many times.''
Larissa Nolan
Irish Independent
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