Grangegorman Master Plan | Moore Ruble Yudell Architects

This master plan creates a vibrant campus for Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) and Health Service Executive (HSE) by responding to the site’s rich historical context and strengthening connections to the existing urban fabric. A major east-west pedestrian path takes full advantage of the opportunity to join several significant green belts and circulation axes in the area. Within the campus, the master plan creates two major centers of activity: Library Square serves as the “campus heart” toward the west, while the more public-oriented Arts Forum to the east is lined with theaters, museums and exhibition galleries. A formal “urban path” links the significant destinations on the campus. A “landscaped path” counterpoints the main path to provide a more informal means of access to the buildings. A series of north-south landscape “fingers” weave through to provide direct access to the separate DIT and HSE districts. A rich hierarchy of open spaces supports activities on the campus, from serendipitous encounters to festive gatherings. The landscape design carves the land in selected areas to accommodate usable spaces on a lower “basement” level, incorporating the sports pitches (fields) harmoniously into the existing natural landscape of the site and reducing the apparent mass of the curved residential buildings. A series of water features unifies the campus and provides focal points while collecting rainwater. The design offers world-class, innovative facilities for both DIT and HSE, enhancing their identity and image by employing a contemporary interpretation of traditional collegiate quads. Student housing and amenities are woven through the site along a sinuous landscape path at the edge of the sports pitches, looking out onto the city and Dublin Mountains beyond. All existing “protected structures” within the site have been preserved, while a Cultural Garden connects the older and new buildings on the campus. The project received an American Institute of Architects (AIA) 2012 National Honor Award in the category Regional & Urban Design, as well as an Urban Design Merit Award in 2009 from the AIA California Council. It was praised by the jury as follows: “Great pedestrian and open spaces. This project takes a piece of land in the center of the city that was an island, and knits it together with the rest of the urban fabric. It is a very sophisticated, elegant design, weaving together of an urban setting. The site plan is excellent. It is a remarkable, world-class project; an infill piece of land within the city.” Jury Comments This project presents an impressively comprehensive approach to site planning, with clear and systematic design strategies. The adaptive reuse of the historic existing buildings appears to be very successful. The sense of transparency both within the new buildings and through the interstitial public space is impressive. The diagrammatic representation of the fundamental design strategies was both clear and compelling.