1850 New medical building on campus

Architects Thomas Deane and Benjamin Woodward draw up plans to complement the Quadrangle buildings, which they also designed. In honour of its benefactor, the medical building is known as the Clarendon Building.

1866 Clarendon Building is modified

Construction appears to have begun on the southernmost building, housing a lecture theatre. A central portion is added shortly afterwards, linking it to the Clarendon Building.

1877 L-shaped block is added to the north

A large L-shaped block is added to the north, including dissecting rooms.

1881 Light given to anatomy lecture theatre

The addition of a large window gives more light to the Anatomy Lecture Theatre. The roof is also raised to double height, providing tiered seating.

1907 A new dissecting room

A new dissecting room is provided for the exclusive use of female medical students. Earlier, the dissecting room had been screened off so that men and women would be able to carry out their dissections separately from one another.

1909 New single-storey extension

The lecture theatre on the ground floor is made smaller, providing corridor access to a new single-storey extension to the rear.

1949 Gallery removed from the museum building

The gallery is removed from the museum building and a floor is installed. This is where our Clubs & Societies will be based in the Hub

2005 Move to Brookfield Health Sciences Complex

The School of Medicine moves to the new Brookfield Health Sciences Complex.

2011 New Western Gateway Building

In September 2011, the Department of Anatomy relocates to state-of-the-art facilities in the new Western Gateway Building. The move is the end of an era for the Clarendon/Medical/Windle Building.

2014 Architects appointed

Architects O’Donnell + Tuomey were appointed to design a brand new student building, as laid out in the University Strategic Plan, which aims to deliver “research-inspired teaching and learning with a world-class student experience”.

O’Donnell + Tuomey are a team of internationally-renowned architects who have previously worked on the Lewis Glucksman Gallery, UCC and the London School of Economics Student Centre. They were recently awarded the Royal Gold Medal, architecture’s highest award, in recognition of their lifetime’s work as a “tour de force in Irish and British architecture”.

1982 Medical library relocates to the new building

With the opening of the Boole Library, the medical library relocates to the new building. This frees up space for a modern mortuary facility and a new dissecting room to the north end of the medical building on the upper floor of the former museum.

2015 Design Process and Consultation

Following  the appointment of the architects, a project structure was established to ensure a wide scope of collaboration and consultation. Working groups were established to represent a number of different stakeholders throughout the university community.

These working groups allowed for consultation with a large number of students, staff and other stakeholders across the university. This was filtered through an overall project working group that drove the project during this period.

2016 Enabling works & construction

Enabling works for the project will prepare the site for construction. This involves removing extensions to the back of the building and ensuring that the current Windle Building is conserved during the construction project.

Construction works will take place across the next few years, with the aim of opening the building for staff, students and visitors in the 2019/2020 academic year.

2016 Work begins on the new Hub.

The award-winning architects in O’Donnell-Tuomey drew-up a plan that would combine the historical significance of the Windle and modern design elements to create an amazing state-of-the-art building for new generations of students & staff.

2017 Hub construction starts

In August 2017 construction on the Hub site at the Windle Building commenced. 

2020 Project Completion

The Hub Project is expected to be completed in 2020. The Hub is a five-storey, technology-rich building for staff, students and visitors to the university. The building will be the home of student clubs, societies, student-led media, UCC 98.3fm along with student services and a wide range of activities.

The  building will be open to students to use as study spaces, pop-up locations for events or whatever they can think of! The Hub Project will change how we, as a university, approach teaching and learning and will be at the forefront of implementing innovative teaching practices.