Construction on a new, state-of-the-art IT Building at UCC, one of the
largest capital projects to be undertaken by the University to date,
has commenced.
The development is part of UCC’s ongoing capital programme of
investment under its Strategic Plan, designed to consolidate the
University’s pre-eminence in teaching, learning and research. An
investment of €45 million at the Brookfield Health Sciences Complex, opened last year, has
provided ultra modern facilities for students and teachers in the
Schools of Medicine, Nursing and Midwifery, as well as Clinical
Therapies.
This year saw the official opening of a new, €22 million
School of Pharmacy, the opening of the €13 million Environmental
Research Institute (ERI) and the re-opening of the Crawford
Observatory, after an extensive programme of refurbishment and
conservation, at a cost of just under €1 million. Another major
project is the €32 million extension to the Boole Library, due to come
on stream next year, which will provide significant additional
facilities for postgraduate students. On September 13th last, John
O’Donoghue, TD, Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, opened an
exhibition of the unique collection of ogam and carved stones ‘Rúin na
gCloch / Stories in Stone’, in UCC’s Stone Corridor. The permanent and
expertly conserved exhibition, will provide an invaluable research tool
for future generations of Irish scholars, and of course, for the
layman, it is one of the outstanding features of the University campus.
The IT building will be a key component in the delivery of the
University’s commitment to maintaining its position at the forefront of
third and fourth level teaching and research in Ireland. In
particular, it will play a significant role in the continued
development of outstanding research clusters and the doubling of PhD
student numbers, as enunciated in Strategy for Science Technology and
Innovation 2006 – 2013, the recently published Government policy
document. Welcoming the commencement of construction, UCC
President, Professor Gerard T. Wrixon, said the IT building was another
critical part of the infrastructure under development by the University
and “represents a further element in UCC’s Strategic Plan to maintain
its leading role in the delivery of a knowledge-based economy.”
The three-storey, 15,800m2 landmark building designed by architects
Scott Tallon Walker, will take two years to complete and represents a
total investment of over €60m. The building will be located at
the former Greyhound Track on the Western Road, and is designed to
accommodate some 1,500 students. It will incorporate cutting-edge
teaching and research facilities in the areas of Information
Technology, Mathematical Sciences and Biomedicine. The Facility will be
easily accessible from the main UCC Campus, and is adjacent to the
Brookfield Health Sciences Complex as well as to the major student
accommodation developments at Victoria Cross. When purchased in the
late 1990s, the site represented a major strategic acquisition for UCC,
enabling the development of the greater campus which now runs from
Victoria Cross to the North Mall. In line with the City Council’s plans
for developing amenities in the area, a riverside walk and pedestrian
bridge will link the student accommodation at Victoria Cross to the IT
building. Eventually, the bridge will also be linked to the main
campus.
The building will include lecture theatres, undergraduate and
postgraduate laboratories, research space, offices, a restaurant and
ancillary facilities. Sustainability has been a key driver
of the design. The building will feature a full-height glazed atrium
and internal courtyards to maximise natural light and allow extensive
use of natural ventilation as well as stack-driven displacement
ventilation. Ground source cooling will also be used to minimise
energy consumption and associated CO2 emissions.
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