21 Sep 2006

Work starts on UCC IT Building

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.

296MMcS