The building will provide much needed facilities for collaborative post-graduate research in a variety of areas and will promote synergies between members of all science faculties in DCU. It will also provide custom designed spaces for specialist equipment, much of which is already on campus but is dispersed to unsuitable locations, or in inappropriate environmental conditions. Teaching, seminar and exhibition facilities, catering for undergraduate science students and even second level students from outside the university, will be accommodated.
The development comprises an L-shaped building of 3,000 sq.m, a laboratory wing and an administration wing joined at a glazed central concourse. The former accommodates three floors of science laboratories over a basement level of vibration and noise sensitive specialist research laboratories and the three storey administration wing provides open plan and cellular offices, meeting spaces, a seminar room, storage and ancillary areas to serve the whole building.
An underground service corridor links the basement area to the adjacent NICB Building allowing for the sharing of facilities and mechanical and electrical services between the two buildings. The building encloses, with the adjoining Health Sciences Building, a small south facing entrance courtyard. A service yard and delivery bay are located to the east of the proposed building accessed off the campus perimeter road.
The building is simple in form and architectural expression, predominantly clad in red brick with aluminium glazing incorporating opaque coloured glass spandrel panels. The use of brick refers back to the earlier generations of buildings at DCU. The building completes a perimeter of brick buildings which highlight the more recent stone and aluminium clad structures that flank the main entrance to the campus. The roof top plant room is clad in an aluminium louvre system to give a consistent appearance and high quality finish. Open louvre sections to provide air supply and extract appear similar to sections where louvres are not required. Extract ducts and flues are concealed from view by the plantroom enclosure.
The central courtyard, with its perimeter amphitheatre-like stepped seating is a deliberately compact, pocket-park type space. Its proportions ensure shelter and enclosure. A considered but simple landscape proposal and optimum orientation to benefit from almost daylong sunlight penetration will make it a popular meeting place. It is intended as integral to or as an extension of the many interaction spaces in the building, a key component in encouraging the cross-disciplinary collaboration fundamental to the function of the building. It will also add to the variety of public open spaces, gardens, courts and quadrangles, which characterise the university campus.
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