The €131 million eleven-storey development (35,000 sq. m.) adds to a corridor of academic activity and public interaction along Pearse Street in Dublin’s city centre, providing new social spaces, commercial areas, and improved access to public transport. The new facility brings more than 900 researchers together in one building with the common goal of addressing major challenges in health and disease through leading edge scientific research.
The Institute consolidates pre-clinical biomedical science research activities across five schools – Chemistry, Engineering, Biochemistry & Immunology, Medicine, Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences – achieving the close interdisciplinary collaboration required to drive leading edge 21st Century biomedical research.
A significant feature of the construction is the deep basement over 3 levels. This had to be designed and built to withstand significant levels of ground water and to accommodate the future construction of an underground rail connector beneath the site. The project required 8,500 cubic metres of concrete, 2,500 tonnes of steel and enough floor finishes to cover the equivalent of 3 football pitches or 80 tennis courts.
Commercial and retail activities form an important part of the development and provision is made for a major new public entrance to Pearse Train Station directly from Pearse Street. Preparatory work for the station entrance was carried out by Irish Rail before construction commenced.
Two glazed atria form the main building entrances: the west atrium for academic personnel and the east atrium intended for commercial throughput, with a central public concourse providing the new entrance to Pearse Street Railway Station and a significant ground floor retail shopping arcade fostering trade and interaction and providing key amenities for local residents and the College population.
The Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute is the university’s most ambitious capital project to date and represents the second phase of TCD’s Pearse Corridor Development. The first phase of this development, the Crann Nanotechnology Centre and Science Gallery, was also designed and completed by RKD.
For more information visit our TCD Biosciences project page and browse our portfolio.
