University College Dublin Masterplan | Dublin
UCD, Bellfield, Dublin
This masterplan creates a Western Gateway to University College Dublin (UCD), one that takes the opportunity presented by these green sporting fields and turns that to advantage in the creation of an entrance that celebrates the holistic ethos of the UCD educational Experience.
UCD is Ireland’s largest University. Set on a 133 Hectare campus that was assembled though acquisition of some of Ireland’s finest period houses and estates, the university is know for its parkland setting although located close to the city centre.
The development of the sports facilities at UCD has occurred as land and resources have come available without an overall masterplan. This, as a model, is not atypical and the challenge was to intervene strategically in order to allow the facilities to remain in operation and unblock logjams to enable an enhanced experience of the facilities.
The masterplan allows the various geometries of the boundary to inform the masterplan - these are then allowed to be reconciled in the centre.
A crescent is introduced to structure 3 entrances onto the site and form an identifiable axis around the Water Tower, an iconic element of the South Dublin skyline.
The first phase of the masterplan was opened in 2022, the completion of an IAAF certified running track.
Fact sheet
Client University College Dublin
Date 2018
Status Complete
Location Dublin, Ireland
Collaborators
Sports Specialist Arup
Project Specialist Scollard Doyle
Pitch Spceialist Richard Hayden
Contact
heneghan peng architects
14–16 Lord Edward Street, Floor 2
Dublin D02 YC63, Ireland
Tel +353 (0)1 633 9000
Fax +353 1 633 9010
Potsdamer Strasse 98a, 4. OG
10785 Berlin
Germany
Tel +49 30 20 89 88 750
Fax +49 30 20 89 88 759