RIAI | Irish Architecture Awards

Citation

Dublin Over €3,000,000

This project successfully works to enhance and unify a campus which incorporates two schools. The placing of the two buildings against the wooded northern boundary works to form an edge to the existing playing fields, providing shelter to spectators

The lab & workshop block incorporates a south facing courtyard with views to the Dublin mountains. Overall the design detail is very well developed and makes a very important contribution to the fabric of the existing campus.

Architect's Comment
Coláiste Eoin & Coláiste Íosagain consists of two independent, Irish-speaking schools, one for boys, one for girls, sharing the same site. Additional accommodation could only be placed in a constricted rear area of the site, because the existing gaelic pitch to the south was sacrosanct. This restricted site caused the new building to be formed into two shared elements: 1: a four storey academic block, and 2: a Sports Hall with performance space.

The four storey 'academic' block rises to the rear of the site. The bank of trees forms a connection between this building and the Sports building. The original school buildings, by contrast, start to read as a ground-hugging element or a pergola, as the land rises to the south. In the four storey academic building a vertical 'cut' is made to allow light into the central, organising corridor and to frame views of the mountains to the south. This 'cut' allows the special classrooms on either side to form two 'hovering' cubes of brick, symbolic of the two schools.

Having found a way of placing the new accommodation on the site, our task was then to find a way of stitching together the new and the old. A series of additional elements were crucial in this process. The south-facing surface of the Sports Hall, with a long seat is set against the warm brick surface, acts as a backdrop to the hard play area it addresses; A timber canopy, projecting form the Sports Hall, acts as a sun shade to the interior of the Hall and as a canopy to the seat outside. A low, concrete & timber-screened pavilion forms the entrance to the Sports Hall and turns to address the old school, it's overshooting roof acting as an entrance porch. New paths connect the old courtyard to the two new blocks. A pivotal element in the loose legibility of these spaces is the new handball alley, dropped casually in this interstitial space between trees and buildings.

Clients' Comment
…A new classroom block with 20 classrooms, many of them specialist rooms, as well as offices, toilets, general purpose and circulation areas, a Sports hall which will also work well for music and drama, complete with dressing rooms and a stage that will double as a music and drama room…and don't forget the handball alley…and by the way, don't interfere with our playing fields or any other useful space. And make sure it complies with Dept. of Education and Science requirements and price limits as well as all statutory obligations...and it must fit in without interfering with our existing buildings…and as it is a joint project between two schools you have to satisfy two clients. Sounds like any architect's nightmare but in our newly opened buildings Grafton Architects gave us the miracle we asked for in two buildings that are the envy of our neighbours.

The architects placed great emphasis on light: wide corridors with window seats give a great feeling of space and light to the open areas as well as plenty of gathering areas for students.

Wow!...That's the initial reaction from most people who walk into the hall. The curved timber ceiling, wood panelled walls and wooden sports floor all combine to produce a visually attractive space as well as enhancing the acoustics. Even without a sound system, activity onstage can be heard in every corner. The stage sits above the dressing rooms, again allowing freedom of movement throughout the building. All indoor sports can be accommodated while the handball alley, which could have been an eyesore fits in snugly along the boundary fence and gives hours of fun to both students and teachers.

The results produced by Grafton Architects to our brief exceeded our wildest dreams. Our students are really proud of their buildings and are delighted to show off to our many visitors. Great space, wonderful light,state of the art facilities, we're already wondering how we managed before.

Two, recent, past pupils in wheelchairs have been back to see the additions to the schools. They have commented that they have hardly ever been in buildings where their needs have been considered to such a degree. They found the buildings to be completely accessible. A local man in his '80's, invited in to see the new buildings, 'found it very easy to get around'. This is the kind of feed-back we cherish, as we believe fundamentally that it is not only the legislation that is required to be met, but that each building is to be enjoyed by all in an integrated way.