A TEAM of 40 architects, engineers, quantity surveyors and other specialists met last week in Grangegorman to work on detailed technical specifications for two major buildings for the new Dublin Institute of Technology campus.
The Healy Kelly Turner Townsend (HKTT) led team was appointed by the Grangegorman Development Agency and the National Development Finance Agency following an international procurement competition.
Their job is to prepare specifications for two major quadrangles on the campus, to be developed through Public Private Partnership (PPP).
Due for completion in 2017, the buildings will enable the relocation of all DIT activities, with the exception of those remaining in Aungier Street and Bolton Street.
The appointment of the team is a major step forward for the development.
Emphasising the importance of this milestone, Chief Executive Officer of the GDA, Michael Hand said:
“This appointment is probably the most prestigious consultancy commission to be made in Ireland in the last five years.
“HKTT have a central role to play in this project and will have a huge responsibility in ensuring that DIT students and staff are satisfied with the final plans for the facilities.
“We are delighted to have such a highly reputable international group on-board for this vital role.
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President of DIT, Professor Brian Norton, also welcomed the appointment of the technical advisers.
“The Strategic Development Zone designation for the Grangegorman campus has ensured that the key attributes of the award-winning masterplan will be realised,
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“One such attribute is to facilitate synergies and efficiencies through flexible spaces and appropriate adjacencies between different educational activities.
“The task of the technical advisers is to help us to design for that flexibility so that these facilities can serve technological education now and for the future, to support Ireland’s competitiveness.
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The first new building as part of the Grangegorman re-development is the replacement facility for St Brendan’s psychiatric hospital. Work has now been completed and the building, named
‘The Phoenix Care Centre’ is expected to open at the end of February.
When the hospital opens, work will then start on adapting six of the old hospital buildings for educational use. These will accommodate the first 1,000 DIT students due to arrive on campus in September 2014.
By 2017 over 10,000 students are expected to be located on the new campus.