A team of 40 architects, engineers, quantity surveyors and other specialists met today in Grangegorman to begin the development of detailed technical specifications for two major buildings for the new Dublin Institute of Technology campus.
The Healy Kelly Turner Townsend (HKTT) led team of Technical Advisers was appointed by the Grangegorman Development Agency and the National Development Finance Agency following an International procurement competition. Their job is to prepare the 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 activities remaining in Aungier Street and Bolton Street.
The appointment of Technical Advisers is seen as a major step forward for the development, following the inclusion of the Grangegorman Project in the Government Jobs Stimulus Plan announced by Minister Howlin in July 2012.
The Grangegorman Development Agency (GDA) has worked closely with DIT and the National Development Finance Agency to advance the project. Emphasising the importance of this milestone, Chief Executive Officer of the GDA, Mr. Michael Hand said “This appointment is probably the most prestigious consultancy commission to be made in Ireland in the last 5 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 onboard for this vital role.”
The President of DIT, Professor Brian Norton also welcomed the appointment of the Technical Advisers and said DIT would work closely with them to ensure the best possible outcome. “The Strategic Development Zone designation for the Grangegorman campus has ensured that the key attributes of the award-winning Masterplan will be realised. 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.”
The first new building as part of the Grangegorman re-development is the replacement facility for St. Brendan’s psychiatric hospital. Work has been completed and the building, named ‘The Phoenix Care Centre’ is expected to open at the end of February, providing state of the art facilities for patients and staff.
Following the opening of the new hospital, work will commence on adapting six of the old hospital buildings for educational use. These will accommodate the first 1,000 DIT students who will arrive on campus in September 2014. In 2017, with the two PPP quadrangles complete, over 10,000 students will be located on the new campus.
