Tún architecture + design win school design competition

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The Minister for Education and Skills has announced that Tún architecture + design is the winner of an architectural design competition for a new primary school in an urban setting. The Competition was to design a school for a specific site at Harcourt Terrace, Dublin 2. The site comprises the former Garda Station and Irish Film Censor Building, overlooking the Grand Canal.

The brief was for a 24 classroom primary school, with Special Needs Classes, with a total floor size of approximately 4,500 square metres. This Competition followed the very successful 2012 competition to design a post-primary school, and a 2013 design ideas competition for a primary school. Design competitions emphasise the commitment of the Department to excellence of design in providing for the learning spaces of the future.

This latest competition was an architect-led full design team competition. There were an impressive number of 70 entries received for the competition with several coming from abroad. The competition jury selected a shortlist of 5 entries to develop their designs in a 2nd Stage.

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Commenting on the winning design, Minister O’Sullivan said, “The aim of this competition was to focus on creating innovative places of learning, fit for the students of today and tomorrow. I am very pleased with the standard of entries and wish to congratulate Tún architecture + design for their winning elegant design. Tún architecture + design are a young Dublin based practice who bring a fresh approach with simple yet refined ideas to school design. Their team included Engineers Waterman and Moylan Consulting and Quantity Surveyors Nolan Construction Consultants.”

“I am delighted to announce that my Department also intends to award the commission to the winning Design Team to develop their design and construct the school on the Harcourt Terrace site. This project is included in the recently announced 6 Year Capital Programme and is scheduled to go to construction in 2017. I also wish to congratulate the other four commended schemes for the tremendous effort and innovation they have demonstrated in their detailed entries. The winner will receive a €20,000 award. The other four shortlisted entries will receive €5,000 each.”

Commended entries were: GKMP, Dublin; ARPL, Scotland; Seán Harrington Architects, Dublin; Carmody Groarke, England.