The Contemporary ‘Idea of a University’: A Study in the Recent Architectural Development of Irish Third-Level Institutions

Meabh Noonan
Trinity College Dublin
Department of History of Art and Architecture
2016
BA

Subject: Architecture
Country: Ireland
Century: 20th and 21st Century

10,000 words

This dissertation investigates contemporary issues of university planning and design, discussing the influence of the external environment and the role of architecture within the campus as ‘place-maker’. Choice examples of Irish third level campuses reflect the physical realisation of institutional stragetic plan and the master plan, suggesting the opportunities and limitations of each. Irish architects, noted for their contributions to university campuses world-wide, provide examples of high quality contemporary university architecture. The ideas and conditions from which these buildings arose suggest best practice for the commissioning of a modern university building. The final chapter assesses recent buildings at Trinity College which are informed by the previous chapters.

Irish Georgian Society

Education Theses Register

The Contemporary ‘Idea of a University’: A Study in the Recent Architectural Development of Irish Third-Level Institutions