Project Overview

Design, construction, and fitout of a 300-bed student accommodation development, sitting above a 2,250m² retail complex at ground floor, located on an extremely archaeologically sensitive area in the heart of historical Dublin.

The scheme involved the construction of three in-situ concrete frame buildings with precast stairs ranging from six to eight storeys as well as a central tower over an open plan student common room within a central hard and soft landscaped courtyard. This structure includes a large contiguous piled basement and a large transfer slab measuring 2,655m³ encompassing a core transferred at first floor to suit the layout of a Lidl retail unit at ground floor.

The entire building is supported on piled foundations strategically placed to accommodate the archaeological discovery of four national monuments; St. Peter’s Church with circa 225 remains, Aungier Street Theatre with the remains of a pit accessed by red brick stairs and located beneath the front of the stage, a sunken Viking house built around AD 1070, and a section of Dublin’s Medieval wall. The building structure was redesigned to cantilever and span these artefacts which were retained in-situ. The Viking house and the theatre steps are on display under an extensive glass floor within the Lidl retail store.