Trinity College has applied to Dublin Corporation for changes in their £90m development of the landmark site at the corner of Pearse Street and Westland Row. The college has already received permission to develop the site and the new application represents a revision of the previous permission.
There are two main changes. In the initial application a large lecture theatre was to be built below ground. Now, for cost-saving reasons, the college wants it built above street level. It will now be incorporated into a four-storey over basement building.
The other change is to the viaduct that is presently a highly visible part of the site.
Originally the plans were that this should be replaced but now the plans are to replace only the viaduct's support structures. The red brick railway arches will be retained.
The existing Westland Row railway bridge with its decorative panels and Victorian detailing is a protected structure and will also be retained. In the plans, the existing accommodation under the railway arches will be demolished and replaced in part with car-parking.
The new development will give the college 30,000 sq metres of extra accommodation. A sports complex entered from Pearse Street will be located mainly below ground and will include a swimming pool, a sports clinic, a spa, shops, multipurpose halls as well as the usual courts and training areas.
These new sports facilities will replace the former gymnasium and racket hall and the plan is to demolish this protected structure and replace it with a five-storey building which will have four lecture theatres at basement level. A six-storey research laboratory building is also part of the application.
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