Extensive green spaces, a hotel, underground parking and landmark six-storey buildings at its primary entrance from the N11 motorway are among the major features of the winning design for UCD's new gateway project.
The redevelopment of part of the State's largest university, parts of which have in the past been criticised as a "concrete jungle", is likely to cost some €450 million and is being conducted using a public-private partnership (PPP) model.
It is hoped that construction of the main phase of the 13-hectare project will be completed by 2013, subject to planning approval.
The winning design, by Dusseldorf-based architect Christoph Ingenhoven, also includes space for a possible Luas stop, a tree-lined "beltway" or walkway, and a lightweight "archway" extension of the existing N11 flyover.
Elsewhere, the university's lake will be reduced in size and its edges softened, while 1,000 new student residences will be provided. The project will also take advantage of the relocation of the college's running track, where a garden or other green space will be provided.
The development will range from Merville House in the south of the 132-hectare campus to the O'Reilly hall in the north and as far as the Quinn School of Business in the west.
The new "green" gateway buildings, which will be visible from the N11, will have curved roofs and may include wind turbines, solar energy panels and rain-collecting grass on the rooftops.
These buildings will be linked at the centre by an open-air, glass-covered roof over a new pedestrian plaza. The plaza will include a range of facilities, such as an arthouse cinema, retail outlets, a hotel, and some 50,000sq m of offices for research and development activity, with private companies as tenants.
Coffee shops, a UCD welcome centre, and a creche and medical centre will also feature.
Among the main sources of revenue for the successful bidder, which is likely to construct, maintain and run the project for a fixed period of time, will be the hotel, the office spaces and other retail outlets.
The plans envisage the addition of some 1,200 extra parking spaces to cope with increased demand from these users, and the replacement of several existing carparks with buildings and green areas.
Once the term of the contract with the successful bidder expires - PPP projects typically have 25- to 30-year contracts, although they can be longer - the entire facility will revert to UCD's possession.
The college has a shortlist of five bidders to undertake the project, which it says will be self-financing because of the proposed method of delivery. It would not comment on the projected overall cost, although this is expected to be some €450 million.
Plans for the new development were approved at a meeting of the college's governing authority yesterday, and are due to go on display at the university. The winning firm, Ingenhoven Architects, was selected after an international competition, although no exclusively Irish firms made the final shortlist.
Commenting on the plans yesterday, UCD president Dr Hugh Brady said he thought the provision of a Luas stop at UCD was "imperative", given that some 30,000 people visit it daily.
The PPP model being employed represented a "win-win" situation for the college, he added. "This is not a land-sell . . . this is leveraging our land assets," he said. "Ultimately, all of the property will revert back to UCD."
Dr Brady expressed his hope that children and families from the wider community would be encouraged to use the redeveloped entrance to attend, for example, jazz or other recitals.