Papers of James Meenan – Move of UCD to Belfield

V. A STUDY OF ADJACENT SITES Page A. The Commission's Rejection of Adjacent Sites 44 B. A Reconsideration of these and other Adjacent Sites 45 C. Long-term Expansion 48

VI. SUGGESTIONS TOWARDS A SOLUTION ON PRESENT AND ADJACENT SITES 51

SUMMARY AND GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 54

POSTSCRIPT 57

APPENDICES A. A Note on the College's Efforts to Expand 60 B. Comments on the Views of the College Authorities on the Science Buildings, Merrion Street 61 C. A Note on Alternative Uses for the Stillorgan Road Estates 62 D. A List of Cultural, Educational, and Professional Bodies, Schools and Hostels in the General University Area 64 E. A List of Government and Semi-State Offices in the Area 65 F. Details of the Harcourt Street Station Site 66 G. Sir Eric Ashby's Comments on 'Inefficient Utilisation of Plant' 67 H. Leading Article from 'The Irish Independent' 68 I. An Article from 'Irish Builder and Engineer' 70 J. Some other Views: (i) An Article from 'The Tablet', 72 (ii) Professor Stanford's Views 73 MAP: The Vicinity of Earlsfort Terrace

INTRODUCTION

The essential thesis presented in regard to U.C.D. by the Report of the Commission on Accommodation Needs of the Constituent Colleges of the National University of Ireland is that, while it is desirable to seek a solution for the urgent accommodation needs of the College by expansion from the present sites, such a solution is impracticable.

We accept the basic fact that U.C.D.'s accommodation needs are urgent and must be met without delay. We differ emphatically from the Commission in its belief that those needs cannot be met except by moving to Stillorgan Road.

The cost of a complete new College must be borne in mind, but this is not the only factor involved; we believe and hope to establish, that the move would have grave consequences, both for the College and for the City. The future of higher education in Dublin would be radically affected and the cultural and educational centre of the Capital would be disintegrated.

The Commission by devoting its attention primarily and almost entirely to matters of space and sites, and by not fully investigating all the other very important factors involved, recommended a move to the suburbs. Having done that, it did not even thne fully consider and give due weight to all the consequences of the proposal.

We are convinced that the Commission is in fact wrong in its belief that expansion is impracticable from the present sites: it follows that the decision to move to the Stillorgan Road must be considered in the light of the consequences to which we have referred.

In short, the Stillorgan Road project is, in our view, both unnecessary and undesirable.

62 U.C.D and the Future

is in extra-curricular activities of societies, clubs, meetings, etc.' We may add that the same arguments apply to students of medicine, in their dissecting rooms, laboratories and hospitals, and to engineering and architectural students in their drawing offices, workshops and studios, as to the science and agricultural students.

In short, after their first year, all univsity students apart from those taking the humanities are segregated in workshops of one kind or another. And even the humanists, if they are working at their subjects, will be in their libraries and seminar rooms, equally segregated from each other and from the rest of the student body.

The fact of the matter is that any university student, if he is working at his subject is out of contact with the student body in other faculties during the working day. His contact with them is made briefly at lunch-time, and essentially in extra-curricular activities, in 'the pubs and coffee shops,' in the digs and halls of residence.

Again, the isolation which the staff of the Science Buildings are said to feel could best be overcome by the provision of adequate dining and common room facilities shared with the rest of the college staff.

If the Commission's recommendation to spread the proposed college more loosely over the whole of the 250 acre site at Stillorgan Road were to be followed, this isolation of the different faculties would be much greater than at present.

Appendix C

A NOTE ON ALTERNATE USES FOR THE STILLORGAN ROAD ESTATES

If it were decided to maintain U.C.D. on its present and adjacent sites the question arises of what to do with the estates on the Stillorgan Road, apart from the land at present in use as playing fields and required for their extension.

Several projects spring to mind:

1. The erection of student (and staff) halls of residence, recreation rooms, etc. after the model of the Cite Universitaire of Paris. The student body would thus be living adjacent to the sports fields, swimming pools etc., surely a better solution than having these amenities outside the classroom windows. (Some lesser recreational facilities might be retained on the city site, e.g. the tennis courts at present provided in Iveagh Gardens and, say, a small gymnasium).

2. Some of the inadequately housed and overcrowded schools in the city area might be offered sites at Stillorgan Road. The removal of some of these schools to the suburbs would benefit both them and the College by leaving property available in areas adjacent to Earlsfort Terrace. If for example, Alexandra College, the Sacred Heart Convent, Loreto College, or the High School were to vacate their sites their acquisition would enormously benefit U.C.D. in its programme of expansion.

3. Some Government offices might be transferred to new buildings on the

Appendices 63

Stillorgan Road site. A move in this direction has, in fact, already taken place as a result of the Government's decision to locate a central Radio and Television Authority on the 'Montrose' estate, thus removing Radio Eireann from the G.P.O. Buildings.

4. It is to be noted that, because of pressure in the city centre—in particular traffic and parking problems—there is a growing tendency, favoured by Dublin Corporation, for industrial and commercial concerns to move out of town and that the Stillorgan Road is a district of choice. We may mention in this regard the recent move of Esso Ltd. to this area.

Further, the open land immediately adjoining the College estates on the west (and southwest) is gradually being encroached upon by industry. Indeed the College's Architectural Advisory Board is concerned by this matter (Report, Chapter 1, Appendix IV) and recommends that 'Consideration should be given to the acquisition of additional lands adjoining Byrne's Fields as a safeguard against unsuitable future developments and incidentally to eliminate an inconvenient enclave.'

Considering all the above points it is obvious that there would be little difficulty in finding alternative use for any land surplus to the College's requirements for playing fields, student amenities and halls of residence in this area. In fact a handsome profit might yet accrue to the College by the development of any such surplus.