Library Buildings around the World

The internal accommodation centres around the central void visually connecting all functions and allowing people the benefit of the
natural light.
The building was nominated for the OPUS Architecture & Construction Awards 2005. (http://www.kilcawleyconstrion.com)
NUI – National University of Ireland, Galway Information Technology Centre, Galway –
Ireland 2001
Client: National University of Ireland, Galway , Contract Size: 4,800 sq.m. , Contract Value: €9.5 million
Awards:
RIAI Regional Award: Western Region 2002
Construction Excellence Award 2001
The Information Technology Building was commissioned in late 1998 and afforded Murray O' Laoire Architects the opportunity to
develop some of the site planning issues and architectural treatment suggested in the earlier Arts Millennium Building on the NUI,
Galway Campus. The building was intended to meet the teaching and staff requirements of the rapidly expanding I.T. Department
at the University, providing under-graduate computing laboratories, post-graduate and research laboratories, collaborative teaching
space, classrooms and lecture theatres; staff offices and common areas in its 4,800 sq.m of accommodation. The Client brief
demanded an architectural response which simultaneously: • embodies the accommodation and academic aspirations of the
Information Technology Department • presents a new, appropriately treated "public" face for the University on its highly visible
eastern flank • terminates the East-West movement axis of the campus at the river frontage • addresses in a positive manner for
the first time the very specific physical context of the site and the University's relationship with the river. To provide the physical
presence required in achieving these ambitions a number of devices are used to increase the apparent scale of what is a relatively
modest brief. In the first instance the footprint is deliberately kept compact, necessitating a minimum of four floor levels. Thus when
juxtaposed with the long low slung two-storey monolith of the Arts/Sciences building the increased scale and impact of the new
building is immediately highlighted. The use of a podium base with limestone walls, containing the ground floor and plant
accommodation, surmounted by a three-storey pavilion further emphasises this contrast in scale and accentuates the stand-alone,
independent nature of the building. The podium idea is further developed as a device to anchor the building to its physical context,
intervening between the gentle curving sweep of the riverbank and the orthogonal lines of the existing campus buildings. A series of
stepping grassed terraces, formed using low random rubble retaining walls which describe the contours of the site and change
progressively in outline from that which mirrors the river to one which reflects to the building's footprint. These stepping terraces
are also used to draw the eye or indeed the building's users approaching from various directions up to the main entry / concourse
level at first floor. The first floor is the level at which the bridge connection to the existing building occurs and which accommodates
al of the teaching facilities for university wide usage. It is accordingly the natural level at which to locate the main external entry
point and concourse space. The remaining three levels are similarly discrete in terms of function. The ground floor (podium)
contains the under-graduate computer laboratories which require ready but not quite as universal access as the first floor teaching
spaces. The second floor is dedicated solely to research and post-graduate uses with a range of computer laboratories of varied sizes
and layouts. Its segregation from the computing and teaching facilities at the lower levels is deliberate, ensuring a more secure
quieter environment at this level. The top floor contains all the staff offices and staff common areas in response to the Information
Technology Departments request to maintain its current ethos of encouraging easy interaction between staff members of different
sub-departments. The staff accommodation is arranged in a U-configuration about a south-facing terrace with views to the river,
City and sea in the distance. A generously proportioned open staircase linked to a large lightwell rises up through the building,
giving a datum or point of reference at each floor level. The building occupants are also returned to the river at each half landing on
the staircase as an orienting device as they travel between floors that are arranged in a markedly contrasting manner. The lightwell
also ensures the penetration of daylight deep into the heart of the building in the primary circulation areas. Ancillary and plant
areas are confined generally to marginal or awkwardly shaped spaces such as the underside of the tiered lecture theatres or the
podium steps and ramps. The roof level is to be kept free of plant generally given the building's high degree of visibility from most
directions, the top of the stairwells providing a small amount of localised plant area within their enclosure.
Galway/Mayo IT Learning Resource Centre, Galway – Ireland 1998
Client: Galway/Mayo Institute of Technology, Contract Value: €20.3 million
Awards:
2005, ACEI Innovation Award, Winner
2004, RIAI Regional Award: Western Region (Buildings Over €3million Category), Exhibited
2003, Opus Building of the Year Awards
(Buildings Over €3.75m Category), Winner
Literature:
Architecture Ireland - 'Galway/Mayo Institute of Technology, Learning Resource Centre, Galway', Architecture Ireland, no.190,
September 2003
Building Design - 'At The Sharp End', Building Design, April 5th 2003
Irish Arts Review - 'Architectural Renaissance', Irish Arts Review, Autumn 2003
Cladding: At The Sharp End, Building Design, April 25th 2003, pp.16-17
MOLA and Sustainability, Architecture Ireland, no.187, May 2003, pp.33-35
Galway/Mayo Institute of Technology Galway, Architecture Ireland, no. 190, September 2003, pp.14-18
Architectural Renaissance, Irish Arts Review - Autumn 2003, pp.92-95
Galway/Mayo Institute of Technology Galway, Ireland, The Plan – Architecture & Technologies in Detail (Italy) No. 006, June 2004,
pp.50-59
The cooper clad sails acutely project out from the building permitting light to filter into the library area and they
also provide a degree of protection from the direct sunlight. >These sails by their form, act as acoustic baffles and
internally reflect light deep into the library plan. Framed views are strategically gained at the sail junctions where
strip windows are inserted (Murray)
The Galway/Mayo Institute of Technology was established in 1972, and a Master Plan was compiled in May 1998. MÓLA were
engaged by GMIT to review the Master Plan and design a new facility comprising a new Library IT Department, 300 and 250 seater
Auditoriums, 40, 60, 90 and 100 seater Lecture Theatres, Entrance Foyer and Directorate. The building is zoned into two distinct
volumes, Lecture Rooms and Library IT Department. The hub of the scheme is located where the two linear rectangular forms
intersect containing the 250 seater Theatre and 350 seater Theatre, Foyer, Café and Exhibition Area. The South edge of this face is
flanked by a 2-storey structural glazed screen from which the Café Area and Exhibition Area operate with Galway Bay acting as a
backdrop to these activities. The hub lies along the main actual route through the existing College linking the various Departments,
Canteen Area, and future Student Resources Centre. This access is emphasised externally by springing a bridge from the Campus
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