Located at the heart of campus, the Hardiman Research Building (HRB) is the new face of the University with a vision that aspires to facilitate a flexible space that fosters knowledge and collaboration in academic humanities research for next-generation graduate, post-graduate and faculty.
The transparent ground level houses the public functions of the museum, seminar rooms and training rooms. The atrium floor, located between the existing Hardiman Library (a protected structure built in 1978) and the new building, serves as a common access to the entire complex. On this level, the new research library is entered through a collision space, specifically designated for informal unprogrammed activities and intellectual exchange.
The upper two floors provide large, flexible, open floor plates dedicated to research, including 300 study stations, multiple meeting rooms and informal collaboration spaces. On the basement level, a new central high-value archives facility for the entire university features over 6,500 linear feet of compact shelving housed in a series of archive rooms under strict environmental and safety controls.
National University of Ireland, Galway
Hardiman Research Building
Project Statistics
LOCATION
Galway / Ireland
completED
2014
TOTAL SQUARE FOOTAGE
65,000 GSF
TEAM
Kevin Sullivan, FAIA
Principal-in-Charge
Leon W. Drachman, AIA, LEED Green Assoc.
Design Principal / Emeritus
Campus Context
The HRB is located between the existing science center precinct and the new campus green, providing a prominent presence on Newcastle Road, the historic entrance to the University. The new building is connected, both physically and functionally, to the James Hardiman Library. Situated at this critical location, the new library responds to multiple pedestrian approaches and establishes a new face for the University. The exterior space on the lower levels of the building extends the public space of the campus walk and lawn through an amphitheater-style plaza. A café located on the most public corner serves both the building and the general campus population, providing a much needed point of social interaction and intellectual exchange.
Leveraging the Existing Conditions
The massing concept for the HRB consists of a simple two-level floating volume containing the main reading rooms and research areas. This limestone-clad volume faces the campus green and floats above a transparent and public base, clad in a black-gray basalt limestone and curtainwall. The floating volume is gently angled to pick up the geometry of the approaching campus paths and to define a sense of entry and place around the amphitheater and main entrance to the library complex. The HRB sets up a new circulation system in this key area of campus, acting as a pedestrian “switchboard” that re-organizes and enhances the pedestrian experience. Together with the Hardiman Library to which it is attached, the HRB becomes the new signature place on campus.
