Common ground: Campus, Community and Climate

This project is part of UCD's second-year Architecture studio and the  MSc Architecture, Urbanism & Climate Action program , focused on engaging with communities around Belfield. The aim is to explore the campus boundaries, where UCD meets and surrounding communities, to examine how these borders operate.

This study seeks to identify gaps and opportunities for improving connections and enhancing campus permeability. By expanding our understanding of the economic, environmental, political, and social factors shaping the suburbs, the project will guide the design of climate-responsive architectural strategies that encourage exchange and interaction with the surrounding areas.

The Common Ground project has the following objectives:

1. Create Collaborative Opportunities: Establish a platform for students and community members to share ideas, co-design solutions, and explore exciting design projects.
2. Activate Shared Spaces: Reveal the potential of current spaces and places used by campus and external communities, and reimagine them as hubs for interaction, creativity, collaboration and engagement.
3. Build a Resilient Network: Develop a network of active individuals and groups committed to sustainability and climate resilience.
4. Advance Socially Engaged Design: Position architecture as a practice that actively involves and benefits local communities.

Central to our project is a Geodesign workshop that will take place on Saturday the 19th of October in the basement of the Main Restaurant in UCD Belfield Campus.

This Geodesign workshop is an opportunity to collaborate with UCD researchers, community members, students, and local leaders to co-design a collective vision for the future. Using Geodesign tools and methods, participants will work together to develop and design ideas that enhance the permeability of the campus and foster stronger connections and exchanges with the surrounding communities. The workshop emphasises collaborative decision-making to ensure that the resulting proposals reflect the diverse needs and perspectives of the communities.

Date of Event: 19th October 2024

Location: Main Restaurant in UCD Belfield Campus

Time: 12 pm to 4 pm (Lunch is provided)

Together, we will reimagine the edges of UCD and spark design ideas that address the pressing challenges of climate change. Your insights will directly contribute to a forward-thinking strategy for sustainable, climate-resilient neighbourhoods, informing the work of current and future architecture students. 

Additionally, you’ll gain practical experience with the Geodesign process, exploring how data-driven, collaborative planning can solve real-world problems.

Anonymously collected information will help students develop ideas for reimagining UCD's edges in 2050, shaping hypothetical sustainable solutions. These outcomes, part of a learning exercise, will contribute to end-of-year portfolios. Results will be presented publicly and shared with Dun Laoghaire County Council as part of the EU project PROBONO which is a partnership with UCD School of Architecture and Environmental Policy.

For further information on outcomes and data usage see  here .

The workshop is in partnership with Open House Dublin. Registration is essential, so if you haven't registered please do so now through their  website .

Registration will close on Monday 14th October.  Once you have registered we will be in contact with you directly by email in advance of the workshop on Saturday the 19th October. After this date you can email nathalie.weadick@ucd.ie to enquire if places are still available.

If you cannot come to the Geodesign workshop, you can still contribute to the project by completing the following survey.

The purpose of this survey is to gather insights from the community about the values, challenges and opportunities associated with Belfield Campus. We are interested in hearing about the places, memories, and activities that connect you to the campus. Your responses will help us better understand the campus's significance and inform strategies for enhancing its connection with surrounding communities.

 https://meitheal.cartospot.com/map/ucd-stories-and-values 

We have identified a few active edges around UCD campus which have proven to have some spatial and cultural interaction with the internal campus. These locations have already been analysed by the students. Click on the site names below to explore each site in details throught the eyes of the students, or keep exploring the storymaps to learn more about key principles integral to our project, such as  heritage ,  commons , and  systems thinking approaches .

•  N11 Flyover 
•  Rosemount Site 
•  Nova UCD Fosters Avenue 
•  Beech Hill, Richview, Dodder 
•  Roebuck Foster Corner 
•  Richview_Newstead 
•  Woodview Health Science 

• Patchwork of Historic Villa Plots: The campus is formed from several historic villa plots originally part of the Owenstown and Booterstown manors, within the Fitzwilliam family's estate.
• Peripheral Manor Houses: Many historic houses are located on the campus periphery, including Roebuck Castle, Merville House, Richview House, Belfield House, Roebuck Grove (University Lodge), and Woodview House, all dating from the 13th to early 19th centuries.
• Ardmore House: This house, built around 1800, is centrally located between two lakes on the campus.
• Andrzej Wejchert's Masterplan (1963): The winning design aimed to retain the campus's parkland character, with a low-lying, linear design centered around a covered walkway, allowing for future expansion while preserving vistas.

The buildings (...) are planned outwards from the spine, becoming more dispersed as the distance from the spine increases so that the scheme merges with the natural landscape.

' land or resources belonging to or affecting the whole of a community.'

Commons originated from the idea of the underprivileged using unclaimed land to make a living by hunting and farming for themselves and their community. Presently, in urban settings, commons are community-based projects/organisations that promote engagement in the community and produce resources for communal usage.

Historically, commons originated as open green spaces where food was grown and animals were reared. They were necessary for the production of food, and to sustain life in general. In modern times, a commons contains resources, whether tangible or intangible, that a community can utilise. The responsibility of upkeep also falls on the community benefitting from the commons

It was believed by many that individual's over-exploitation of shared resources would deplete said resource for all. This concept was known as "The tragedy of the commons." It was later disproved by Elinor Ostrom, who outlined a set of rules necessary for operating a commons in "Governing the Commons"at.’

This camp is an example of community engagement within the city of Madrid, eg the urban commons. The community had built this space themselves with an overall spend of about 41,000 Euro. It was built with disassembly in mind using free and recycled materials, intended as a space for local gathering and allowing external visitors to come in. There was no government involvement at all and it was managed purely by the locals of Madrid. Unfortunately it does not stand today and there are disappointing plans to fill the empty space with a shopping centre.

The Incredible Edible movement began in Todmorden, UK, when co-founder Pam Warhurst transformed her garden by planting vegetables and encouraging others to "help themselves." This simple act sparked a larger initiative to grow fruits, herbs, and vegetables in public spaces, often without formal permissions, to stimulate discussions about local food and sustainability. The project aims to empower communities to take an active role in addressing environmental challenges through food, which serves as a unifying language that brings people together. By promoting self-sufficiency and avoiding reliance on public funding, Incredible Edible fosters informal collaborations with local councils and encourages everyone in the community to participate. The movement is a grassroots response to climate issues, aiming to rebuild local food systems and inspire collective action.

Thus far, we have engaged with three architects in practice, each of whom brought a diverse array of perspectives, alongside presentations that offered us a broader and more invigorating understanding of "community."

"The joy of collaborative design is that no one individual would have come up with that final design; only through collaboration and layering can you discover opportunity"

Systems thinking is about viewing complex problems as a part of a whole system. Different methods are used to define mental models that explore the interconnectedness between different parts of the whole. The method we covered in our studio workshop is CLD's or Causal Loop Diagrams.

A Causal Loop Diagram is a visual tool showing how different system parts interact through cause-and-effect relationships. It uses feedback loops to highlight how changes in one part of the system affect others over time. These loops can either reinforce or balance the system’s behaviour.

Causal loop diagrams are a useful tool to clarify your own understanding of a "problem", and to identify common archetypes that drive systems of behavior which create this problem. Most importantly these diagrams highlight points of possible intervention and make clearer the interconnected nature of the variables within a problem.

"The systems-thinking lens allows us to reclaim our intuition about whole systems and hone our abilities to understand arts, see interconnectedness, ask "what-if" questions about possible future behaviours, and be creative and courageous about system redesign.”

ArcGIS is an online mapping and analysis platform that enables students to create maps, analyze information, and collaborate with others. In Cycle 1 of Semester 1 of 2nd Year, students gained proficiency in using ArcGIS and mapped out various aspects of the UCD campus and surrounding areas that interested them. Below are examples of the maps they created, each accompanied by a key to help differentiate the features.

The following StoryMaps were created by the students of second-year Architecture at UCD. If you are want to know more about each site click on the image.

Roebuck Castle has a long and storied history dating back to the 13th century. Originally built after the Anglo-Norman Conquest, it was owned by notable families, including the le Bruns and later the Barnewalls, who held the estate for centuries. The castle was damaged during the rebellion of 1641, but its gothic revival style, seen today, was shaped by the Westby family in the 19th century. Over the years, the estate has changed hands multiple times, serving various purposes before becoming part of University College Dublin’s campus in 1985. Additionally, several historic gatehouses, including Glebe House and Crannóg, remain on the estate.

The Magnetic Observatory, originally built in the 1830s in the Fellows' Garden of Trinity College Dublin, was later relocated to University College Dublin’s Belfield campus in the 1970s. Reconstructed stone-by-stone, it was moved to make way for Trinity's new Arts and Social Science Building. Designed by renowned architect Frederick Darley, the observatory is a classical Grecian Doric temple, reflecting Darley's distinguished architectural legacy.

Richview, first leased in 1799 by the 13th Baron of Trimleston to Charles Haskins, has a rich history that spans centuries. Initially appearing on maps as 'Rich View' by 1816, the estate changed hands several times before being acquired by the Freemasons of Ireland in 1885, transforming it into a Masonic Boys' School. In 1930, Memorial Hall was constructed as an infirmary and hall to honour former pupils who fought and died in World War I. University College Dublin purchased the estate in 1980, incorporating it into the campus.

Ardmore House, formerly known as Belview, is a historic 19th-century country villa that first appeared on a Taney parish map in 1866. Built around 1800, the estate underwent significant extensions in the late 1800s, including adding a Corinthian porch and bow ends, which are still visible today. Acquired by the Department of Post and Telegraphs in 1948, the estate later became part of University College Dublin's (UCD) Belfield campus through a land exchange in 1957. Today, Ardmore House serves as a venue for meetings and small functions following recent renovations.

Merville House, a historic gem located on the University College Dublin (UCD) campus, is the oldest surviving estate house on the grounds. Built around 1750 for Anthony Foster, the Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer, the house boasts a rich and varied history spanning centuries. From its origins as a Georgian-style country villa to its modern role as the home of Nova UCD, this estate has seen a succession of notable owners, including political figures and landed gentry. Today, Merville House is a testament to Ireland's architectural heritage and careful preservation efforts.

Woodview, part of the Earl of Pembroke's Estate in the Priest house townland, was built in 1820 and appeared as 'Wood View' on the 1943 Ordnance Survey map. While the house no longer stands, the estate once featured a gatelodge, waterstreams, a footbridge, and unique hexagonal walled gardens, reflecting its historical charm and landscape design.

Finished in 1972, the Water Tower is Wejchert's most renowned Belfield structure, and the only protected structure from this period on site. The water tower can hold 150,000 gallons of water. It is 60m tall and supported by a pentagonal stem. The water reserve is used in small amounts in circulation daily with greater amounts of water stored under the ground for fires or emergencies.