University College Dublin

FUTURE
CAMPUS

INTERNATIONAL
DESIGN COMPETITION
Search Statement
This document has been assembled by Malcolm Reading Consultants from research content
and original content provided by University College Dublin. The combined content is
intended for use only in the procurement process as described in this document. All material
is provided in good faith but no warranty or representation is given as to its accuracy or
completeness. Neither UCD nor its advisers shall be liable for any error, misstatement or
omission in the material and no reliance shall be placed on it.

Malcolm Reading Consultants is an expert consultancy which specialises in managing design

competitions to international standards and providing independent, strategic advice to clients
with capital projects. With over twenty years’ experience of projects, we are enthusiastic
advocates of the power of design to create new perceptions and act as an inspiration.

Images on front cover and pages 16, 30, 46-47, 48, 50, 60
and inside back cover courtesy of Keith Arkins.
Images on pages 10, 12 and 26 courtesy of Donal Murphy photography.
Image on page 22 courtesy of Barrow Coakley Photography.
All other images © University College Dublin.

malcolmreading.com
T +44 (0) 20 7831 2998
 University College Dublin

FUTURE
CAMPUS

INTERNATIONAL
DESIGN COMPETITION
Search Statement
 Contents
Foreword 5

Part One 9
Overview 11
Aims and Objectives 15
The Site 19
The Project (Emerging Brief) 25
Teams 29
University College Dublin 33
Context 41

Part Two 47
Project Details 49
Competition Details 53
How to Enter  61
Submission Requirements 63
Evaluation Criteria 69
Appendices 71
4
Foreword 5

University College Dublin (UCD) is Ireland’s largest and most

globally-engaged centre for higher education. Offering a
strongly diverse mix of academic disciplines, UCD is the
destination of choice for international students coming to
Ireland, and is now widely known as Ireland’s Global University.
We attract over 30,000 students from more than 120
countries annually, with students from the US and China
among the largest of our international cohorts. At the same
time, we have become the most popular choice for Irish
students seeking a university place in their home country.
So balancing these dual audiences – international and
national, reflecting their interests in being global in
perspective while also supporting the flourishing of Ireland
itself – is essential to UCD’s identity.
The University has, since its foundation, been a vital and
influential force in shaping modern Ireland, counting among its
graduates three Presidents, four Taoisigh, five ministers in the
current cabinet and six of Ireland’s European Commissioners.
UCD’s exceptional ability to foster talent is seen too in our
sustained contribution to business, science, medicine, the
arts, culture and sport – and one of the world’s most original
minds, the 20th-century author James Joyce, remains our
most well-known alumnus.
Our aim is to equip our students with a great student
experience, a high-calibre education and a holistic
perspective on their place in the world, while developing and
fostering their creativity and expressiveness. But, crucially, we
are also a research-intensive university, recognising that
research and scholarship underpin innovation and our
success in delivering long-term solutions to economic, social,
cultural and public policy challenges.
The University’s ambition is to establish itself as a world Top
100 university by 2020. To achieve this, UCD’s Strategy 2015-
2020 puts particular focus on increasing the quality, quantity
and impact of its research, scholarship and innovation.
 Foreword

In parallel, the UCD Strategic Campus Development Plan

2016-2021-2026 guides the future development of the
campus and includes a commitment to high architectural
quality with a focus on sustainable design.
So, with these values and ambitions very much in mind, we
are delighted to commission this international design
competition focused on enhancing and enlivening our
campus: Future Campus – University College Dublin
International Design Competition. This is a global call for
integrated teams of international architects, urban designers
and masterplanners to express an interest in our Entrance
Precinct Masterplan and Centre for Creative Design project.
We are hugely fortunate to have an expansive parkland and
wooded campus, 133 hectares in total, close to the centre of
Dublin. As UCD has grown and expanded in recent years, so
it has developed its architectural pedigree, adding to its
mid-20th-century core with a new Student Centre and a raft
of other world-leading facilities – some of which are
illustrated in subsequent pages.
Through the new masterplan, which covers nearly 24 hectares
of University land (with a further five hectares of land under
the stewardship of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County
Council) we need to address the following questions:
How can the campus communicate UCD’s identity more
eloquently? How can UCD become a Dublin landmark,
better connected to the city and local communities? How
can the entrance and arrival experience give the University
immediate and deserved physical presence and visibility?
Can the campus experience inspire new ways of learning
and thinking? As well as, practically, become much more
welcoming to pedestrians and cyclists?
  Foreword

Additionally, we intend our new Centre for Creative Design to

be emblematic of the University, so that design, creativity
and innovation are integral to how we are perceived. It is our
belief that engineering and architecture will be crucial to
Ireland’s future as a high-tech economy and attractor of
foreign direct investment.
So the new Centre – a charismatic yet integrated building, a
making and learning lab – will, through form and fabric,
express its purpose as the University’s home of design
studios and laboratories and maker, project and fabrication
spaces. New ‘future spaces’ will allow for more experimental,
cutting-edge work at a variety of scales, from materials and
spaces to cities and regions. They will give us scope for
collaboration with industry and public partners, and enable
us to share new ideas through a programme of exhibition
and display.
UCD was founded as an independent university 160 years
ago by the religious and educational visionary John Henry
Newman. We understand, as Newman did, that it is the
people we attract to study and teach here that are our
greatest resource and inspiration.
Today, the intellectual insights and innovation they generate
drive our economy and give the University, and Dublin and
Ireland, their competitive edge.
Creating a highly attractive environment that appeals to the
visual and other senses of our faculty, students and
community partners, that works both in the day and at night,
and through all the seasons, is the fascinating and
demanding challenge ahead.
We warmly invite you to enter the competition.
Professor Andrew J Deeks
President, University College Dublin
Part One
10
 Part One

Overview 11

This international design competition focuses on enhancing

and enlivening University College Dublin’s extensive campus.
The competition seeks an outstanding integrated design
team for two much-needed design initiatives. Firstly, to
create a strong urban design vision that foregrounds a highly-
visible and welcoming entrance precinct, one combining
placemaking with a stronger physical presence and identity
for the University. And, secondly, to devise a concept design
for a charismatic new building that expresses the University’s
creativity – a making and learning lab – the Centre for
Creative Design.
Known as Ireland’s Global University, University College
Dublin (UCD) is the country’s largest and most
internationally-engaged higher education body. Offering a
strongly diverse mix of academic disciplines, UCD is the
destination of choice for international students coming to
Ireland. It attracts over 30,000 students from more than 120
countries annually, and is the most popular choice for Irish
students seeking a university place in their home country.
The competition centres on a project with two aspects: the
Entrance Precinct Masterplan and the Centre for Creative
Design. The Entrance Precinct Masterplan will create a new
urban design strategy for a 23.8 ha area that will guide UCD
in defining the quality of the campus through placemaking,
architecture and the public realm, as well as allowing for
future planning. Essential to this will be a distinctive,
confident and highly-visible entrance and arrival experience
that expresses the University’s identity and showcases its
Dublin site. The Centre for Creative Design is conceived as a
charismatic yet well-integrated architectural addition – a
maker space that is a living learning lab – that will promote
inter-disciplinary engagement. The total value of the Centre
for Creative Design is circa €48m (inclusive of VAT and
professional fees).
Part One Overview

12

Stakeholders and Funding

UCD is working closely with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown
County Council and the National Transport Authority on this
initiative. UCD has secured initial funding and will continue to
fundraise for the project, targeting a mixture of private
sources and public grants.
 Part One Overview

13

Previous Competition
A previous competition for development on the UCD
Campus, including its entrance, was launched in 2007. This
project was to be led by UCD in conjunction with a
development partner, but was subsequently cancelled due to
the global economic downturn in 2008.
The new project will be led and financed by UCD exclusively.

The International Competition

This competition is being managed on behalf of UCD by
independent competition specialists Malcolm Reading
Consultants. The competition is being run in accordance with
EU procurement rules and the Republic of Ireland’s S.I. No.
284/2016 European Union (Award of Public Authority
Contracts) Regulations 2016. This competition has been
advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU).
Details on the format of the competition are provided in Part
Two of this document.
No design is required at the first stage. Initially, competitors
are invited to submit an Expression of Interest – the deadline
for this is: 14:00 BST Monday 26 March 2018.
competitions.malcolmreading.com/universitycollegedublin
14
 Part One

Aims and Objectives 15

University College Dublin’s Future Campus project

strategic objectives are:
• Immediate physical presence
Give the University immediate physical presence and visibility
as an internationally-minded, dynamic and creative place of
learning and research, addressing the currently recessive and
largely anonymous arrival experience.
• An enhanced campus
Enhance and enliven the campus by making a highly
attractive environment (day and night, season to season) that
promotes a strong sense of community and sociability and
inspires students and faculty, visitors and local innovators to
explore new ways of learning and thinking.
• A future-proofed vision
Create a strong and flexible urban design vision for this
23.8 ha area of the overall campus, informed by placemaking,
accessibility and people flows; this anticipates the potential
for up to 335,000 sq m of new development (representing
a footprint of circa 67,000 sq m).
• UCD’s creative identity
Make creativity, innovation and sustainability central to UCD’s
identity through exemplary design.
• Sustainable values
Affirm holistic sustainable values – from design through to
operations and use – achieving a near zero energy target,
making design choices incorporating energy-saving, green
technologies where possible, and respecting the campus’
natural environment and biodiversity, notably the 200-year-
old woodland walks.
Part One Aims and Objectives

16

• A Dublin landmark
Make the University a landmark on the Dublin map –
improving connections with the city and the immediate
community/vicinity.
• UCD’s international reputation and image
Raise the profile of UCD nationally and internationally
through the quality of its campus and architecture to draw
more diverse, high-performing candidates and academics.
 Part One Aims and Objectives

17

Physically, the Future Campus project will:

• Create an Entrance Precinct Masterplan: a strong urban
design vision that foregrounds a highly-visible and
welcoming entrance experience and, overall, combines
placemaking with a stronger physical presence and identity
for the University, while also strengthening links between
the campus and the surrounding city.
• Create a charismatic yet well-integrated Centre for Creative
Design that is a living learning lab – using innovative
materials and new technologies to express its purpose as
the University’s home of design studios and laboratories,
and maker, project and fabrication spaces.
• Increase permeability of the campus boundary – and the
quality of this – including a possible new vehicular
entrance and influence improvements to the public realm
within the liminal zone between city and campus, taking
advantage of planned public transportation connections
and sustainable transport innovations/modes.
18
 Part One

The Site 19

The Belfield Campus

UCD’s main Belfield Campus, located just four km from
Dublin city centre, is notably green and expansive. The estate
is contiguous with the R138 road into Dublin – one of the
main access routes from the south of the city centre.
The Belfield Campus is a collection of smaller estates, many
of which contained period houses, with the original estate
dating back to the 12th century. The University purchased
the land in a series of acquisitions starting in the 1930s.
The campus is a unique national resource, with the most
diverse array of publicly accessible educational, cultural,
sports and recreation facilities in Ireland. UCD is engaged in
extensive outreach programmes and, as a hub for the wider
local community, Belfield provides playing pitches, a
swimming pool, woodland walks, heritage houses, art
sculptural trails, cultural exhibitions, a theatre, seminars, a
cinema and other recreation facilities.
The first campus masterplan was conceived by Polish architect
Andrzej Wejchert, the winner of a competition held by UCD
in 1963. Wejchert’s plan centred on an arrangement of key
campus buildings either side of a main pedestrian walkway,
with the buildings sited to maintain a walking distance of
about six minutes from one end of the walkway to the other.
The covered walkway – a centre line of columns supporting
waffle slabs – spans approximately 600 m, running between
the original Science Building and the Restaurant Building.
The walkway was intended to define a path and a core to
the University, putting the pedestrian route at the heart
of the campus.
As well as conceiving the campus masterplan, Wejchert also
designed the Administration Building and the Arts Block.
The Agriculture Block designed by Rooney Associates, the
James Joyce Library by Sir Basil Spence, Glover & Ferguson,
and the Restaurant Building by Michael Scott & Partners,
were added in the 1970s.
Part One The Site

20

Today, the campus covers 133 ha and contains over eight km

of woodland walks, some of which are flanked by mature
trees that date back to the 18th and 19th centuries. Prominent
features on campus include the UCD Lake, a manmade
feature developed in the 1970s and covering 7,000 sq m, and
the Water Tower, a 60-metre concrete structure with a
pentagonal stem and a dodecahedron shaped tank. There are
ten listed structures on campus, including seven period
houses, notably Ardmore House (a typical example of a 19th
century country villa) and Merville House (originally a country
villa built in the mid-1700s), both of which are the focus of an
on-going preservation and restoration programme.
The campus is loosely divided into three character areas:
education, research and innovation; residential; and sport and
recreation. The long term ambition is to co-locate all of the
education, research and innovation buildings, this mainly
affecting the School of Architecture, Planning and
Environmental Policy currently located at the western end of
the campus in the Richview Buildings, the School of Civil
Engineering currently located in Newstead (adjacent to
Richview), and the School of Biosystems and Food
Engineering currently located in the Agriculture and Food
Science Centre.
The current access to the campus is predominantly from
Stillorgan Road (R138) – here, despite over a kilometre of
frontage, the University makes no real impact, appearing largely
anonymous. While the campus is elevated above the height
of the road, it is mostly obscured by a heavy tree canopy.
Notable historic buildings on campus include Roebuck Castle,
a 19th-century gothic revival castle; Belfield House, an 1801
period house restored and housing the Clinton Institute for
American Studies; the Magnetic Observatory, originally
located in the Fellows’ Garden at Trinity College Dublin and
gifted to UCD in 1874; and Richview House, a 1790 house
formerly used as a boys’ school and an infirmary which now
houses the School of Architecture and Landscape.
 Part One The Site

21

The Campus and Campus

Development Plan
UCD has developed its Strategic Campus Development Plan
2016-2021-2026 to guide the future development of the
campus, in order to create the facilities needed to support
the University’s ambition of becoming a Top 100 global
university by 2020.
The Development Plan includes a commitment to high
architectural quality with a focus on sustainable design which
minimises environmental impact and protects the sylvan
setting and biodiversity of the campus. The University
intends, where possible, to co-locate academic and other
uses in contiguous spaces, with appropriate adjacencies, to
create a compact campus with core activities co-located.
For further information on the Development Plan,
please see: www.ucd.ie/campusdevelopment/

UCD University Club

UCD is continually improving the quality of its built and
natural environment – including how, through its campus, it
can better engage with communities of interest. The new
UCD University Club, which includes a café, restaurant and
meeting facilities, is designed to support relationships with
alumni, partner universities, agencies and national and
international companies. The building is due to start on site
this year. It is part of a programme of initiatives designed to
raise the profile and visibility of the University, incorporating
architecture, artwork, landscape and other public realm
features to enable UCD to connect with the wider city as an
approachable cultural thought-leader.
Part One The Site

22

The Competition Site

The masterplan area under consideration in this competition
covers the area indicated on the plan below. The masterplan
site contains 23.8 ha of University land, with a further 5.35 ha
of land under the stewardship of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown
County Council.
 Part One The Site

23

The masterplan area covers the main entrance and arrival

network to the campus as well as the predominant route into
the campus core. It includes existing buildings such as the
Engineering and Material Science Centre, Belfield House and
NovaUCD, the University’s start-up incubator.
The Centre for Creative Design should be located in a
prominent place within the masterplan area, taking into
consideration appropriate adjacencies with the Engineering
and Material Science Centre, proposed Engineering and
Architecture Precinct, and visibility from outside the campus.

UCD ownership (23.8 ha)

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County

Council ownership (5.35 ha)

Note: This site plan is indicative only.

For a detailed site plan, please see the
Competition Conditions.

N.T.S.

Entrance Precinct Masterplan Site Boundary

24
 Part One

The Project 25

(Emerging Brief)
The project brief is in two parts: the Entrance Precinct
Masterplan and the Centre for Creative Design.
The Entrance Precinct Masterplan covers an area of 23.8 ha,
within which there is the potential for up to 335,000 sq m of
new development (representing a footprint of circa 67,000 sq m).
The precinct is conceived with a mix of uses, including a focus
on innovation, outreach, engagement and hospitality.
The new masterplan needs to give the University immediate
physical presence and visibility, communicating its intent as an
internationally-minded, dynamic and creative place of learning.
It should cue a highly attractive environment (day and night,
season to season) that promotes a strong sense of community
and sociability, and creates an atmosphere conducive to new
ways of learning and thinking.
The masterplan should look to address the current difficulties
with the arrival experience at UCD, which is considered to be
underwhelming. The entrance, framed by 1960s traffic
engineering, is low key, nondescript and unfriendly to
pedestrians and cyclists.
A welcoming arrival experience is essential to showcase the
expansive green campus and needs to reflect the University’s
long-term ambition to consolidate the core estate, ensuring an
approximate five minute walk between key academic buildings.
The Entrance Precinct is intended as a nexus between city and
University; between entrance and the campus core. So to
support this approach, a further 5.35 ha of land owned by
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, adjacent to and
contiguous with the campus boundary, is included within the
brief. This embraces wider initiatives planned for the Greater
Dublin Area, but which are advantageous to the University,
such as Bus Connects, a Bus Rapid Transit service with its initial
southern terminus planned at the University’s entrance.
Part One The Project (Emerging Brief)

26

Competitors should also be aware of the University’s interest

in contributing to an innovation district for Dublin (see page
38) which might influence the Entrance Precinct Masterplan
through the way in which the University’s future relationships
with the city and wider business community are conceived.
Long-term the University looks to create a series of
academic clusters, all easily connected to, and in some cases
overlapping with, the Entrance Precinct. This will help to
re-establish the legibility and compactness of the original
plan. A strong Sciences and Health Sciences cluster already
exists to the north of the Entrance Precinct, and an
Engineering and Architecture cluster is considered close to
the entrance, incorporating the current Engineering and
Materials Sciences Building.
 Part One The Project (Emerging Brief)

27

The first building to be delivered within the Entrance Precinct

Masterplan is the circa €48m (inclusive of VAT and
professional fees), 8,000 sq m Centre for Creative Design.
The competition seeks concept designs for a charismatic yet
well-integrated new building that expresses the University’s
creativity. The building should be located within a prominent
position, a landmark when viewed from within and outside
the campus. A building for creative experimentation and
fabrication, it will contain a range of design studios,
laboratories and maker spaces. Linking these creative
workspaces together will be formal and informal spaces for
gathering and engagement. New ‘future spaces’ will allow for
more experimental, cutting-edge work at a variety of scales,
from materials and spaces to cities and regions. They will
give UCD the platform to stimulate collaboration with
industry and public partners, and enable UCD to share new
ideas through a programme of exhibition and display.
In line with the University’s values, the Centre is conceived as
an exemplar of sustainability. As a living lab, it will be a
teaching resource as creative and experiential as the
functions it contains. Although part of the Engineering and
Architecture cluster, the building is intended for all to use,
allowing for ‘true enlightenment of the mind’ across all
academic disciplines.
The Centre for Creative Design will include education,
research and outreach facilities, and will be home to the
UCD Creative Skills Academy. The Academy will bring
together artists, designers, engineers, architects and
technologists and provide formal and informal opportunities
for interdisciplinary collaboration, as well as supporting
strategic links through the creation of a Centre for the
Internet of Things.
28
 Part One

Teams 29

UCD is seeking integrated creative multidisciplinary teams

organised under a lead consultant and including expertise in
masterplanning, urban design, architecture, landscape
architecture, sustainability, engineering and transport
planning. It is anticipated that the lead consultant will be
either an architect or a masterplanner. UCD is a progressive
patron and is keen to encourage both established and
emerging talent.
At Stage Two, teams will be invited to propose additional
consultancy including, but not limited to, planning, lighting
design, wayfinding and accessibility. In addition, competitors
will be expected to propose an executive team which will be
based in Ireland for the duration of the contract. These
additional consultants will be assessed at Stage Two, for
quality and integration into the design team, including the
requirement to pass minimum qualification standards.
Cost consultancy and project management will be
appointed directly by UCD.
UCD is seeking a team:
• who can demonstrate exceptional design flair
and creative ability;
• who will create outstanding, contemporary
and sensitive design;
• skilled at integrated design, including masterplanning,
urban design, architecture and landscape architecture;
• who will understand and acknowledge the national and
international, historic and cultural importance of the site
and its civic and academic context;
• who will consider all potential uses and users
of the campus;
Part One Teams

30

• with a keen eye for detail and the ability to implement a

design approach at a variety of scales, from the micro to
the macro;
• experienced in all facets of project design and delivery;
• appropriate in size and skills for the project;
• with skills in communications and experience of consultation
with multiple statutory and community stakeholders; and
• who can support fundraising initiatives.
 Part One Teams

31

Sub-consultant companies may enter with more than one

team if they wish to do so. However, in the event that a
company is shortlisted on more than one team, that company
will be required to name different senior individuals for each
team, and will be expected to comply with the competition’s
requirements for non-collusion, which may include the
requirement to sign confidentiality agreements and to supply
a Management Policy for potential conflicts of interest.
Individual companies, including those with multiple offices,
may not lead more than one design team bid. Companies
may lead one bid and sub-consult on multiple additional
bids, noting the above guidance on sub-consultants.
Please note: UCD reserves the right to determine the final
composition of the design team appointed for the project,
and this may include the appointment of sub-consultants
that are not suggested within a competitor’s bid. For the
avoidance of doubt, this is to ensure the correct mix of skills
and expertise and will not be imposed unreasonably.
32
 Part One

University 33

College Dublin
Foundation and John Henry Newman
An assemblage of learned men, zealous for their own
sciences, and rivals of each other, are brought, by familiar
intercourse and for the sake of intellectual peace, to
adjust together the claims and relations of their respective
subjects of investigation. They learn to respect, to consult,
to aid each other. Thus is created a pure and clear
atmosphere of thought, which the student also breathes.
– John Henry Newman, The Idea of a University

University College Dublin was founded as the Catholic

University of Ireland in 1854 by Cardinal Paul Cullen, the
Archbishop of Dublin, and religious and education visionary
John Henry Newman (1801-1890). Newman was the
University’s first Rector, presiding from 1854 to 1858, and was
the intellectual driving force behind the new institution.
Newman rose to prominence as an Oxford academic, a
fellow at Oriel College, and was well-known as a leading
member of the Oxford Movement – a group which argued
for the reinstatement of traditional Christian (Catholic)
traditions into the Anglican faith and argued against the
perceived increasing secularisation of the Church of England.
The Catholic University was intended to be the intellectual
headquarters for Catholics in the English-speaking world,
making higher education available to a broader spectrum of
Irish citizens, at a time when most universities were
predominantly Protestant institutions. The University was
based on the style of education at Oxford – students were
housed in a number of colleges and educated in small
groups under a dean and private tutors.
Newman introduced many successful initiatives at the
University, including the introduction of evening lectures for
those in fulltime employment, the foundation of the Literary
and Historical Society, the oldest debating society at UCD,
and the commissioning of John Hungerford Pollen to design
the University Church, which still stands in St Stephen’s
Green in Dublin, beside the original University buildings.
Part One University College Dublin

34

The outstanding success story of this period however was

the foundation of the Catholic University Medical School,
which by the end of the century was the largest medical
school in Ireland.
Newman’s university received international support, but
struggled to establish itself in its early years. As a private
institution, the Catholic University did not hold a Royal
Charter, and so it received no state funding and its degrees
were not officially recognised by the State. Despite this, the
Catholic University was at the pinnacle of European
academic advancement, with chairs of poetry, political and
social science, political economy and geography. The
University was the first in Ireland to establish a chair of
archaeology and Irish history.
During the early stages of his time in Dublin, Newman gave a
series of lectures which later became The Idea of a
University, Newman’s most famous work.
 Part One University College Dublin

35

The Idea of a University sets out a number of arguments for

the ideals of higher education, including the overarching
principle that a university should be a ‘seat of universal
learning’, whereby the student, although focused on his own
subject, learns from proximity to a wide range of intellectual
topics and pursuits. Newman declared ‘the very name of
University is inconsistent with restrictions of any kind’.
Newman argued for the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake;
the true purpose of a university being not to confer degrees
but to foster a community of thinkers and to ‘produce a habit
of mind, which is free, equitable, moderate, calm, and wise’.
Whilst the ideals distilled by Newman in his most famous work
were never truly realised at the Catholic University, the impact
of his publication can be seen throughout the higher education
sector in initiatives such as active learning and interdisciplinary
exchange and interaction. The influence of this thinking can
be seen today at UCD, with the introduction of UCD Horizons,
which allows students to take modules from a different course
in order to broaden their educational experience.

The Belfield Campus

UCD relocated to Belfield, now its main campus, from the
1960s through to 2008, moving from its original city centre
location as the University expanded and found itself
constrained by the original buildings in Dublin city centre.
The campus masterplan was conceived by Polish architect
Andrzej Wejchert, the winner of a competition held by UCD in
1963. Wejchert’s plan centred on an arrangement of key campus
buildings either side of a main pedestrian walkway, with the
buildings sited to maintain a walking distance of about six
minutes from one end of the walkway to the other. Wejchert
also designed the Administration Building and the Arts Block.
Part One University College Dublin

36

The Agriculture Block designed by Rooney Associates, the

James Joyce Library by Sir Basil Spence, Glover & Ferguson,
and the Restaurant Building by Michael Scott & Partners,
were added in the 1970s.
Since the move to Belfield, UCD has continued to expand
and strengthen its academic standing. Recent additions to
the campus include the Student Centre, voted Ireland’s
favourite new building (2013), and other world-leading
facilities, notably the UCD O’Brien Centre for Science, UCD
Sutherland School of Law, and UCD Lochlann Quinn School
of Business. UCD’s new Confucius Institute for Ireland, which
will support national and international engagement and is
designed by Robin Lee in conjunction with Arthur Gibney
Architects, is due to open in 2018.
 Part One University College Dublin

37

Originally intended as a leafy suburban campus university,

Dublin’s growth in recent decades means Belfield is now well-
connected to the city and easily reached from the centre of
Dublin by bus. The campus is well-served by shops and cafés,
a cinema, post office, bank, pharmacy, laundry, supermarket
and health centre.

The University Today

Today, UCD is the largest university in Ireland, with over 33,000
students, including over 8,000 graduate students, and over
1,500 faculty members.
The University consists of six colleges and their associated
schools (37 in total), as well as multiple research institutes and
centres. The colleges are Arts and Humanities; Business;
Engineering and Architecture; Health and Agricultural Sciences;
Social Sciences and Law; and Science.
UCD’s ambition reflects the breadth of its faculty and its
internationally-minded and progressive character: its purpose is
no less than the flourishing of Ireland, Europe and the wider
world. This it seeks to achieve through the study and discussion
of people, society, business, economy, culture, languages and
the creative arts, and through its leadership in science, medicine
and engineering.
The story of UCD provides a great insight into the development
of Ireland. Many staff, students and graduates were involved in
critical events in its history and were heavily involved in the
foundation and development of modern Ireland. UCD counts
amongst its graduates three Presidents, four Taoisigh, five
ministers in the current cabinet, and six of Ireland’s European
Commissioners. Amongst its alumni and current and former
staff are five Nobel laureates.
The University’s ambition is to establish itself as a world Top 100
university by 2020. To achieve this, the UCD Strategy 2015-2020
puts particular focus on increasing the quality, quantity and
impact of its research, scholarship and innovation.
Part One University College Dublin

38

UCD’s College of Architecture and Engineering is similarly

ambitious; the College is in the final stages of working
towards SE (Substantial Equivalence) accreditation from the
American Institute of Architects (AIA) for its MArch course – a
rare achievement for an international university outside
North America. The University also plans to run a
forthcoming joint Master’s degree with the National College
of Art and Design and Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design
and Technology that will combine architecture with art.
UCD is a major contributor to the Irish economy, generating
circa €1.3bn in total output annually, and is at the forefront of
Ireland’s technology and innovation sector, through its
research and its start-up hub, NovaUCD.
The University is currently exploring opportunities for UCD to
contribute to an innovation district for Dublin, and envisages
this initiative as strengthening both intellectual and business
links with the city. It could, potentially, be reflected in the
visions for the Entrance Precinct Masterplan in terms of how
porous and how connected the University’s physical
relationship is with the wider civic community.
Ireland is the second largest exporter of IT services in the
world and eight of the top ten global IT companies have a
presence in Dublin. UCD works to strengthen its ties to
industry through strong interdisciplinary research and
education that tackles global challenges.
UCD operates remotely and internationally, educating 5,000
students at locations outside of Ireland and has four Global
Centres – in New York, Beijing, Delhi and Kuala Lumpur.
For further information on the UCD Strategy 2015-2020
please see:
www.ucd.ie/strategy2015-2020/ourvisionfor2020/index.html
 Part One University College Dublin

39

UCD in Numbers
1 Ranked within top 1% of higher education institutions world-wide
27 Percentage of international students
28 Percentage of international staff
29 Percentage of undergraduate students from under
represented cohorts
64 Percentage of non-Exchequer funding
133 Hectares making up the woodland campus
138 Number of nationalities within the student body
443 Million euro annual turnover
525 Million euro won in externally funded research in last 5 years
1,536 Number of PhD students
1,588 Academic staff (FTEs)*
1,784 Support staff (FTEs)
1854 Year founded by John Henry Newman
4,947 Number of international students in overseas operations
7,789 Number of international students on main campus
8,857 Number of awards conferred each year
9,154 Number of graduate students
33,724 Total number of students (including overseas operations)**
167,177 Square meters of science, engineering and innovation
related facilities
239,000 Number of alumni across 165 countries
1,700,000 Approximate number of annual visits to library facilities

* FTEs – Full Time Equivalents

** Student and staff numbers relate to academic year 2016/17
40
 Part One

Context 41

Ireland
A confident, prosperous, outward-looking nation of some 4.7
million people, the Republic of Ireland extends over five-sixths
of the island of Ireland. It is situated to the west of the
continent of Europe and bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the
north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south, and separated
from Great Britain by the Irish Sea to the east.
Ireland has a compelling history, and is famous for the richness
of its customs, folklore, religion, literature, language and sport.
Ireland today boasts a dynamic, export-led economy, a young
and well-educated population, world-leading universities and
research, and a thriving arts and cultural sector.
The modern Republic of Ireland is known for its openness to
business and trade and its attractive, enterprising business
culture. The Irish economy has recovered its health after the
global financial crisis and is currently the fastest growing
economy in Europe1 .
Ireland’s international outlook and low rate of corporation tax
make it an attractive outpost for a number of multinational
companies, among them the pharmaceutical heavyweights
Pfizer and Allergan and the technology giants Google, Apple,
Facebook, Amazon, Twitter and Microsoft. Ireland is the second
largest exporter of computer and IT services in the world and
also trades extensively in medicines and medical equipment,
electrical machinery, aircraft, chemicals, and food products.
With one of the most educated workforces in the world, the
share of 25-to-34-year-olds with a third-level qualification in
Ireland currently stands at 52%, compared with the
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
average of 43%. The Republic is home to seven public
universities and a number of other higher education
institutions; the four highest-ranked Irish universities are in the
top 300 globally.

1 Source: IMF World Economic Outlook, October 2017

Part One Context

42

Ireland has much to offer its residents and visitors, with an

abundance of attractions and landmarks, activities and
events. Its rolling countryside is a gift to walkers, sports
enthusiasts, budding naturalists and all lovers of the
outdoors, with highlights including the Cliffs of Moher, the
179 kilometre-long Ring of Kerry tourist trail, a number of
medieval castles and settlements, and the island of Skellig
Michael, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is home to a
sixth-century Celtic monastery.
As well as the stunning natural beauty of its countryside,
tourists flock to Ireland for the rich and varied culture of its
cities. Cork, Ireland’s second city, was European Capital of
Culture in 2005, when it attracted a million visitors to the city
– seven times its population. Galway, famed for a varied
programme of cultural events including the Galway
International Arts Festival, is a UNESCO Creative City of Film
and will be European Capital of Culture in 2020.

Dublin
Dublin is the capital city of the Republic of Ireland and sits on
the estuary of the River Liffey, on the country’s east coast.
Home to 1.3 million people, Dublin benefits from a dynamic
economy, world-class universities, exceptional heritage, a
thriving arts and cultural sector, an attractive and varied retail
offering, and a vibrant night-life.
Tourists are drawn to the city by a number of historic and
modern landmarks, including the medieval Dublin Castle,
three branches of the National Museum of Ireland, the
National Gallery of Ireland, the neo-classical Custom House
Building, and the city’s three cathedrals. A particular draw for
both residents and visitors is the Guinness Storehouse –
Ireland’s most popular tourist attraction – along with the
venerable Old Library at Trinity College.
 Part One Context

43

A number of modern landmarks have been added to

Dublin’s cityscape in recent years, including the James Joyce
Bridge and Samuel Beckett Bridge by Santiago Calatrava, the
Bord Gáis Energy Theatre by Daniel Libeskind, the Convention
Centre Dublin by Kevin Roche, and the 120-metre-high Spire
of Dublin by Ian Ritchie Architects, shortlisted for the Royal
Institute of British Architects’ Stirling Prize in 2004.
Dublin has played a central role in Ireland’s economic
development and acted as a magnet for many of the
multinationals with outposts in Ireland. It is home to the
EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) headquarters of the
technology heavyweights Google, Twitter, and Facebook;
and Accenture, Amazon and Groupon all have a significant
presence in the city. Many of these multinationals – along
with a number of smaller, emerging companies – are based
in the waterside district of Dublin popularly known as Silicon
Docks, a formerly derelict area where thousands of
technology professionals are now employed.
Dublin has an international reputation as a centre for
innovation and entrepreneurialism, and the city was named
Europe’s eighth-biggest start-up hub in 2017 by EU-Startups.
This has been aided by government programmes such as
the Digital Hub, which provides office space and support to
start-ups along with community-based digital learning and
training programmes.
But it is not only the city’s enterprising spirit and welcoming
approach to business that have bolstered its international
profile: Dublin is known as a thriving centre for culture and
the arts, nightlife, retail and sport. The historic Temple Bar
quarter of the medieval city centre underwent extensive
regeneration in the 1990s and is now home to a number of
artists, creative businesses and institutions as well as popular
restaurants, clubs and bars.
Part One Context

44

Ireland’s National Opera House and a number of theatres,

museums and galleries are located in Dublin, as well as the
National College of Art and Design and the Dublin Institute
of Design. The city has served as European Capital of Culture
(1991), and its exceptional literary history – featuring such
luminaries as William Butler Yeats, James Joyce, George
Bernard Shaw and Samuel Beckett – led to its designation
as a UNESCO Creative City of Literature in 2010.
Dublin is also a popular destination for shoppers, with major
brands found alongside an eclectic range of pop-ups and
boutiques. Sports fans can enjoy matches and events at the
Aviva Stadium and Croke Park, which is the third-largest stadium
in Europe. A highlight of the city’s calendar is the Dublin
Women’s Mini Marathon, said to be the largest all-female
event of its kind in the world, which has been held each
June since 1983 and completed by over a million women.

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown
County Council
UCD’s Belfield Campus is predominantly located within Dún
Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, one of four County
Councils that form the Dublin Region, with the whole of the
Entrance Precinct Masterplan area located within the County.
The County covers an area of some 127 sq km and serves a
population of over 215,000. UCD is both a major contributor
into the County’s local economy and the County’s economic
output, as well as being the single largest employer in the
County, with some 4,000 employees.
The County is the local planning authority for UCD, as well as
having a responsibility for housing and community, roads and
transportation, development, amenity and culture and the
environment within the County.
 Part One Context

45

The County’s policies related to sustainable development are

laid out in the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Development
Plan 2016-2022 (CDP). All sections of the CDP are relevant to
this project, but of particular note is Section 3 on ‘Enterprise
and Employment Strategy’. This strategy, directly referencing
UCD, acknowledges the importance of Further and Higher
Education Institutions in fostering enterprise through research,
innovation and development activities, and the benefits this
could bring to the County’s economy. The links between
successful cities and their universities and businesses are
recognised and examples presented under this policy.
This points to how the campus may open up to a wider mix
of uses that draws in wider communities to create a genuine
civic place. The policy notes that the County will support the
endeavours of UCD to continue to develop (and compete)
as a world-class university.
UCD’s Belfield Campus also offers the County significant
opportunities to strengthen and reinforce their ‘Green
Infrastructure Strategy’ (Appendix 14). One of the larger (urban)
green spaces in the County, the campus could play an important
role in the County’s network of green spaces, as alternative
commuting routes, for leisure and recreational activities as well
as to support bio-diversity and ecological initiatives.
UCD is supportive of the County’s ambitions and the strategies
set out in the CDP, and is working towards contributing to the
sustainable development of the County within its campus.
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is also an important
stakeholder and statutory consultee for the project, including
as one of the landowners of part of the site area being
considered within the competition.
For further information on planning context for the project
please see the Competition Conditions.
For access to the County Development Plan 2016-2022,
please see:
www.dlrcoco.ie/en/planning/county-development-
plan/county-development-plan-2016-2022.
Part Two
48
 Part Two

Project Details 49

Budget and Project Programme

The contract commencement date is expected to be Q4 2018
(subject to findings and contract), with anticipated completion
by Q3 2021. The total project value for the 8,000 sq m Centre
for Creative Design is estimated to be €48 million (inclusive of
VAT and professional fees).

Procurement
UCD will require the winning team to provide full design team
services as outlined in this brief, and the Scope of Services
appendix to the Stage Two document the Competition
Conditions. Although UCD anticipates using the winning
team, it is not bound to use all members proposed by the
winning team.
Winning the competition does not guarantee appointment, but
it should be emphasised that it is the intention that it will do so.
It is anticipated that UCD will enter into contract with the lead
consultant, who will sub-contract all other consultancies.
The draft form of contract is also included as an appendix to
the Competition Conditions. It is anticipated that the contract
will be The Standard Conditions of Engagement for
Consultancy Services (Technical) as published by the Office of
Government Procurement with UCD amendments. It should
be noted that it is expected that sub-consultants to the Lead
Consultancy will enter into industry standard collateral
warranties with UCD.
UCD reserves the right to amend this Search Statement
and the Competition Conditions at any time. Amendments
to the Search Statement will be published on the competition
website. For the avoidance of doubt, this will not be
imposed unreasonably.
Part Two Project Details

50

Scope of Services
In summary the Scope of Services is in three parts:
• Immediately following the competition the team will be
contracted to develop a feasibility stage masterplan report
for the Entrance Precinct Masterplan and a brief
development and preliminary design stage report for the
Centre for Creative Design project. These works are
anticipated to take between six to nine months.
• The team will then provide a full Scope of Services for
the Centre for Creative Design building and related
landscape and public realm works. A budget of €48 million
(inclusive of VAT and professional fees) has been identified
for these works.
 Part Two Project Details

51

• The team will also develop the masterplan design report

(and urban design guidelines report) for the Entrance
Precinct Masterplan, in association with UCD and their
stakeholders (namely Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County
Council and the National Transport Authority).
The lead consultant will lead the design team and coordinate
and manage the work of all other consultants.
Competitors should note that during Stage One of the
competition, teams are required to propose the services as
set out in the Teams section on page 29. Additional
consultancy, including an executive team, should be
proposed at Stage Two.
Any additional consultants added to the team at Stage Two
will be required to pass minimum qualifications standards as
set out in the ESPD (Appendix A of this document).

Other Consultancy Services

Cost consultancy and project management will be
appointed directly by UCD.

Insurance Requirements
Competitors should also note that, should they be
successful, they must be willing to obtain the following levels
of insurance:
• Employer’s Liability Insurance: €13 million
(maximum permitted excess €35,000)
• Public Liability Insurance: €6.5 million
(maximum permitted excess €0)
• Professional Indemnity Insurance: €6.5 million
(for each and every claim, maximum permitted excess €0)
52
 Part Two

Competition Details 53

Competition Management
Malcolm Reading Consultants (MRC), an independent expert
organiser of design competitions with over twenty years’
experience, will lead and administer a two-stage competition
on behalf of University College Dublin (UCD). This will result in
the selection of a winning team, who it is anticipated will be
appointed to develop their design and to deliver the project.
The two-stage design competition is comprised of:

Stage One:
This is an international call for participation that is aimed at
attracting technically competent and professional teams to
submit an Expression of Interest in the competition, as
described in this document. A shortlist of five teams will be
selected to move to Stage Two. Successful and unsuccessful
teams will be contacted by MRC prior to the start of Stage Two.

Stage Two:
The shortlisted teams will be required to produce a concept
design, based on the detailed information provided in the
Competition Conditions and its appendices. The teams will
be invited to a site visit and seminar in Dublin in late April 2018
and a mid-competition charrette may be held (at the
discretion of UCD) in early May. A Peer Review Panel will
review the entries and the Jury will conduct interviews to
select a winner.
An honorarium of €40,000 will be awarded, following the
selection of the winner, to each shortlisted team who submits
a compliant tender at Stage Two of the competition.
Part Two Competition Details

54

The Competition Process

This competition is being run under the Restricted Procedure
in accordance with EU procurement rules and the Republic of
Ireland’s S.I. No. 284/2016 European Union (Award of Public
Authority Contracts) Regulations 2016. In line with
procurement rules, the Stage Two Competition Conditions
document (the Tender document) has been provided for
information only at this stage. Competitors are not asked to
respond in any way to the Competition Conditions document
at this stage of the competition.
This competition has been advertised in the Official Journal
of the European Union (OJEU).
As the competition is for the appointment of a multidisciplinary
team, it is not being conducted as a Design Contest under
S.I. No. 284/2016.
All costs incurred by competitors in the competition must be
borne by the competitors. UCD accepts no liability for any
costs incurred irrespective of the outcome of the competition
or if the competition is postponed or cancelled.

Questions
All enquiries relating to the competition should be addressed
to Malcolm Reading Consultants, the independent
competition organisers appointed to manage the process.
During the competition, no contact in relation to this project
should be made with UCD, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County
Council, the National Transport Authority or members of the
competition Jury. Failure to comply with this restriction may
compromise your position within the competition.
Questions should be emailed to:
futurecampusucd@malcolmreading.co.uk.
A question and answer log will be compiled and uploaded to
the website on a weekly basis. Questions received before
14:00 GMT on a Wednesday will be addressed in the Q&A log
on a Friday.
 Part Two Competition Details

55

Please note that telephone enquiries will not be accepted,

and the latest date for submitting enquiries is 14:00 GMT
Wednesday 14 March 2018.

Conflict of Interest
Competitors should declare any actual or potential conflict
of interest concerning the commercial, financial or other
interests of UCD, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council,
the National Transport Authority or members of the
competition Jury which may compromise the conduct of
this procurement exercise and/or the performance of the
contract, as requested in Q3.C.9 of the ESPD.
If competitors are satisfied that there are no such conflicts of
interest they must answer ‘no’ to Q3.C.9 of the ESPD.
UCD reserves the right to reject responses from applicants
where a conflict of interest is viewed as affecting either or
both of the conduct of this procurement or the performance
of the contract. Competitors are under a continuing
obligation to notify the competition organisers, MRC, if
circumstances change during this procurement process and
any statements given during this procurement process
become untrue.
The conflict of interest clause is intended to protect the
integrity of the process. A prospective competitor will be
deemed to have a conflict of interest if they have access to
information or a relationship with a member of the Jury, or an
employee of UCD, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council
and the National Transport Authority directly involved with
this project, that would or could unduly influence the process.

Non-Collusion
In order to ensure the competition is conducted in an
equitable manner, competitors are under a continuing
obligation to comply with the conditions as set out in this
Search Statement document.
Part Two Competition Details

56

Competitors must not act or behave in any way that could

bring the competition into disrepute or inappropriately
influence, or be seen to influence, the Jury or any outcome
of the competition.
Competitors must not seek to influence the client
organisations or the competition Jury, and must not engage
in any collusion or anti-competitive conduct with any other
competitors or person in relation to this competition.

Permissions
UCD and MRC reserve the right to make use of all
presentation materials submitted in any future publication
about the competition, exhibition or website. Any use will be
properly credited to the competitor and the competitor
warrants that the material submitted comprises solely their
own work or that of any member of a team submitting a
response. This non-exclusive licence is irrevocable, shall
survive the competitor’s exit from the tendering process, and
is royalty-free.

Language
The official language of the competition is English. All entries
must be in English, including all additional information.

Financial Data
Any financial data provided must be submitted in, or converted
into, Euros. Where official documents include financial data
in a foreign currency, a Euro equivalent must be provided.

Insurance of Entries
UCD and MRC will take reasonable steps to protect and care
for entries but neither organisation will insure the proposals
at any time. Competitors are urged to maintain a complete
record of their full entries and be able to make this available
at any time should adverse circumstances require this.
 Part Two Competition Details

57

Deviations
Only submissions that meet the mandatory requirements as
outlined in this document will be considered. Additional
information or supplementary material, unless specifically
called for in subsequent communication, will not be
considered by the assessors.

Clarifications to the Search Statement

UCD may, at any time prior to the submission date, issue
notifications to clarify points made in this Search Statement
document, and MRC shall notify all competitors of any such
clarifications. If MRC issues any such clarifications to
competitors during Stage One of the competition to clarify
the interpretation to be placed on part of the documents or to
make any minor changes to them, such clarifications will form
part of the Search Statement. The Q&A responses will also
form clarifications to the Search Statement and should be
considered by all competitors. Accordingly, it is the responsibility
of all competitors to check the competition website for any
clarifications and all competitors will be deemed to have taken
account of these in preparing their submission.

Site Visits, Photos and Drawings

Competitors are welcome to visit the site, but at this stage of
the competition there will be no formal site visits or photos
and drawings distributed.

Return of Competition Materials

All material which is submitted as part of your response to this
Search Statement will be retained by UCD and will not be
returned to participants.
Part Two Competition Details

58

Competition Publicity
Competitors should note that any or all of the materials
submitted during any stage of the competition may be used
for publicity purposes. This includes, but is not limited to, a
public exhibition of the shortlisted competitors’ design
concepts, an online gallery of the shortlisted design
concepts, and media releases relating to the competition or
project in a more general sense.

Competition Documentation
None of the information in this Search Statement, or in the
Competition Conditions shall, pending formal execution of a
contract, constitute a contract or part of a contract between
UCD and any competitor.
No legal relationship or other obligation shall arise between
any competitor and UCD unless and until a contract has
been formally executed in writing by UCD and the winning
competitor and any conditions precedent to the
effectiveness of such documents have been fulfilled.
 Part Two Competition Details

59

Anticipated Competition Programme

All dates 2018

Stage One
Competition launched Thursday 22 February
Deadline for questions 14:00 GMT Wednesday 14 March
Deadline for submissions 14:00 BST Monday 26 March

Stage Two
Tender stage launched Early to Mid-April
Shortlist announced Early to Mid-April
Site visit Late April (TBC)
Mid-competition charrette Early to Mid-May (TBC)
Final submissions by shortlisted teams 14:00 BST Wednesday 20 June
Jury Day Early to Mid-July (TBC)
Winner announced Early August (earliest)

Tax Clearance
All members of the winning team will be required to hold a
valid Tax Clearance Certificate which states that their tax
affairs are in order with the Irish Tax and Customs Revenue.
60
 Part Two How to Enter

How 61

to Enter
Deadline for Expressions of Interest
Expressions of Interest will be received up to
14:00 BST Monday 26 March 2018.
Please ensure that your Expression of Interest is submitted no
later than the appointed time. UCD will not consider your
submission if it is received after the deadline.

How to Submit
Submissions for Stage One of this competition will be received
electronically via the upload form on the competition website:
competitions.malcolmreading.com/universitycollegedublin/enter
Competitors should read and take note of the Frequently Asked
Questions (FAQs) associated with the online form.
Please note the form will close automatically after the deadline
on 14:00 BST Monday 26 March 2018. It will not be possible to
accept entries after the deadline.
Please allow adequate time when uploading your submission.
Upon completion of the upload, the form will display a screen
indicating your upload reference number. Please keep a
separate record of this reference number and quote this in any
correspondence regarding your submission. If this reference
number is not displayed, your upload has not been successful.
You should receive an automatic email confirming receipt of
your entry within two hours. If this is not received, please firstly
check your spam folder, and only then email:
futurecampusucd@malcolmreading.co.uk.
Please note: Competitors are responsible for ensuring their
submission has been received.
62
 Part Two

Submission 63

Requirements
Competitors are required to respond to this Search
Statement by completing all submission requirements as
detailed below. Where appropriate, your response should be
both well written and highly visual. Where a competitor
departs from the requirements or is ambiguous, UCD may, at
its discretion seek clarification and/or further information
from a competitor in relation to its submission; and/or reject
a submission due to a failure to provide sufficient detail or
adequate explanation.
Responses should be in electronic format only – submitted
via the online submission form:
competitions.malcolmreading.com/universitycollegedublin/enter
Please refer to the Evaluation Criteria section for the
scoring approach.

1. European Standard Procurement Document (ESPD) –

Bidder Information (Pass/Fail)
Please see the European Standard Procurement Document
(ESPD) in Appendix A.
The ESPD is to be submitted by the lead consultant, with
reference to, and parts completed by, any sub-consultants
where indicated and appropriate. Where a sub-consultant or
third party is being relied upon to meet the requirements of
the ESPD, an ESPD must also be submitted for that sub-
consultant or third party.
In the case of a consortium bid, all members of the
consortium must submit a separate ESPD (with the exception
of the response to Q2 and Q3 as outlined below).
The ESPD is provided as a Word file. It is not available in any
other formats. Competitors should complete the template,
and upload this to the online form as one single, complete
PDF (which should include all appendices and submissions
as required, including any additional ESPDs for sub-consultants
or third parties being relied upon).
Format: Completed Word template saved as a PDF
(maximum 5MB).
Part Two Submission Requirements

64

2. Relevant Experience (70%)

Please provide, in no more than 12 sides of A4, three
previous projects completed (built or design/masterplan
finalised) within the last five years as relevant examples.
These should be projects within a significant urban and/or
campus2 context, focused on buildings and landscapes that
have a common purpose and make an important
contribution to the civic, cultural and social life of that
community, location and landscape.
At least one of your example projects must be from the
practice proposed as the Lead Designer, and at least one
illustrating a project at a masterplanning/urban design scale.
Your response should highlight design quality and its
particular relevance to the UCD Entrance Precinct
Masterplan and Centre for Creative Design project, and a
focus on the criteria outlined below. Your response will be
evaluated against each of the following questions and
associated weightings.
a. How the designs made a positive contribution to
placemaking, balancing the insertion of contemporary
interventions with the quality and significance of the
existing civic realm and landscape (15%).
b. How you reconciled the needs and requirements of the
client and end users with the quality and significance of
the institutional, civic and/or landscape setting and the
complexity of the project requirements and site
conditions. If appropriate, related to your relevant
examples, draw out how the project provided a flexible
framework for future change and accommodated
opportunities for phasing (15%).

2 In this case, ‘campus’ is defined as a collection of buildings within a defined landscape/public

realm context, whether in an urban location or not. To be clear, in this context ‘campus’ does not
refer only to academic institutions.
 Part Two Submission Requirements

65

c. How your previous projects demonstrated your

understanding of the needs and requirements of its
specific space type for contemporary users, including the
impact this has had on the spatial arrangements and
functional operations of the project (15%).
d. How you approached planning and consultation with
both statutory stakeholders and ‘communities of interest’
during the development of the design (5%).
e. How the project, in all its facets, was an exemplar of
sustainability (in its design, construction and use) (10%).
f. How you worked as an integrated and multi-disciplinary
team (including with executive teams, if relevant) to
ensure that the project kept to budget, balancing cost,
quality and programme, including the integration of
modern design practices and processes, such as Building
Information Modelling (BIM), throughout the whole
project lifecycle, from inception through to building in
use, if and where appropriate (10%).
Throughout your responses to the questions above, you
should cover how and why the projects were a success.
What challenges were overcome throughout the course of
the design or construction? How did you work as a team,
and what lessons were learnt, and how have you applied
these on subsequent projects or in future phases?
You are required to reference three example projects
(built or design/masterplan finalised within the last five years)
for substantial responses; however, you may mention other
projects (if relevant to the brief).
Illustrations and sketches should be used to articulate your
answer where appropriate.
Format: Twelve sides of A4, as one combined PDF
(maximum 10MB). Your document must be in
landscape orientation.
Part Two Submission Requirements

66

3. Team Composition (Relevant Skills) (30%)

Please demonstrate, in no more than ten sides of A4, the
relevant skills (as set out on page 29) within your design
team, i.e. masterplanning, urban design, architecture,
landscape architecture, sustainability, engineering and
transport planning. These skills can either be delivered ‘in
house’ or subcontracted to other relevant professional
consultancies. Please note additional skills proposed which
are outside the scope of this contract will not be assessed
(please see page 51 for details).
Please note that this process is for the procurement of
multidisciplinary design services, as set out on page 29 of
this document.
Please demonstrate the skills and disciplines within your
team that are specifically related to the requirements of the
project as listed above and throughout this document. This,
as a minimum, must include the disciplines as outlined on
page 29, i.e. masterplanning, urban design, architecture,
landscape architecture, sustainability, engineering and
transport planning.
Please provide a summary of the details for the Lead
Designer practice or practices (if applicable) who will form
part of your offer.
Highlight your team’s skills throughout all stages of a project
– from inception to completion – including, but not limited
to, project implementation, contract administration and
designing to budget.
If appropriate also highlight your experience of working with
executive teams, how the teams were integrated and how
the project was implemented.
 Part Two Submission Requirements

67

Please confirm your ability (and demonstrate your skills

and expertise) in fulfilling the responsibilities of the Project
Supervisor Design Process (PSDP) and Designer, including
meeting the legal duties as identified under the Republic of
Ireland’s Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction)
Regulations 2013 and the Safety, Health and Welfare at
Work Act 2005.
Included within your answer to this question should be a
proposed project organogram and CVs of both the proposed
project architect and Director/Partner in charge from the
Lead Designer.
Please note: UCD reserves the right to determine the final
composition of the design team appointed and this may
include the appointment of consultants that are not suggested
within a competitor’s bid. For the avoidance of doubt, this is
to ensure the correct mix of skills and expertise and will not
be imposed unreasonably. Cost consultancy and project
management will be procured separately by the University.
Format: Ten sides of A4, as one combined PDF
(maximum 10MB). Your document must be in
landscape orientation.

4. Media Statement and Images

Each competitor should also provide a 150-word snapshot of
their team that can be used for the media in the event of
being shortlisted. This statement should include the lead
consultant’s website (if applicable).
This statement should include the following: practice history/
background, overview of built projects, awards, publications,
exhibitions and design philosophy.
You should also include two .jpeg images of past projects
indicating your first and second choice.
Format: Text submitted using text field in online form; images
in .jpeg format (maximum 5MB per individual file).
68
 Part Two

Evaluation 69

Criteria
The exclusion provisions of Regulation 57 of the Republic of
Ireland’s S.I. No. 284/2016 European Union (Award of Public
Authority Contracts) Regulations 2016 will apply. Competitors
who submit an Expression of Interest that meets the mandatory
requirements as outlined in this document will be scored in
accordance with the selection criteria set out below.

Summary
Total Score available Weighting
Criteria for this section (of total submission)
1. ESPD Not scored – 0
Pass/fail as above
2. Relevant Experience
A 10* 15%
B 10* 15%
C 10* 15%
D 10* 5%
E 10* 10%
F 10* 10%
3. Team Composition 10* 30%
(Relevant Skills)
4. Media Statement Not scored – 0
for information only

*Scored in accordance with the Scoring Approach on Page 70.

Part Two Evaluation Criteria
70
Score Classification of response
1 Unacceptable in whole or part
2 Poor and significantly
below requirements
3 Poor and below requirements
4 Satisfactory response but does
not meet all requirements
5 Satisfactory response that meets
most requirements
6 Satisfactory response that meets
most requirements and is a good
response in some areas
7 A strong response that is very
satisfactory in all areas and exceeds
expectations in some areas
8 A very strong response
9 Outstanding quality response
10 Exceptional response that exceeds
the Authority's requirements
Reason for classification
No answer has been provided or the response fails
to answer the question provided; all elements of the
response are not justified or unsupported by
evidence where required; fails to demonstrate any
understanding of the question or the context.
Very significant gaps or lack of justification/evidence
in response where required; responses given are
very generic and not relevant in whole or part; fails
to demonstrate considerable understanding of the
question or context.
A lack of content or explanation in one or more
aspects of the question; significant gaps or lack of
justification/evidence in response where required;
responses given are generic and not relevant in
whole or part; a degree of a failure to demonstrate
understanding of the question or context.
The question is answered satisfactorily overall but
some key aspects lack sufficient detail or explanation.
The question is answered satisfactorily for the most
part and some aspects lack sufficient detail.
The question is answered well for the most part and
in areas is particularly clear and justified.
The question is answered very well for the most
part and in areas is particularly clear and justified.
The question is answered very well throughout and
in all areas is clear and justified.
The question is answered in an outstanding way
throughout, meets all requirements and in all areas
is extremely clear and justified.
The answer demonstrates an exceptional response
that meets all requirements and exceeds the level of
quality required in some key areas.
 Part Two

Appendices 71

A. European Standard Procurement Document (ESPD)

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