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Minister Martin lays Foundation Stone at Tyndall National Institute

5 Mar 2008
Minister Martin lays Foundation Stone at Tyndall National Institute

Minister MichaƩl Martin TD officiated at the Tyndall National Institute Foundation Stone Ceremony on Friday 29th February 2008.

The Tyndall National Institute was established in 2004 with the aim of becoming one of the major ICT research centres in Europe.  The Institute incorporates the National Microelectronics Research Centre (NMRC) as well as the Photonics research communities within UCC and the Cork Institute of Technology.

The Institute is based at the Lee Maltings in Cork City, where the NMRC operated since it was set up by UCC in 1981.  The Lee Maltings site is now being physically developed so that the Institute can fulfil its aims and objectives.

The New Building

The laboratory building has been designed by a team led by the PM Group incorporating Scott Tallon Walker Architects and specialist laboratory designed HDR.  Bowen Construction are the main contractors and the building is scheduled for completion in early 2009. 

The form of the New Laboratory Building stems primarily from its scientific and servicing requirements, as well as its relationship to the existing buildings and site.  Three floors of flexible laboratory space will be made over a tall ground floor and basement, which contains the specialist clean room areas.  The building and its structure are set back at ground floor level on the west facade, lifting the daylit laboratories and permitting HGV's to turn on site.  The upper floor laboratory windows are screened to reduce solar gain with a natural cedar screening system.

The atrium street links the laboratory building at all levels to the existing 'Maltings' Building and a single large service lift will give access to all levels of the complex.  The internal street will lead into the heart of the existing buidings' and give access through an external courtyard to the entrances to these buildings, in this way it will become the primary artery of the Tyndall Institute, a lively space where people will meet and mix informally.

The materials envisaged are a natural granite stone in red colour giving a heavily contrasting finish to the smoothness of the grey metal panels and simplicity of the atrium in clear glass.  The sun shading will be in cedar with support system in aluminium and the re-cladding of the poor quality metal deck siding to the 'Maltings' Building will also be in cedar.

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