Marina Miceli
Europe Press Office,London
CIT's Architecture Factory, designed by Marc O´Rian and carried out by Arup was awarded a platinum A´Design award in the Interior Space and Exhibition Design category 2013-2014.
The Architecture Factory houses the department of architecture and exam halls and is an exemplar of building adaption and repurposing of the old Tyco manufacturing facility to CIT’s (Cork Institute of Technology) newest educational space.
A´Design Award is the world's largest design competition awarding best designs, design concepts, products and services. The award aims to promote and highlight excellence in architecture, design and technology. This year the contest included more than 12,000 projects and the 50-member jury composed of scholars, press members, professionals and entrepreneurs have selected more than 700 winners from 77 countries, in 74 different design disciplines.
As consultants on the project, we provided project management, mechanical and electrical engineering services for this building upgrade, as well as innovative ideas to deliver an inspiring environment in the conversion.
The space is populated with brightly coloured shipping containers, and include open plan studios accommodating 240 students and 15 lecturers, resulting in an exciting, energetic and inspiring environment. The building promotes a new optimism for architecture and for those who work and study in the facility. The design follows the principals of Guerrilla Architecture which reflects an opportunistic and unconventional design.
Co-ordinated lighting and high level radiant heating keep the large expanse of floor area free from intrusion, providing flexibility for CIT to arrange the exam hall and architectural student design studios as per their requirements. Appropriate levels of lighting, ventilation and heating maintain internal conditions in an energy efficient way.