The Irish Times

Five firms of architects - all from abroad - have been shortlisted in an international competition to design a landmark scheme for the Stillorgan Road frontage of UCD's Belfield campus. The "UCD Gateway" project is to include a wide range of facilities and is intended by the college's president, Dr Hugh Brady, to provide a visual and functional link between Belfield and the wider community. When the competition was launched last October, he said the college's aim was to create a "gateway" of significant architectural quality that "will be recognised throughout the world" - putting UCD on the map. John Graby, director of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI), said yesterday it was surprising that no Irish architectural practices were found suitable for this highly prestigious and complex project.