A pedestrian access route to Aras an Phiarsaigh is to be closed for four weeks from tomorrow due to construction on the Printing House Square Student Accommodation Project. The closure is to facilitate ground works.
Estates and Facilities announced the temporary closure this morning to staff and students in an email. They apologised for any inconvenience caused by the closure, which sees the arch between House 33 and the Printing House closed for the coming month. Pedestrians can access the area through the entrance between House 37 and the Samuel Beckett Centre.
The Printing House Square Student Accommodation Project is to create 249 new student bedrooms. A health unit, disability service, and sports facilities are also features of the new space. Two retail spaces are to occupy the ground floor.
The project sits on the former site of Oisín House, which was demolished last year to create space for the new accommodation. The Printing House Square project was designed by McCullough Mulvin architects and is set for completion by August 2019.
The new building is an important feature of Trinity’s campus development plans as outlined in the Provost’s Annual Review 2017. The increase in bedrooms is a welcomed aspect of the development given the ongoing student accommodation crisis, which has seen students struggle to find accommodation in the city centre as rent costs rise. Last week, Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin proposed that rent caps be introduced for purpose-built student accommodation after rent increases of up to 15%.
The laneway and pedestrian gate at 189 Pearse Street closed yesterday for the next five months. The closure, which is set to last until December 17, is due to construction on the new Trinity Business School. The planned development comprises a six-storey building with a 600-seat auditorium and 140-seat lecture alongside several smaller lecture theatres, according to The Irish Times.