LANDSCAPE AND VISUAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT - Proposed E3 Learning Foundry Development, Trinity College Dublin - Model Works
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LANDSCAPE AND VISUAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT
For
Proposed E3 Learning Foundry Development,
Trinity College Dublin
Prepared by Model Works Ltd for Trinity College Dublin
July 2019
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.0 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Methodology 1
2.0 THE SITE 1
2.1 Anatomy Annex Building 3
2.2 Landscape and Visual Context 5
2.2.1 Western Area 6
2.2.2 Eastern Area 8
2.2.3 Corridors of Movement 10
3.0 POLICY CONTEXT 11
3.1 Dublin City Development Plan 2016-2022 11
3.1.1 Zoning 11
3.1.2 Urban Form and Architecture 11
3.1.3 Conservation Areas 11
3.1.4 Building Height 12
3.1.5 Key Views and Prospects 13
3.1.6 Cultural Attractions and Tourism 13
4.0 PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT 14
4.1 Demolition of the Anatomy Annex 14
4.2 Spatial Arrangement of the Site and the Adjacent Public Realm 15
4.2.1 Foundry Square 15
4.2.2 Parade Ground 15
4.2.3 Lincoln Court 16
4.3 The Building 17
4.3.1 The Wing 17
4.3.2 The Nucleus 18
4.3.3 The Lantern 18
5.0 LANDSCAPE EFFECTS ASSESSMENT 19
5.1 Landscape Sensitivity 19
5.2 Magnitude and Quality of Change 19
5.3 Significance of Landscape Effects 20
6.0 VISUAL EFFECTS ASSESSMENT 20
6.1 Viewpoint 1 – Main East-West Pedestrian Route 21
6.2 Viewpoint 2 – North West Corner of Rugby Ground 21
6.3 Viewpoint 3 – West of College Park 22
6.4 Viewpoint 4 – West of Chemistry Building 22
6.5 Viewpoint 5 – Lincoln Place Campus Entrance 23
Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment
Proposed E3 Learning Foundry Development, Trinity College Dublin i
6.6 Viewpoint 6 – Nassau Street 24
6.7 Viewpoints 7, 8, 9 – Dame Street, St Stephen’s Green and Custom House 24
7.0 CONCLUSIONS 24
APPENDIX A LANDSCAPE/TOWNSCAPE AND VISUAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY iii
A.1 Key Principles of the GLVIA iii
A.1.1 Use of the Term ‘Effect’ vs ‘Impact’ iii
A.1.2 Assessment of Both ‘Landscape’ and ‘Visual’ Effects iii
A.2 Methodology for Landscape/Townscape Effects Assessment iii
A.2.1 Landscape/Townscape Sensitivity iv
A.2.2 Magnitude of Landscape/Townscape Change v
A.2.3 Significance of Effects v
A.3 Methodology for Visual Effects Assessment vii
A.3.1 Sensitivity of the Viewpoint/Visual Receptor vii
A.3.2 Magnitude of Change to the View viii
A.3.3 Significance of Visual Effects viii
A.4 Quality and Duration of Effects ix
Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment
Proposed E3 Learning Foundry Development, Trinity College Dublin ii
1.0 INTRODUCTION
This report assesses the potential landscape and visual effects of the proposed development of the ‘E3
Learning Foundry’ on a site of approximately 4,600 sqm incorporating the Anatomy Annexe Building (dating
from 1886 and proposed to be demolished), in the eastern part of the TCD campus, Dublin 2.
The proposed development follows the grant of planning permission (reg. ref. 3884/18) for the demolition or
removal of the following buildings currently occupying parts of the site:
- Biochemistry building (four storeys, 2,417 sqm) fronting Parade Ground, and link pedestrian bridge to
Watts building;
- Roberts laboratory (single storey, 521 sqm);
- Sheds (22 sqm);
- Portacabin or ‘PC Hut’ (277 sqm)
- Glass houses (26 sqm);
1.1 Methodology
The assessment was carried out with reference to the Landscape Institute Guidelines for Landscape and Visual
Impact Assessment, 2013 and the EPA draft Guidelines on the Information to be Contained in Environmental
Impact Assessment Reports, 2017. A detailed methodology including explanation of the criteria and terms
used in the assessment is provided in Appendix A.
2.0 THE SITE
The site is an irregularly shaped area of
approximately 4,600 sqm, incorporating the buildings
listed above, the Anatomy Annex building, and the
adjacent areas of public realm including an
approximately 125m length of Parade Ground.
Parade Ground is an internal campus street and one
of two main north-south axes of movement in the
eastern part of the campus.
Maps 1, 2, 3 Site location in the context of the TCD campus.
Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment
Proposed E3 Learning Foundry Development, Trinity College Dublin 1
The buildings to be removed (Biochemistry, Roberts Laboratory, PC Hut, sheds and glasshouses) occupy an
area west of Parade Ground, with a combined frontage to the street of approximately 85m. These buildings
back on to the Zoology and Physiology buildings, and the Anatomy Annex, to the west.
A significant characteristic of the site is the positioning of the Biochemistry building relative to Parade Ground.
The building is not parallel with the street; its southern corner juts into the street (see maps above, and Photos
1-3 below), forming a bottleneck and closing the vistas along Parade Ground from north and south.
Photos 1 & 2 From the south: 1. The view from Lincoln Place along Parade Ground towards the site, and 2. A view of the
Biochemistry building from Parade Ground. Both images show the intrusion of the building into the street, closing the vista.
Biochemistry building
Biochemistry building
Photos 3 & 4 From the north: 1. The view along Parade Ground from the north, and 2. A view east along the side of the ‘PC
Hut’ portacabin and the neighbouring Physiology Building.
Apart from the Anatomy Annex building, the buildings and areas of public realm that make up the site are
individually and collectively of limited architectural value, in poor condition, and make a significant negative
contribution to the landscape and visual amenity of the campus.
Permission has been granted for the demolition of the buildings on the site (reg. ref. 3884/18) other than the
Anatomy Annex and lean-to structures to the rear of the Zoology building. This creates the prospect of a
rejuvenation of the built environment and public realm of the eastern part of the campus, with significant
potential benefit to Parade Ground. The proposed development seeks to realise this prospect while also
achieving the university’s educational objectives for the project1.
1
“Central to the vision of the E3 Institute is the construction of the Learning Foundry, a state of the art 6,086
square metre facility based on the main Trinity campus which will deliver new teaching facilities and an
innovative interactive learning space for undergraduate and postgraduate students. The Schools of
Engineering, Computer Science and Statistics, and Natural Sciences will share the new Learning Foundry
which will be a launchpad for a new kind of education experience for students with a focus on collaborative
and project work. It will have capacity for 1,800 additional places for students of Science, Technology,
Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment
Proposed E3 Learning Foundry Development, Trinity College Dublin 2
The demolition of the Anatomy Annex as proposed would create opportunity for extending a wider range of
landscape and visual amenity benefits to the wider campus.
2.1 Anatomy Annex Building
The Anatomy Annex building was constructed in 1885-86, as part of the School of Anatomy to the south. It is
located between, and attached to, the Zoology and Anatomy buildings, set well back from the front building
lines of Zoology and Chemistry forming a small square open to the west, towards College Park. The square in
front of the building is hard surfaced and used for parking. The building backs on to the site structures on the
west side of Parade Ground, all of which are to be demolished.
Originally a single storey structure, the building has been modified several times and increased in height to
two storeys. It is not a protected structure.
Map 4 The Anatomy Annex (red dotted line and shaded) in its context, with the remainder of the site outlined in red
PC
Hut
Cone of visibility Roberts
Lab
Zoology
Chemistry Sheds
Glasshouses
Anatomy
The Anatomy Annex has limited visual presence in the campus landscape. Due to its relatively small size, and
being set back from the building lines of the larger neighbouring buildings, It is visible only from a narrow cone
to the west. The cone of visibility includes a large number of trees, which screen the building from any distance
beyond approximately 100m, even in winter when the trees are out of leaf (see Photos 5 and 6 below).
Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) which constitutes an increase of 50% STEM places over ten years.”
(Source: https://www.tcd.ie/news_events/articles/trinity-unveils-plans-for-e3-institute-in-engineering-
energy-and-environment/)
Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment
Proposed E3 Learning Foundry Development, Trinity College Dublin 3
Photo 5 The view of the Anatomy Annex directly from the west, in winter.
Photo 6 The winter view from the west, approximately 100m from the building.
Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment
Proposed E3 Learning Foundry Development, Trinity College Dublin 4
2.2 Landscape and Visual Context
The TCD campus is roughly in the shape of a rectangle, aligned east-west, defined by (a) Pearse Street and
College Street to the north, (b) College Green and Grafton Street to the west, (c) Nassau Street and Lincoln
Place to the south, and (d) Westland Row to the east.
The campus is an ‘island’ of landscape within the wider city centre townscape, enclosed by a combination of
perimeter buildings fronting the surrounding streets and cast iron railings. The relative separation (physical
and visual) of the campus from the surrounding area, combined with the historic education institutional
architecture and large green spaces featuring mature trees, lends the campus a particular and highly valued
landscape character in the city context.
Map 5 The campus in its immediate townscape context.
Photos 7 & 8 7. A view towards the site showing the railings and streetfront buildings along Nassau Street and Lincoln
Place, and 8. A view towards the site from Merrion Street Lower showing the Georgian buildings fronting Westland Row. Both
photos illustrate the degree of enclosure of the campus from the surrounding townscape.
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Proposed E3 Learning Foundry Development, Trinity College Dublin 5
Photos 9 & 10 9. A view towards the site from the junction of Pearse Street and Westland Row, and 10. A view along Pearse
Street. These show the degree of built enclosure of the campus particularly around the eastern part where the site is located.
While the campus as a whole is a distinct character area in the city, generally enclosed from the wider
townscape, there are strong variations in character internally (see Map 5 overleaf). There is a clear division
between the western and eastern areas, either side of College Park and the Rugby Ground, and also lesser
divisions of character in each of these areas. The variations result mainly from the buildings’ predominant era
of construction, but also their spatial arrangement and the spaces to which they respond:
2.2.1 Western Area
• A: The historic core of the campus is Parliament Square with the Campanille at its centre,
surrounded by Regent House/the West Front, the Rubrics, the Public Theatre, Chapel and Dining
Hall, all dating from the 18th century. Christine Casey, Professor in Architectural History, History of
Art in TCD, has described this part of the campus as follows: “Trinity has the largest group of
monumental 18th-century buildings in Ireland and is the most complete university campus of the
period in these islands.” The Narrows and Museum buildings formed an additional square (New
Square) to the east in the 19th century.
• B: Surrounding Fellows Square to the south of the Old Library there are four modern buildings
including the Berkeley Library (1968), the Arts Building (1978), James Usher Library (1998) and the
Long Room Hub, as well as the Reading Room (1937). The Berkeley Library is recognised as one of
the finest modern buildings in the country and it is noteworthy that the brief specified that the
building was to be as fine a representative of the 20th century as its neighbours had been of the
18th and 19th centuries.
The western part of the campus has a very strong character, incorporating predominantly historic but
also modern buildings, in an ordered, highly legible spatial arrangement around the squares. There are
few if any detractors to the landscape character or quality in this area.
Photos 11 & 12 11. A view across Parliament Square towards the Reading Room, with the Long Room protruding above its
roofline, and 12. A close-up view of the interface between the two buildings.
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Proposed E3 Learning Foundry Development, Trinity College Dublin 6
Map 6 Campus Landscape Character Areas.
Parliament
Sq Western Area - A
New
Sq
Eastern
Area - B
Rugby
Ground
Fellows Sq
Eastern
Western Area - B Area - A
College Eastern
Park
Area - C
Eastern
Area - D
Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment
Proposed E3 Learning Foundry Development, Trinity College Dublin 72.2.2 Eastern Area
• A: The expansion of the campus to the east beyond the Rugby Ground and College Park was
initiated by the development of the Medical School in the early 19th century (later subsumed into
the Chemistry and Anatomy buildings). This was followed by the Zoology, Physiology and
Chemistry buildings through the 19th century, and in the early 20th century the Fitzgerald and Botany
buildings to the north, all addressing the historic core across College Park to the west.
Photos 13 & 14 13. The Zoology, anatomy and Chemistry buildings, and 14. The Fitzgerald and Botany buildings with
modern buildings to their rear.
• B: In the north eastern corner of the campus, which as frontage to Pearse Street and is far removed
from the historic core, a number of modern developments have taken place. These include (a) the
five storey Naughton Institute and Sports Centre between the elevated railway line (which crosses
the campus) and the corner of Pearse Street and Westland Row; (b) the Lloyd Institute, an austere
five storey building with rooftop plant, and (c) the recently opened Trinity Business School. This is
a six storey building fronting Pearse Street but also addressing the central open space (the Rugby
Ground), rising above the roofline of the Botany building.
Photos 15 & 16 15. The Naughton Institute and Sports Centre at the corner of Pearse Street and Westland Row, and 16.
The Trinity Business School close to completion fronting Pearse Street beside the Naughton Institute.
• C: Parade Ground is the axis of a character area at the eastern end of the campus. There is a row of late
20th century buildings east of the street attached to the rear of the Georgian buildings fronting Westland
Row. These buildings (O’Reilly Institute, Hamilton building, Watts building, Panoz Institute and Smurfit
Institute), all four storeys, face the Biochemistry building across Parade Ground. The Watts building is
connected to the Biochemistry building by a bridge over the street (the bridge is to be removed along with
the Biochemistry building under reg. ref. 3884/18). The buildings are simple, cubic forms, stone-clad, with
strips of glazing or square windows – with a distinctive colonnade alongside the street. The biochemistry
building, facing these across Parade Ground, is a concrete framed, utilitarian building of four storeys, built
Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment
Proposed E3 Learning Foundry Development, Trinity College Dublin 8in 1967. To the rear of the Biochemistry building, between Biochemistry and the Zoology building to the
west, is the single storey Roberts Laboratory, the demolition of which has been permitted.
• D: In the south east corner of the campus, between the Moyne Institute (1953) and the Lincoln Place
entrance, is a tight cluster of buildings of diverse character, including two highly sculptural extensions
(1996 and 2005) to the retained Parsons building (1841), and the Dental Hospital (1999).
Photos 17 & 18 17. The extensions to the Parsons building, and 18. The complex architectural composition and roofline of
the cluster in the south east corner of the campus.
The buildings in the eastern part of the campus are generally more closely clustered, in a less orderly spatial
arrangement, and they are of more diverse scale and architecture than in the western area. This creates
complex spatial and architectural compositions which are variously successful but add visual interest to the
campus landscape. Character areas are difficult to define compared to the western area, and this part of the
campus lacks the spatial and architectural legibility, and amenity value, of the western area.
Arguably the least successful part of the campus is Parade Ground, pinched between the Watts and Hamilton
buildings on one side and the condemned Biochemistry building on the other. This space is (and feels)
physically and visually detached from the campus. It lacks spatial connectivity with the campus, and therefore
legibility. It lacks architectural features of note, also affecting legibility. There is little vegetation and the
landscape/streetscape quality of Parade Ground is poor, especially considered in the context of the wider
campus. This lack of quality and legibility also affects the entrance off Lincoln Place (see Photo 1 above), the
main entrance to the south eastern part of the campus. The site’s redevelopment offers the opportunity to
address these failings.
Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment
Proposed E3 Learning Foundry Development, Trinity College Dublin 92.2.3 Corridors of Movement
The corridors of movement and outdoor gathering places in the western part of the campus are clearly defined
by the orthogonal arrangement of the buildings.
Connecting the western and eastern areas there is a broad pedestrian path that runs between the Rugby
Ground and College Park, lined by trees. This is an important corridor of movement on the campus, providing
panoramic views of the western and eastern areas across the broad open space. Arriving in the eastern area
the route splits, with one footpath diverting and running to the side of the Physiology building to meet Parade
Ground alongside the PC Hut, and another path leading towards the Zoology and Chemistry buildings,
terminating in the square in front of the Anatomy Annex.
The lack of a direct connection between the main Map 7 Movement corridors in the eastern part of the
east-west route and Parade Ground is a weakness campus. The solid green lines show the well connected,
in the campus landscape, its legibility and legible routes. The dotted lines show the less legible routes.
navigability. The most direct route, along the side of
the Physiology Building, is narrow and uninviting
and its junction with Parade Ground is beside the PC
Hut, an unsightly prefab building.
The streetscape quality and spatial form of Parade
Ground (due to the position of the Biochemistry
Building) is another weakness in legibility and
connectivity. It has the appearance of a service
lane.
Additionally, on a campus characterised elsewhere
by a well ordered and generous provision of open
spaces, the Parade Ground area is clearly deficient,
having no outdoor gathering place.
The site’s redevelopment offers an opportunity to
address these weaknesses.
Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment
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