TU Dublin Students Showcase Resilient Design and Sustainable Construction at RIAI Annual Conference
Students of the School of Architecture, Building, and Environment recently exhibited their work at a first-of-its-kind student architecture exhibition at the Royal Institute of Architects (RIAI) Annual Conference at the RDS.
Unique globally, Building Change is a national, collaborative project between all six Irish architecture schools to empower future graduates to meet the ongoing challenges of the housing and climate crises. Since 2022, the schools have been working together to radically transform the professional curricula by embedding the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals on Sustainable Housing and Climate Action alongside Irish government policies on the Housing for All and Climate Action plan.
The exhibition, ‘Constructive Interference’, was curated by architecture collective and UCD graduates Rubble and featured studio and community projects by students from all six schools, encompassing designs, models and films on topics such as:
- Biodiversity and community engagement - imagining an avian wildlife tower for Tramore Valley Park and a Food-Learning Centre for Cork’s Fairhill community.
- Designing with existing structures as opposed to green site interventions.
- Low carbon campuses – how universities might evolve to meet the challenges of the climate emergency.
Speaking about the exhibition, Nicolas Howden from Rubble said the exhibition sought to offer ‘a conversation with and critique of the construction industry.’
Funded by the Higher Education Authority under the Human Capital Initiative, Pillar 3, Building Change: Designing a Resilient Future through Architecture Education is a collaboration between all six schools of architecture across Ireland – TU Dublin; University College Dublin; the Cork Centre for Architecture Education (a joint venture of University College Cork and Munster Technological University); Atlantic Technological University; South East Technological University; and University of Limerick – to racially transform architecture education.