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2000 Masterplan (Limerick
from 2022-2042 Masterplan
by micireland
2000 MASTERPLAN (LIMERICK)
The 2000 Masterplan was the first formal Masterplan for the development of Mary Immaculate College and set the vision for the development of the Limerick campus that took place in the years following its publication. This included a substantial building programme to deliver projects identified as 1A and Phase 1B-C and now known as the Tailteann and TARA buildings.
The principles on which the original 2000 Masterplan was established were as follows:
• The creation of a memorable and satisfying environment for teaching, learning and socialising • Enhancement of the public image of MIC while creating a system of access for vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians that is safe, efficient and welcoming • Safeguarding and enhancing the parkland character of the site, while making the optimum provision possible for car parking, consistent with the encouragement of alternative strategies to minimise demand.
The principal ordering device of the original Masterplan is the internal route, An tSlí, running from east to west, linking as it does teaching and ICT labs, lecture theatres, performance theatre visual arts rooms, public spaces, offices and the Chapel. The genesis of An tSlí is the Lourdes Corridor as it leads from the Main Entrance to the Chapel.
While it was the stated intention that An tSlí would vary in character, width, height and edges as it traverses the campus, the physical implementation of An tSlí remains largely undeveloped. The design of the TARA Building was developed on the axis of the Lourdes Corridor on the basis that it could eventually connect directly through to the Main Entrance in one continuous pedestrian route but this aspiration has yet to be realised. Notwithstanding the history of the Lourdes Corridor, it is felt that the corridor itself is no longer suitable in the context of a primary access route and the high volume of foot traffic it receives. There is a strong desire to see An tSlí developed further in a manner that realises the vision of the 2000 Masterplan, which was to provide a protected link between buildings but also a social space suitable for exhibitions, performances and random encounters.
