Whispering House, St Columba's College
A new social-hub designed by COADY Architects for the students, staff and visitors of the college.
Whispering House, at St. Columba’s College, Dublin, was designed by COADY Archtiects to create a central social hub for the students, staff and visitors of the college.
The building was conceived as two distinct elements, a glazed pavilion set within the historic walled garden, reflective of long-lost glasshouses that had originally been on this site and a two-story block with a servery on first floor with a lower entrance, toilets and boiler house below. The nature of the works involved the deconstruction and reinstatement of part of the historic stone garden wall. Comprehensive historic research and recoding was undertaken in advance of the works and ensured the reinstatement was in line with best conservation principles.
The building forms part of the informal circulation routes inter weaving between and through buildings on the campus. The entrance at lower level leads to the accommodation stairs rising to the social space on first floor which in turn adjoins the south facing garden pavilion providing a large interconnected social space for both informal and formal events.
The development has been “transformative” for the college and has hosted a number of events since its completion, including its official opening when it was opened by the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.
