Redwood

Royal College of Surgeons

Joinery for a high-traffic educational building.

A view across the atrium void to a row of oak-framed house-shaped study huts on the floor below, with people seated inside and glazed balconies above.
The oak beach huts, seen across the atrium

At the time, RCSI was Redwood’s biggest educational institute project, and the durability a high-traffic building demands forced a hard look at how every detail would be manufactured and finished.

From the street, the meandering seating catches the eye, and the oak beach huts are sharp, strong and perfectly finished. Inside, the atrium is clad in oak boards that fold back to the desks lining each level.

The ColorCore desks, tables and benches were made to stand up to heavy use, and the Corian desks blend into the overall form of the building.

Project specification

Year
2016
Sector
Educational institute
Location
Cuffe Lane, Dublin 2
Materials
  • Oak
  • ColorCore
  • Corian
Elements fabricated
Meandering street-facing seating · Oak beach huts · Atrium cladding · Desks, tables and benches

Photographs

13 photographs.

A ground-floor concourse with a servery counter under a signage panel, an open stair void to the left, a tiled wall, and a slatted ceiling running the length of the space.
Servery counter on the concourse
Looking down into the atrium: a slatted ceiling and oak-clad walls above a dark stair, with a brick screen and a servery beyond.
Oak boards and a slatted ceiling over the stair
Looking up through a narrow atrium lined on both sides with pale oak boards and recessed openings at each level.
The atrium, clad in oak boards
A dark spiral stair curving down into a ground floor reception with a long desk behind it.
The stair and reception at ground level
A long yellow-fronted service desk under a slatted ceiling, with a person walking past.
A yellow-fronted service desk
A study floor with white computer benches and stools on the left and a row of angled dark-framed booths with upholstered benches on the right, under a slatted ceiling.
Computer benches facing angled study booths
A white island counter with stools and a sink runs beside a full wall of lockers, with lounge chairs at the glazed corner and a slatted ceiling above.
Counter and locker wall by the glazing
A sports centre entrance with a row of turnstiles, a long reception desk where two people are working, and exposed services overhead.
Sports centre turnstiles and reception desk
A long open study floor with continuous benches and stools running the width of the room.
Benches and desks on the study floor
A wall of lockers beside a white counter with stools where someone is working, with a spiral stair and lounge seating beyond under a slatted ceiling.
Lockers beside a study counter
A break area with blue upholstered lounge seating and stools set between raking concrete columns, with study counters behind and dome pendants overhead.
Lounge seating between raking columns
A sports centre lobby with vertical Sports and Fitness lettering on a dark wall, a long window looking into the pool hall, and low benches.
Sports lobby with a window to the pool hall