150 years ago, in July 1864, the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland held its first meeting in its newly built home at No.6 Kildare Street. To mark this anniversary, architecture students are invited to imagine a new design for the College, based on the original brief from 1860.

The design brief

This is the design brief: The conditions on the site at 6 Kildare Street are the same as they were in 1860. The previous street-facing building has been destroyed by fire and cleared to street level, but the cellars remain. At the back of the site there is a separate building housing a large racquets court and two smaller rooms (a kitchen and billiard room) – These have not been damaged by the fire. The College hasn’t indicated whether this building should be removed or incorporated into the new design, and so you can decide what to do with it.

Since 1860 a number of additions have been made to the building to meet the developing needs of the College. To reflect this, your design will need to include:

A second grand hall
A lecture theatre to accommodate 60 people
A seminar room which can accommodate 80 people
Office accommodation for 10 members of staff
Wheelchair access
Professional kitchens

How to enter

You need to submit a single A1 presentation board of your design, with an accompanying short narrative (500 words) explaining your design intentions.

Full details of the competition, including the design brief and site plans are available here.

The competition is open to all architectural students attending college in Ireland, including those who will graduate with Part 2 qualifications in 2014.

Applications should be sent to Harriet Wheelock, Keeper of Collections, Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, 6 Kildare Street, Dublin 2. The closing date for entries is 5.00pm on Monday 6 October 2014.

Entries will be viewed and assessed by a judging panel in early October, and will be displayed to the public from Monday 13 October 2014. The winner will be announced at an afternoon reception on Tuesday 14 October 2014.

The winner, as selected by the judging panel, will receive a prize of €350.

Royal College of Physicians of Ireland competition for architecture students is NOT an IAF event and is delivered by Royal College of Physicians of Ireland for more information please visit this website.