Breathing new life into our oldest building The recent renovation and retrofitting of the Rubrics, Trinity’s oldest building, is a model of sensitive sustainability, honouring the maxim ‘to do as much as necessary but as little as possible’ T he iconic Rubrics is Trinity’s oldest building, dating back to 1700, and the only surviving structure of the original Library Square. With its red-brick gables and tall hexagonal chimneys, the Rubrics is reminiscent of a 17th- century painting by Vermeer or De Hooch, although the gables (which Dubliners call ‘Dutch billies’) were only added in 1894. Appropriately for the oldest building, it is said to house the college ghost, Edward Ford, a Fellow who was killed during a fracas with students in 1734 and whose ghost, dressed in wig, gown and knee breeches, is said to walk the Rubrics at dusk. In 1700, the need for student residences was acute and Provost George Browne left a bequest of £1,200 to the college for this purpose. (Remarkably his death in 1699 is also attributed to injuries sustained during an altercation with students). The Rubrics has remained principally a residential building, providing accommodation for guests as well as staff and students. Famous residents have included the junior dean and historian of the college, RB McDowell, the novelist John McGahern as writer-in-residence, and students with schols who went on to fame including filmmaker Lenny Abrahamson and former Fianna Fáil Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan Jnr. The Rubrics looks stunning in Abrahamson’s TV adaptation of Sally Rooney’s Normal People, and in the Bollywood action thriller, Ek Tha Tiger, a student and ISI agent called Zoya is depicted as living there. The Rubrics was built to last and it has weathered wonderfully, but after standing 320 years, it was in clear need of sensitive renovation that would honour its heritage, while embracing the sustainable technologies and energy efficiency necessary for climate action. In 2020, the university applied for planning to refurbish and conserve the protected structure and deliver a diverse range of accommodations, including 22 studio/ one-bedroom residential units, nine study bedrooms with communal facilities, and research/study rooms. The aim is to primarily house academic staff, researchers and students, with guest accommodation for visiting scholars/dignitaries. International award-winning design firm, Pascall+Watson was hired to lead the revamp. They adopted an approach ‘to do as much as necessary, but as little as possible’. Trinity is a member of the Sustainable Campus network and is deeply committed to researching and educating in sustainability and enacting sustainable practices across the campus. Bringing 21st-century practices to an early
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