Dublin Dental Hospital is the home of Trinity College Dublin's School of Dental Science. The hospital treats around 2,500 patients weekly and is the leading dental teaching, research and clinical centre in Ireland. The building integrates 3,500 m² of new build with 2,300 m² of fully refurbished historic fabric — 5,800 m² in total.
The Dental Hospital occupies the eastern end of the TCD campus, among the science and engineering faculties — the 'back door' of the College. The existing late-Victorian hospital was a heavy red-brick structure, with strong planning expectations that additions would be 'in keeping'. ABK's response is a virtuoso piece of contextual modern architecture: the Victorian façade is opened up to create a new public entrance, with a full-height, daylit atrium running deep into the plan to link old and new. The atrium is the unifying public heart of the complex — primary circulation, gathering space, daylit teaching environment — connecting a new clinical-facilities block to the retained Victorian building, where lecture rooms and administrative areas remain. To the street, the extension is expressed as a curving wall of red brick pierced by square window openings, a distinctly Rationalist version of contextualism. Behind, the new building shifts to a lightweight glazed aesthetic, with a glazed tower acting as a marker both for the hospital and for an improved gateway to the campus.
Socrates Miltiadou was the London-based project architect, working alongside the Dublin-based team on the design and delivery of one of ABK's most significant life-science and healthcare commissions.