RIAM, Dublin

The Royal Irish Academy of Music was founded in 1848 making it Ireland’s oldest musical institution.

The practice secured the prestigious commission to reconfigure and extend its original building in Westland Row through a limited design competition.

The new building is situated at the rear of the Georgian terrace entered from the existing Westland Row entrance.

It comprises a recital hall, opera studio, library, a mix of teaching rooms for each faculty and all associated support spaces. The design proposes a sequence of spaces from the existing entrance hall; through the existing stairs; progressing through a ‘bridge’ to the new building, ending in a multi-storey concourse which penetrates deep into the plan, and from which access is gained to the Recital Hall.

Construction work started on site in April 2020 and is due to complete 2022.