Leeann | October 1, 2018
President of Ireland Michael D Higgins was joined by President of DCU Students Union Vito Moloney Burke for the Official Opening of the New €10M Student Centre, built by Duggan Brothers at DCU today. The building spans more than 5,500 sq. metres and will facilitate as many as 50,000 students over the next decade and support over 150 student clubs and societies. 
The project involved the phased construction of a new-build 3-storey extension to the existing Student HUB building to provide extended student facilities, including foyer space, offices, shops, cafes and an auditorium with terraced seating, along with refurbishment works to the existing building. In addition to this the project also included associated external works, external utilities and landscaping. The building remained operational throughout the build, with some limitations throughout the lifetime of the project. The main structure of the building included Structural Steel, Precast Concrete, High end special class in-situ – concrete finish and brick/blockwork, Cladding, Glazing/ Façade Works. The fit-out element included extensive M&E, lift installation, floors, stud and glazed partitions, suspended ceilings, built in furniture and fixtures and fittings. The New Student Centre, the ‘U’ will house a broad range of activities and support services. Core features of the centre include a student leadership and life skills centre; performing arts and cultural spaces for students and the wider community; and an entrepreneurship and innovation hub for national and international student initiatives. In addition, the new centre contains two escape pods in order to provide a social space for students with Autism. Last March DCU was declared the worlds first Autism friendly university by advocacy charity AsIAm. The centre will also be home to DCU student radio station, DCU FM. Commenting at the Official Opening, DCU Student Union President; Vito Moloney Burke said: “This day marks the collective contributions of generations of DCU. Once again, we have a centre of activity that students can call home. The place will be alive with club and society life and will serve as a platform for increased student engagement. Today is a representation of what a culture of collaboration between students and the University can achieve; the legacy starts here”. Duggan Brothers Contract Director, Eddie Cleary said: “We are delighted to have delivered this outstanding state-of-the-art building for both DCU and its students and look forward to seeing the future success that the building will bring”. 
