For two centuries, Trinity added no new square. Printing House Square changes that condition by turning a formerly closed stretch of Pearse Street into a civic threshold between the campus and the city.
McCullough Mulvin Architects organizes the project as a courtyard that gathers student accommodation, health and disability services, and a sports centre around shared open space. The mix gives the square daily purpose rather than treating it as a ceremonial gesture.
The roof is the project’s most deliberate mediator. Its stone surface folds down toward the 18th-century Printing House, lowering the apparent scale and giving the historic building an intimate setting. New density and an older landmark are held in one composition without reducing either to backdrop.
Photography: Ros Kavanagh.