John Paul Construction has publicly announced a strategic partnership with Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin), which began in 2019 to develop Design + Construct, a centre for collaborative, multidisciplinary education that will drive performance in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) sector through talent and technology. The leading international construction specialists have donated €150,000 in support of the University’s inaugural Capital Campaign Transforming Tomorrow, a €30m fundraising initiative.

Building on a century of delivering applied and practical education for the AEC sector, Design + Construct will leverage TU Dublin’s expertise to address the key challenges of 21st-century construction, including building performance, energy-efficient design and the digitisation of the construction process. The announcement follows a range of John Paul Construction initiatives to encourage future talent, including creating a Graduate Development Programme to help new recruits build the right blend of personal, professional and technical skills required to reach their full potential. The company also recently became the first building contractor to be awarded the Retain, Invest, Sustain, Engage (RISE) Corporate Support Scheme badge by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and holds the Engineers Ireland CPD Accredited Employer standard.

Welcoming John Paul Construction’s support, the President of Technological University Dublin, Professor David FitzPatrick, said, “I am delighted to have this opportunity to thank John Paul Construction for this very generous support of our Transforming Tomorrow philanthropic campaign and Design + Construct, which will provide education and research facilities critical to the next generation of AEC graduates. Today’s announcement builds on the introduction of the John Paul Construction Student Excellence Award in 2020, which recognises the student with the highest academic result from Year 2 of Quantity Surveying and Construction Economics. On a personal note, particularly because the company was founded in 1949 by my grandfather, John Paul, I am very proud to be able to count John Paul Construction as a key supporter of our Transforming Tomorrow campaign.”

Commenting on the campaign, Liam Kenny, Managing Director of John Paul Construction, said, “I am delighted to announce our continued support of the TU Dublin Transforming Tomorrow initiative. We have been involved in this initiative since 2019, and it has significantly increased our understanding of the incredible work undertaken by TU Dublin in developing the next generation of talent for the Irish and international construction sectors. As a contractor, our success is totally a function of the skillset, knowledge and experience of the professionals working for us. I have no doubt that investing in this excellent TU Dublin initiative will yield significant results for both John Paul Construction and the construction industry generally, well into the future.”

According to Orna Hanly, Design + Construct Project Lead, the centre is a new way of teaching for the AEC sector, requiring a new type of space. “With the support of our partners, TU Dublin will deliver a flexible, adaptable facility that can be changed and altered to meet the sector’s needs. The types of activities planned require large unencumbered floor space, triple-height, clear span, and wide openings for easy RIRO (roll in, roll out) of equipment and to allow for the construction of large learning environments. The building will be a ‘living’ AEC laboratory, an exemplar for the sector encompassing best practices in sustainable design and construction.”

TU Dublin Design + Construct, Broombridge Campus

TU Dublin purchased a 3.25-hectare site at Broombridge in 2011 to complement the Grangegorman and Bolton Street facilities. The site is located immediately adjacent to the new Luas cross-city terminus at Broombridge, just two stops from the Grangegorman campus, and currently accommodates a full-size all-weather, floodlit sports pitch. The site at Broombridge also includes a large-scale, derelict warehouse to be repurposed, offering 6,200m2 of high-tech, flexible and adaptable space upon completion.

The facility will be a collaborative, multidisciplinary learning resource for students across all levels and disciplines, from apprenticeship to doctoral research, as well as providing research facilities critical to the next generation of AEC graduates in technologies such as off-site and modular construction, near zero energy building, and robotic construction.