From this week’s Galway City Tribune – The days of students scrambling for desk space at the library in University of Galway could be numbered – plans have been lodged at City Hall for a new €39 million ‘learning commons’.

The facility will involve the construction of a building up to six storeys in height and desk space for 2,250 people.

Dubbed a ‘library of the future’, the learning commons will have a focus on technology, allowing students to collaborate and learn in an interactive way – it is anticipated that at least part of the building will provide a 24-hour study space.

It will also include a four-storey high ‘bookbot’ – an automated search and retrieval system for a library of around 400,000 books.

If given planning approval, at its peak, the project will create between 100 and 150 construction jobs.

University authorities have submitted a planning application to City Hall for the demolition of several old buildings off Distillery Road, including the former Pharmacology building, to clear a site of just over one acre.

The plans involve the construction of a stepped building ranging from four to six storeys in height, with a maximum height of 28.25 metres. The building will span more than 10,100 square metres.
This is a shortened preview version of this story. To read the rest of the article, see the May 26 edition of the Galway City Tribune. You can support our journalism and buy a digital edition HERE.