The overall project led by Bennett Construction, comprises of the construction of a13,000m2, 6 storey building above and 2 storey below ground for the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland.

Conceived as part of the RCSI’s long term vision to strengthen its position as a global leader in health sciences, the new facility will provide state of the art teaching spaces advanced laboratories and collaborative research environments.

It aims to to bring students, educators, clinicians and scientists together under one roof to foster interdisciplinary learning and ground-breaking research.

Delivering a project in a busy urban setting required careful planning and resilience.

Logistics, timeline coordination and integration with surrounding campus buildings were among the complexities the team managed successfully.

The project involved the fabrication and installation of a bespoke structural steel spiral staircase. The design presented unique engineering and fabrication challenges, particularly in the stairs soffit. The soffit was formed using a series of tightly curved, pizza slice-shaped steel segments. Due to the spiral geometry and structural requirements these segments had to be fabricated in very small pieces and joined with full penetration welds. Achieving seamless joints required an exceptional level of precision during alignment, welding and post-weld finishing.

One of the most demanding aspects of the project was the finishing process. Each weld was meticulously cleaned and polished to achieve a smooth, uniform surface that matched the high aesthetic standards of the RCSI interior. This required a high degree of finesse and craftsmanship, especially given the complexity of the curved surfaces and limited access in some areas of the structure. Despite the challenges, the result was a striking, architecturally integral feature that combines structural performance with fine detailing, exemplifying the capabilities of precision metalwork in a modern institutional setting.