Bachelor of Architecture

Graduate Profile - Naomi Panter B.Arch

As a UL Architecture graduate, I am currently working on the Smarter Travel Demonstration City project here in Limerick. It is a €9 million European project and is run as a collaborative design group made up of the Limerick Local Authority and the University of Limerick. Over a five-year period, the group will design and build the necessary infrastructure for smarter travel to improve how we move around Limerick city. As a SAUL (School of Architecture UL) graduate, I have been equipped with the design, graphics and communication skills to work in such a collaborative office. As architect and multimedia coordinator for this project, my day-to-day work varies from infrastructure design to graphic design and behaviour- change campaign design. I work with architects, engineers, urban planners, photographers, videographers and meet different people every week.

After graduating from SAUL, I became Creative Media Coordinator on the newly established 'Uncommissioned Reports' series for the SAUL Press. The first issue based on my architecture thesis 'The Loop - The Social Responsibility of Public Space,' became the template for recording the spatial and material quality of schools. This paper was presented to the Minister for Education and Skills and led to SAUL being commissioned by the Department of Education and Science for the Limerick Schools Inventory Pilot Project in 2012. 

In the summer of 2009, I won the Mayor's Prize for the concept design of Limerick's new City Library. I also worked on the 'One City' research project, with the SAUL Intelligence Unit funded by the Limerick Local Authority and the Mid-western Regional Authority, proposing a new spatial and administrative approach for Limerick City and County as a whole. During the summer of 2010, I worked on the 'SNN+' project with the SAUL Intelligence Unit in the AEDES Campus Berlin to propose alternative futures for Shannon Airport. During my final year in UL, I was a member of the SAUL team that won the European Design Competition 'Hafen City', while working on location in Hamburg, Germany.

I also continue to design and write in my own time. Designing in collaboration with SAUL graduate Marian Dinneen, our 'Egression Point' proposal was shortlisted in April 2013 as a finalist in the DocoMomo 'Central Bank in the 21st Century' ideas competition. There are always many design competitions running nationally and internationally. 

Martin Lennon

The first day I arrived at our SAUL (School of Architecture UL) studio I sensed I would enjoy my time in Architecture School. The Studio embodies everything that the school and the education stand for. The Architectural education here is not about divulging information individually, rather it is about sharing knowledge, opinion and ideas amongst our colleagues. Within the studio there are always lectures and tutorials taking place, however, the essence of what our education here is about, lies in the conversations and debate (sometimes heated!) that occurs alongside our timetable. All the architecture students, from freshers to 5th year, working in the same space really solidifies the school’s diverse social atmosphere - I find that we learn from each other as much as we do from our lecturers!

I have had an incredibly wholesome experience here and have always felt encouraged to explore and to test things. After the 3rd year, I decided to take a year off from school and gain some experience within a practice. I travelled to Sydney Australia and worked for 6 months as an architectural assistant. Personally, I feel it was really beneficial to pause academically and further my education through a practice and through travel also. The experience away has allowed me to return to SAUL with a fresh vigour and renewed confidence!!