Works Complete Outside UCD Restaurant
Belfield is constantly undergoing change, the only constant being change itself. As new generations of students consider making Belfield their home away from home, other students are preparing for exams and ultimately their departure to greener pastures, facing both exciting and challenging prospects in Ireland and abroad.
While at Belfield, the University strives to imbue a sense of knowledge, community, social responsibility and an appreciation for sports, culture and integration to the student population. UCD promotes the planning and design of vibrant, livable and sustainable communities that are enriched by, and infused with learning opportunities.
UCD aims to strengthen its community by creating interesting interaction facilities. The art and science of creating good interaction space where people want to gather is important. Small improvements to a campus can bring about dramatic changes, as the campus atmosphere is as important to its appeal as programmes, professors, alumni and sports teams.
In recent months, the university has provided new donor funded student engagement facilities at the UCD Restaurant where the aim is to combine campus and community planning in support of the university's mission to provide lifelong learning opportunities and to create social, intellectual and environmental awareness.
Students relaxing at the new facilities outside the UCD Restaurant
The new works include a Zen Garden where stone arrangements are used to represent mountains and natural water elements, islands and rivers. Moss is used as a ground cover to represent "land" covered by forest.
The act of raking the gravel into a pattern, recalling waves or rippling water, has an aesthetic function. Zen priests practice this raking also to help them focus their concentration. Achieving perfection of lines is not easy.
