Students showcase innovative solutions for a better society at Design@UL

UL Design students showcase innovative solutions in new exhibition. Paul Gallagher pictured with his ‘miniature city’ model that integrates a primary school with senior housing.

UL Design students showcase innovative solutions for a better society at the 2026 School of Architecture and Product Design exhibition

A new exhibition has showcased how students from University of Limerick are striving to create a better society for now and into the future.

Design@UL, an exhibition of over 70 projects from final year students at UL’s internationally acclaimed School of Architecture and Product Design, will run at Limerick’s Istabraq Hall until 4 June.

The theme of this year’s showcase is ‘Resilience’, reflecting on how individuals, communities, environments and systems respond to challenge, uncertainty and change.

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The annual exhibition gives members of the public an opportunity to see the pioneering work of some of Ireland’s most talented emerging designers across a range of fields, from technology to healthcare to the built environment.

Amongst the innovative products on display at Design@UL include a testing and recovery system for concussion injuries in sport, an at-home cervical screening test, a handheld device to detect subtle changes in breast tissue, and a device designed to redefine allergy patch testing for people with eczema.

Architectural proposals on display at Design@UL include a new housing model that challenges the isolation of traditional refugee accommodation, a ‘miniature city’ model that interweaves elderly accommodation with a primary school, and an integrated wetland park that aims to reconnect society to the systems that sustain human life.

Speaking at the launch of Design@UL, Professor Leonard O’Sullivan, Head of UL’s School of Architecture and Product Design, said, “Design@UL showcases the opportunities for creativity by Architecture and Product Design students to create a better society for now and into the future.

“In our busy lives we often tolerate challenges in the built environment and in products used. But the opportunities are in being resilient to researching these challenges and creating innovative solutions that will have long lasting and transformative impacts.”

At the launch of Design@UL, final year Product Design and Technology students Abban Moran and Sophie Walsh were announced as joint winners of the Logitech Design of the Year Award, with Laura García receiving the runner-up award.

Abban Moran, who hails from Wexford Town, is the designer behind ‘IRIS’, a device that aims to provide a more accurate diagnosis of concussion injuries in sports.

As someone who has played sport competitively throughout his teenage years, Abban felt that the way in which head injuries were dealt with on the sidelines was inadequate.

“In my research, I discovered that 80% of sports-related concussions go unreported and 75% of repeated sports concussions happen due to misdiagnosis. I wanted to create a product that could provide a more accurate diagnosis of sports-related concussions and aid safer recovery,” he said.

“IRIS is an eye-based test that can be conducted in minutes on the sideline comparing results to the player’s baseline. If the player passes, they can re-enter the game. If the player fails, they are removed from play to begin active recovery using test data.”

Sophie Walsh, a native of Pallasgreen in Co. Limerick, created ‘Skin Sense’, a device designed to redefine allergy patch testing for people with eczema, which she was motivated to create due to her own personal experience of suffering with eczema.

 “Allergy patch testing is an extremely comprehensive test that can test over 80 contact allergens at one time, but doctors and specialists will not conduct a patch test if the patient has eczema,” she explained.

“Skin Sense aims to solve this problem by allowing for application between active patches of eczema and detecting allergic reactions. Patients can then view their allergy results, understand their triggers, and make informed lifestyle changes to help manage their eczema.”

Runner-up Laura García from Madrid in Spain was inspired by her friend Ana, a type 1 diabetic, to create ‘Just Ana’, an implantable insulin delivery device which contains a refillable insulin reservoir that automatically delivers insulin based on glucose levels.

Architecture students Isobel Reidy and Paul Gallagher were both recognised as joint winners for their final year projects.

Isobel Reidy, who hails from Renmore in Co. Galway, has proposed a new housing model, located at Limerick’s Hyde Road Park, that challenges the isolation of traditional refugee accommodation and promotes active integration.

Her building design houses various public amenities including a communal kitchen, creche and workshops across the lower floors, with apartments above designed to promote self-sufficiency and social cohesion.

“As an Architecture student, I felt a responsibility to challenge the systemic indifference faced by displaced people in Ireland, specifically within the Direct Provision system,” Isobel said.

“By introducing communal spaces like allotments and markets, the project replaces isolation with active integration, shifting the focus from basic survival to an architecture of belonging.”

Paul Gallagher, from Ballintogher in Co. Sligo, has proposed a ‘miniature city’ model for his final year project, located on Limerick’s Old Dominick Street, that integrates a primary school with senior housing.

The goal of Paul’s design is to create a community that combats the loneliness of age while cultivating empathy and independence in the young.

“I was motivated by a desire to challenge the social segregation and isolation embedded within traditional institutional care and educational typologies in Ireland,” he explained.

“As a future architect, I believe we must design with deep empathy, viewing the built environment not as a series of rigid, functionalist boxes, but as a vital tool to sustain positive social spaces and human dignity.”

Other projects on display at Design@UL include those of students from UL’s MSc in Design for Health and Wellbeing who have produced designs that aim to enhance the drug delivery process at St John’s Hospital, improve the user experience at Shannon Health Centre, and help those navigating the reception area of Limerick’s St John’s Hospital.

A project from UL’s Rapid Innovation Unit, a research group between UL and the University Hospital Limerick Group, can also be viewed at Design@UL. It explores the clinical trial journey of patients with multiple myeloma and ways to better support them.

Design@UL is open to the public from 26 May to 4 June (9am-5pm, excluding weekends) at Istabraq Hall, City Hall, Merchant’s Quay, Limerick.