Dublin Irish Glass Master Plan, Dublin_Ireland

The competition in two stages was to seek comprehensive architectural concept design/master plan for the redevelopment of the site that would reflect the opportunity to create a new mixed use quarter for Dublin, with a plot ratio of  3, transforming the area through a comprehensive redevelopment of a gateway site with signature landmark buildings such as a residential tower and a sport/community centre.

Within the design requirements it was also included a minimum of 20% affordable and social housing and a particular focus on sustainability.

So the challenge was: how can people enjoy a high quality of life, within the carrying capacity of our planet, and have a strong, vibrant community to live in?

Starting from the awareness that if everyone in the world lived as we do in Europe we would need three planets to support us, and therefore there is a strong call to reduce our impact – our ecological footprint – by two thirds to a sustainable and globally equitable level, we looked at the possibility to embrace a strategy based on strong sustainable design principle as the One Planet Living Community.

One Planet Living is a Registered Trade Mark identifying a joint initiative of Bioregional Development Group and WWF based on 10 guiding principles of sustainability.

The vision of One Planet Living is a world in which people everywhere can lead happy, healthy lives within their fair share of the Earth’s resources.

Our Vision was fundamentally based on these strong sustainable design principles embracing the challenge to deliver an exemplar sustainable community for Ireland.

The plan framework for the site has been developed in a direct response to the local context.  A simple structure of urban blocks and streets has been created, scaled in an appropriate size to accommodate a range of residential and office buildings in a simple grid layout.  The simple grid is then ‘morphed’ to accommodate local linkages to adjacent future development sites.  The structure of the plan also bends and deforms to become more ‘organic’ in nature as the project merges with the park to the south.  The bending of streets and shaping of urban blocks will maximise views to the park and provide an interesting pedestrian experience as one traverses the site.

The building form also transitions from more formal perimeter block development at the north to a more informal, more permeable and a more shaped layout towards the south.  A diagonal route cuts through the simple urban grid to provide a direct north south link between the park and the River Liffey. This central pedestrian ‘Boulevard’ becomes the community hub and active route along which landmark buildings and the focus of urban activity can be placed.

Priority was given to energy efficiency measures by first starting with passive design principles of solar access, design for daylight and natural ventilation.  These issues primarily affect the orientation of buildings, adjacencies, depth of building floor plates and glazing ratios.

Through preliminary massing studies and testing, a series of incremental steps has been applied to the perimeter block form to cut way and re-allocate development area with a robust environmental sensitivity.

As a result, the 3-dimensional form of development has been shaped to harness the natural environment and maximise the amount of daylight reaching outdoor spaces.

The quality and diversity of the public space provision, sheltered from noise, pollution, winter winds and receiving year round solar access, will ensure the future community can interact and take advantage of  its diverse future population to form strong ties among one another.

The plan provides an engaging and healthy environment for an urban lifestyle via the following:

_Promoting walking and cycling to local destinations

_Linking to active recreation nearby

_Creating indoor and outdoor play space and sports facilities

_Providing local Community Facilities

_Utilising the school as the heart of the future mixed-use community

_Providing communal spaces for residents

_Creating opportunities for on-site food cultivation

_Ensuring a permeable and inviting physical environment