Ireland
Project history
This public space was the subject of a design
competition in 1997, following a brief from the City
Planner and the City Architect. The brief from Dublin
Corporation, now known as Dublin City Council,^2
was to create confidence in the area by develop-
ing Dublin’s premier civic space for the twenty-
first century. It has a strong, distinctive shape, a
thinly rectangular configuration which is framed by
the surrounding developments. The local residents
were given the opportunity to be involved in the
competition assessment, but declined.There was then a dormant period during which the
client accessed EU funding from the Structural Fund
to finance the scheme and to pay for a large storm-
water sewer which was needed prior to implementa-
tion of the design. To the northern and north-eastern
sides of the site are found vestiges of the residential
area which pre-dated the development of this space.
To the east is a new hotel, but to the west, at the
time the competition was launched, there was only
a derelict area. The multi-storey residential develop-
ment now taking place in this area includes a com-
munal square linked spatially to Smithfield.The site, which covers an area of 14,405m^2 , was
designed by McGarry Ni Eanaigh Architects, fol-
lowing their success in the international design
competition. Ove Arup and Partners, BG Technologyplc, Lighting Design Partnership and Dublin City
Council were all participants in the project. The site
was constructed by SIAC Ltd.The project, completed in 2000 at a cost of
€4,400,000, was awarded the CCCB (Centre de
Culture Contemporania de Barcelona) European
prize for public open space and an RIAI Irish
Architecture Award in 2000 and the AAI award- The regeneration has stimulated the com-
mercial, residential and leisure development of the
Smithfield area. The new development will include
a relatively small central public space linked to
Smithfield which, in accordance with the develop-
er’s brief, will be designed not to integrate with
Smithfield, but to provide a contrast to it.
The southern side of the competition site is still
awaiting development. It is presently an informal
car park with surrounding commercial buildings and
street access to the river in the south. McGarry Ni
Eanaigh’s design was not implemented in this area,
because the site was bisected by a new sustainable
transport link, the Luas line. In this southern area,
there is a formal group of existing mature trees
adjacent to the service building for the braziers.
When the design for this area is implemented,
there will be modifications to the existing scheme,
as a response to local needs and the amenity value
now highlighted in community participation.2.2
Flaming braziers at Smithfield