The South Wall

Bart O’Doherty 40069131 Individual Design Project, August 2012 M.Sc. Urban and Rural Design School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering Queen’s University, Belfast, United Kingdom

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Poolbeg Peninsula, Dublin City

Dublin: a city that sprawled Poolbeg Peninsula, Dublin City

Regional context of Ireland’s capital and most populous city

Introduction Increased growth and expansion rates of the Greater Dublin Area (GDA) exhibit a trend in urban development that strains resources, services, materials and transport methods, and counteracts the spatial intentions of the National Development Plan (2000) and the National Spatial Strategy (2002). Dublin’s existing condition of urban sprawl is recognised by the European Environment Agency (2006) as one of Europe’s least sustainable methods of urban development. Until the economic downturn beginning in 2008, peripheral growth dramatically exceeded that of Dublin’s city centre, encouraging private dwellings, industry and large business to move to the relatively rural margins of the GDA. As a result, much of Dublin’s recent urban expansion is seen to have targeted Ireland’s agricultural lands – a spatially limited and commercially important resource – and has also caused the city to lose connection with Dublin Bay and the River Liffey – the origins of the original Dubh Linn settlement.

M50 Motorway Arterial routes Rail network Tram network Port Tunnel Regional hub

This Individual Design Project aims to examine how Dublin City centre presents an opportunity for consolidating much urban development within the existing Metropolitan Footprint. In doing so, it will also examine how to re-establish the connection between Dublin City and the Irish Sea along existing urban axes, with an aim to improve the city’s public realm and amenity space network.

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Above: It is observed how arterial routes and Primary rail routes hug the suburban coastline issues of fragmentation across the entire regio

DCC Jurisdiction County boundary Council boundary SDRA

Regional scale A regional analysis of the GDA illustrates its growth patterns, landscape constraints and its movement systems (right: 1-4). With recent focus on peripheral and suburban development, it is the aim of this project to examine the development potential of the Poolbeg area in the city centre (above): it poses iteself as a large and under-used area of coastal land, with potential to reconnect the development of the city with the mouth of the River Liffey and Dublin Bay.

FINGA

Significance of place The man-made peninsula at Poolbeg is home to the most iconic structures across the capital city’s skyline: The two Poolbeg generation towers. Now un-used for electricity generation, they remain a unique beacon of character, history and orientation for those across the Dublin region.

SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

The height and placement of the Poolbeg Towers is significant across the regional skyline and bay: they mark an entry point to the city, as well as demarkate the peninsula as the juncture between city and sea.

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Their vertical height of 207 metres is compared to some of Ireland’s most recognised structures below illustrating the significance of their height across the regional skyline of Dublin City.

Above: Dublin county is divided into four legis the most central (and most populous - 2006 C Development and Regeneration Areas (below

The Poolbeg towers, often refered to as “The Pigeon House”, are seen from across Dublin Bay and region.

Strategic Deveopment and Regeneration Areas (SDRAs) explained: Chapter 16.3 [Guiding Principles] of DCC’s Development Plan (2011 - 2017) outlines an SDRA as a site

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that can deliver significant quantums of mixed uses to create synergies to rege

Samson The Elysian

Nelson’s Pillar Dublin City 36.9m 1808 - 1809 destroyed: 1966

Liberty Hall Titanic Belfast Belfast City 38m

Dublin City 59.4m 1961 - 1965

2008 - 2012

An analysis of structure height across Ireland

Wellington Monument Dublin City 63m 1817 - 1861 Europe’s largest obelisk

Cork City 81m 2008

Obel Tower Belfast City 85m 2006 - 2011

Belfast Cit 106m 1969 - 1974

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Bart O’Doherty 40069131 Individual Design Project, August 2012 M.Sc. Urban and Rural Design School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering Queen’s University, Belfast, United Kingdom

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10km

DUB

TOPOGRAPHY

+50m +100m +150m +200m +250m +300m +350m +400m +450m

TRANSPORT

PORT

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LEGISLATIVE AREAS

DUN LAOGHAIRE-RATHDOWN COUNTY COUNCIL

slative areas (Local Government Act 2001), of which Census) is Dublin City Council (DCC). Fourteen Strategic w) are located across the DCC, of which Poolbeg is one.

n and Goliath

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Blanchardstown

Lucan Celbridge

Tallaght

Sandyford

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Above: As recognised through much internatinal, regional and academic research, Dublin’s suburban expansion has created a relatively un-planned pattern of sprawl, creating a decline in the city centre’s development and investment, straining limited resources and losing its association with the waterside.

Poolbeg Station Dublin City 207.8m

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enerate their respective areas.

Swords

City Council Urban advance Sprawl pattern Loss of coastal connection

AL COUNTY COUNCIL

DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL

Above: Regional topography of Dublin county illustrates a dramatic mountainous region to the south of the city, creating a natural block to intensified development in the area. Dublin’s inner city and coast line are low-lying and relatively flat.

URBAN SPRAWL

the M50 motorway encourage inland vehicular movement. e but push inland towards Dublin’s city centre: there are onal public transport network.

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1971 - 1976 currently inactive generating towers

Spire of Dublin Dublin City 121.2m

Arklow Bank wind farm County Wicklow 128m 2002 - 2004

2002 - 2003

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Within the canals: the city centre Poolbeg Peninsula, Dublin City

An analysis of the urban core of Dublin City - an argument fo

Dublin City centre Green space City block form

With an urban population of just over 1.1 million people, and a metropolitan area population approaching 2 million [Census 2011], Dublin City is Ireland’s largest urban centre, with a rich history of development and heritage.

Phoenix Park

Since the first Viking settlers established the River Liffey as their access point between Ireland and the Irish Sea in the 9th Century, Dublin remained a successful coastal settlement with strong associations to both the river and the Irish Sea through the many centuries that have seen it evolve into the city that it is today.

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Issues recognised With strong focus in recent times on developing Dublin as an economic gateway, the area of the city inside the Royal Canal (north) and the Grand Canal (south) has been developed into a mixed-use urban core, with universities, retail and commercial districts, financial service centres, transport hubs and parks being developed around a historic Georgian road network. In turn, much of the city’s population is pushed outwards into suburbs beyond the urban core.

Although in abundance, parklands fragmented and difficult to navigat parkland that can be orientated ea

City conservation are Architectural conserv

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The private vehicle became popularised far quicker than any major public transport system in Dublin, meaning that a web of roadways (fig. 4) is given priority through many areas of the city centre.

[...] the Regional Planning Guidelines for the Greater Dublin Area (2004 2016) further emphasise the need to consolidate the Dublin Metropolitan Area.

DCC Development Plann 2011 - 2017, written statement pg. 37, part 4.4.3.1 [Urban Density]

Considering the recent urban disconnect between Dublin City and both the River Liffey and the east coast, and how priority is given to passing through the city on roads rather than spending time in the city, this design project was inspired by how these features of Dublin City could be overcome.

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With such an abundant architectura above how much of this conservatio than the coast. One stretch, howev

SPAs SACs pNHAs

An increased ubran population density, together with an public realm framework plan that prioritises usable public space in the city, became evident necessities in approaching how Dublin can reestablish itself as a coastal city once again.

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Population Density Defined by the European Commission as the number of inhabitants per square kilometre (Eurostat), a city’s population density is used here as a method of comparison between Dublin and a number of other European cities (right).

National and European legislation d protection status due to the biodive Areas (SPAs), Special Areas of Cons (pNHAs) create a patchwork of env

HISTORICAL FORMATION OF BAY: 1500 - 2012 A spatial analysis of the gradual reclamation of Dublin Bay over time: the majority of today’s industrialised coast is the result of engineering works to keep the River Liffey mouth from silting heavily.

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Medieval Dublin

1708 - 1785

LISBON

6,458

BRUSSELS

7,025

NAPLES

8,200

BILBAO

8,688

BARCELONA

15,991

PARIS

Consolidated development within Dublin City and its coastal areas is recognised by DCC as a necessity in its ambitions towards sustainable development and growth. The National Spatial Strategy (2002 - 2020) and the most recent City Development Plan (2011 2017) declare the unfeasable nature of low-density growth in Dublin, and aspire towards a higher-density pattern of development in Dublin City.

20,909

It is observed that Dublin City’s population density of 4,588 persons (2006 census) is significantly less than many other cities of a similar area, population or status. Outward sprawl of townlands, facilities and zoned land across Ireland’s capital has contributed to this relatively low density.

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Bart O’Doherty 40069131 Individual Design Project, August 2012 M.Sc. Urban and Rural Design School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering Queen’s University, Belfast, United Kingdom

or a more cohesive public realm

Bus corridor Dublin rail Regional rail Dublin Tram

GREEN SPACE

PUBLIC SYSTEM

Bull Island

Irishtown Nature Park

and public realm throughout the city centre remain both te between. A cohesive network of amenty space and asily is the model of public realm for Dublin to aim towards.

Primary Secondary Tertiary Lanes + paths

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A web of road networks creates arterial and orbital routes across Dublin.

ROAD SYSTEM

CONSER VATION

ea vation

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Public transport routes remain fragmented in areas of the inner city.

al heritage throughout the core of Dublin City, it is observed on strategy is applied towards the west of the city far more ver, is of notable merit: The Great South Wall into the bay.

ENVIRO NMENT

BIKE SCHEME

Existing scheme 5-year expansion

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1786 - 1866

1867 - 1897

By 2016 it is planned to have extended the successes of the Bike Scheme to a far wider urban catchment.

1930 - 1946

BELFAST

2,447

LIVERPOOL

3,889

VIENNA

DUBLIN

4,002

Image: a wide perspective towards the city from the end of the South Wall

4,588

STOCKHOLM

4,600

NICE

4,795

LONDON

5,206

MADRID

5,390

6,300

COPENHAGEN

dictate that much of Dublin Bay must be under particular ersity and environmental values present. Special Protection servation (SACs) and proposed Natural Heritage Areas vironmental assets around the Poolbeg Peninsula.

1986 - 2012

Coastal detachment

An opportunity is presented at Poolbeg

Poolbeg Peninsula, Dublin City

Poolbeg Peninsula and the South Wall Although Dublin has developed along the Liffey and around Dublin Bay, it has lost connection to both the coast and the river. The city is not perceived as a maritime place, nor is there much to indicate the significance of the River Liffey axis through the centre. The city has managed to turn its back on much of the waterside from which it once developed.

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The point where Dublin City meets the sea is Poolbeg - an area that is both industrialised and forgotten, beautiful and ugly, occupied and vacant. A range of land uses, activities, landscapes and life occupy the peninsula, though few are known about by the wider population. The city centre pedestrian and cycle routes that exist along parts of the Liffey are terminated before they reach the peninsula; signposts, paths and roads don’t direct people towards it.

A diverse mix of land across the peninsula, governmental agenc many other private in sites of biodiversity va geese grasslands, left

Of particular note is t Electricity Supply Boa chimney stacks of the (see height comparis chimneys now decom further how these can the peninsula’s regen Site.

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Population change 2006 - 2011 County Dublin’s recent population movement patterns indicate a notable shift from city centre living to peripheral and suburban living.

If you look at other capital cities and how they engage with the sea [...] our coast line isn’t adopted by the city.

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Yet beyond the peninsula is the Great South Wall of Dublin, leading to a point over 3 kilometres from shore. Along it is a trail of Dublin’s heritage: maritime, military, industrial and environmental. These elements and places warrant greater appreciation.

Joe Horan, South Dublin County Manager Creative Dublin Alliance, 2011

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Decrease +0 - 5% +5 - 10% +10 - 15% >15%

A range of protected structures are indicated in the most recent County Development Plan (2011 - 2017) (far right). Amongst them is the Pigeon House complex of buildings, including the old power generation station, the remains of an old military fort, and the Pigeon House Hotel.

source: Census 2011, CSO

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Crucial commu and San of facilit nodes m is an im to the a though accesse

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EAST LINK

There that w on Du treme

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YORK

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Bart O’Doherty 40069131 Individual Design Project, August 2012 M.Sc. Urban and Rural Design School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering Queen’s University, Belfast, United Kingdom

Dublin City Council Dublin Port Company ESB Fabrizia NAMA

LAND OWNERSHIP

ownerships are spread , including public ownership, cy NAMA, Dublin Port and ndustries, as well as numerous alue (like that of the brent t).

Irishtown Nature Park Bird sanctuary

the ownership of land by the ard (ESB) where the notable e Dublin skyline are located son, page 1). With the mmissioned, it will be examined n now play a differnet role in neration at the Pigeon House

Irish Glass Bottle [IGB] site Clanna Gael GAA Club

Poolbeg Station Towers Pigeon House Half Moon Swimming Club House

BUILT HERITAGE

Protected Structure Conservation Area Road structure

VENUE

RINGSEND

RINGSEND

PARK

SHELBOURNE

PARK

PLACE +

to the area are the surrounding unities of Irishtown, Ringsend ndymount (right). The provision ties, amenities and commercial must consider their needs. There mpressive array of local attractions area in sports and leisure areas, they are generally poorly ed and signposted.

COMMUNITY

Community area Public parkland Entertainment + sports

THE POINT

IRISHTOWN

STADIUM

STADIUM

IRISHTOWN

SEAN MOORE

e’s the growing realisation we’ve turned our back ublin Bay, which is a endous asset, for too long.

LANSDOWNE

ROAD

PARK

STADIUM

SANDYMOUNT

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Irish Times, Ju

ly 24th 2012

John O’Hara, Dublin City Council Planning Department SPGN Forum, March 2012

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An analysis of road hierarchy in the area indicates that heavy traffic routes pass directly around some areas of the poolbeg site (notably along Sean Moore Road and York Road, left). Considering the industrial nature of Poolbeg’s north fringe, these routes must remain as accessible as they are now. They contrast heavily with the local access roads that surround Ringsend Park, most of which have no through access.

The Figure Ground Plan of the peninsula is seen to vary quite dramatically across the area, depending on land use and access - with industrial zones being recognisable due to their bulk. This coarse grain constrasts with the finer-grain residential surrounds of the region.

Image: grasslands that have naturalised along parts of the Poolbeg coast and South Wall.

Right: Existing proposals for industrial waste-management facilities at Poolbeg are on-going, with debate arising over the viability of the proposed Waste-toEnergy incinerator project. This issue is developed further on page 11, where existing designs are examined in greater detail.

es, July

Irish Tim

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26th 20

Developing a conceptual urban fr Poolbeg Peninsula, Dublin City

Density is the key to sustainability

A renewed urban axis through Dublin City centre Image: Dublin’s georgian facades along the quays reflects on the River Liffey through the city centre.

Dublin must turn to the city centre, and to the River Liffey once more, in an effort to retain a higherdensity urban core. Together with an improved public realm framework plan across the River Liffey axis, Dublin must begin to focus on retaining its celebrated Georgian heritage whilst also creating a greater density in those sites within the canals that pose higher-density development potential.

Urban consolidation that focuses the city’s perspective back to the river side aims to create a Greater Dublin axis that runs through the city centre, creating a cohesive link between spaces, places and attractions through Dublin.

COMPACTED URBAN CONSOLIDATION

Parts of Dublin’s south quays offer quality pedestrian and cycle corridors; extending this existing network from Phoenix Park to the coast is one primary feature of the greater urban design proposal.

P

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Developing a layered framework The majority of Dublin’s attractions, spaces and places of interest are found within a very short walk of the River Liffey. With connections along both the north and south quays, this east-west axis graduates through the city centre, offering easy navigation to attractions directly off it, while maintaining constant orientation between Phoenix Park and the coast.

At this point, Poolbeg Peninsula begins to appear as a significant extension of Dublin’s urban fabric out into the bay. This concept of urban connection to the coast is illustrated (right) through the mapping of an urban axis, exploded into different layers: City Heritage, Space + Amenity, and Place + Facility.

Phoenix Park

Collins Barracks

Custom House

Guinness Storehouse Kilmainham St. Patrick’s Gaol Cathedral

Irish War Memorial Gardens

Dublin Castle

Famine memorial

Poolbe

Trinity College Pidgeon House chimneys

St. Stephen’s Green + Georgian Dublin

Irish Glass Bottle site

CITY HERITAGE

Phoenix Park

Spencer Dock

Smithfield

The Point Village

Irish War Memorial Gardens Merrion Square

Newmarket Square

Ringsend Park Sean Moore Park

St. Stephen’s Green

SPACE + AMENITY

South Wall Promenade

Grand Canal Dock

Poolbeg Beach Pa Irishtown Nature Park

Where the city reconnects with the Irish Sea.

Connolly Station Smithfield Heuston Station

Guinness Storehouse

O’Connell Street

Temple Bar Grafton Street

PLACE + FACILITY

Custom House Quay

The Point Village

Tara Station Irishtown Stadium

GCD Rail Station

Lansdowne Road

Pidgeon House Centre

Irishtown Nature Park Education Centre

GREATER URBAN FRAMEWORK PLAN

Dublin City is conceptually reconsidered alo that runs east and west, with the quays of th dominant thoroughfare through the city. This orientation and connection between amen zones, places of local heritage and facilities

scale 1:50000 @ A2

The Phoenix Park terminates the axis at the w runs directly through the heart of Dublin, tow into Dublin Bay along Poolbeg’s South Wall.

ramework

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Bart O’Doherty 40069131 Individual Design Project, August 2012 M.Sc. Urban and Rural Design School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering Queen’s University, Belfast, United Kingdom

Limiting peripheral development With cheaper land available towards the suburban fringes of Dublin, the city must begin to attract inner-city investment through high quality infrastructure and public realm projects along the River Liffey, so as to ensure a long-term sustained successful growth.

An integrated system of commerce, residential, mixed-use and industrial zoning along the quays can begin to attract waterfront investment, as seen in precedent projects in London, Manchester, Barcelona and Bilbao. In these cities, the initial investment was large but economic growth, social benefit and environmental sustainance was achieved across the greater region in the long term. Dublin must begin planning long-term goals at a regional level to achieve city-wide prosperity.

PRIORITISED URBAN GROWTH

LIMITED PERIPHERAL DEVELOPMENT

eg lighthouse

South Wall Promenade

ong a revived urban axis he River Liffey forming a s axis brings structure, nity spaces, active retail throughout the city centre.

west end of the city, which wards the coast line and

Central to its success as a place to visit, to work in and to live in, Dublin City’s vibrant cultural amenities are navigated along the axis.

HERITAGE

A system of active public spaces that progresses through the city, easing navigation and orientation along the river waterfront thoroughfare.

The connection of Dublin’s activity, retail and commerce districts towards a core axis along the River Liffey.

SPACE + AMENITY

PLACE + FACILITY

GREATER URBAN FRAMEWORK

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City to the coast: an urban corrido Poolbeg Peninsula, Dublin City

Re-establishing Dublin as a capital by the sea

Quayside The continuation of Dublin’s Liffey walk and cycle ways towards the coast aims to conceptually connect the entire city centre along one axis from the Phoenix Park to Dublin’s cast:

PHOENIX PARK

DUBLIN CITY

Dublin Bay COASTAL RECONNECTION

Coastal themed routes Due to the mixed heritage of Dublin Bay, the concept of different routes around the peninsula began to appear as a viable option to develop.

They would become interlinked elements along the varied and dynamic coastal landscape:

The chimney stacks at Pool point over Dublin City, offe seascape Region

The South Quays

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As it exists today, Dublin’s quayside walkways and cycle paths are detached from the Poolbeg Peninsula at a point where the Grand Canal meets the River Liffey. This terminates the south quays axis, yet also offers an opportunity to extend it towards Dublin Bay.

It is recognised that there is a need to provide greater access to the bay, both for the people of Dublin and for visitors to the city, and to encourage them to take advantage of this superb natural amenity, while respecting the unique environment.

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VISION STATEMENT

PRECEDENT STUDIES (Right) Analysis of size, form and context of international waterside regeneration schemes.

DCC S2S proposal outline digital download available at www.dublincity.ie

Dublin City is re-established along an axis th corridor is a celebration of the city’s heritage a and public infrastructure projects linked off if offers a dynamic mix of environmental assets its existing functions as a region utility hub fo purpose to the city, offering a legible, structur

TITANIC QUARTE Belfast, UK

This examination of other projects’ spatial contexts, successes and accessability is summarised graphically using the following data: Regeneration area Primary road network Primary rail network Parkland 0

2km

proposed site of study

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POOLBEG PENINSULA Dublin City, Ireland

WATERFRONT PARK Kentucky, USA

or

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Bart O’Doherty 40069131 Individual Design Project, August 2012 M.Sc. Urban and Rural Design School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering Queen’s University, Belfast, United Kingdom

Back to the city

lbeg’s Pigeon House complex are conceptually re-imagined as a new vantage ering a perspective that visually and spatially relates Dublin’s cityscape and the e. A dynamic vista that extends for tens of kilometres around the Greater Dublin and up into the Dublin Mountains, this new platform would become part of the new exhibition pavilions at the Pigeon House Plaza and complex.

Together with the Guinness GravityBar to the west of the city, the Pigeon House Platform mirrors an entirely unorecedented view over a dynamic and changing urban landscape.

Dubllin’s South Wall has endured a long history of maritime, military and industrial uses, and remains one of the finest feats in coastal engineering in Ireland. Today it is a pedestrian pathway of locally-sourced granite stone that terminates at the red South Bull Lighthouse.

Small-scale Improvements like cycle-friendly routes that connect back to the peninsula and city, and information panels on the history and environment begin to illustrate the concept (above).

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Out to the sea

The diversity of natural resources - rivers, the bay, parks and the mountains - are assets that are perceived the be under-utilised and promoted. There is a sense that the city is disengaged from her natural amenities.

Creative Dublin Alliance pg. 19, “Who Do We Want To Be?”, 2011

hat follows the River Liffey through its urban centre and out into Dublin Bay. This urban and successes, with a cohesive framework of public realm projects, strategic retail zones f it. This axis progresses out towards Dublin Bay, where a regenerated Poolbeg Peninsula s, cultural attractions, public walkways and improved cycle corridors, whilst retaining or the County. This greater framework gives the River Liffey and Dublin Bay a renewed red, vitalic and wholely unique perspective on Ireland’s capital and gateway city.

Image: The tide rises over a small beach area along Poolbeg Peninsula’s south shore. The Dublin Mountains rise up over the horizon.

ER

AALBORG WATERFRONT North Jutland, Denmark

ISLE OF DOGS London, UK

LA BARCELONETA Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

Poolbeg Peninsula: Master Site Plan (i) Poolbeg Peninsula, Dublin City

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Bart O’Doherty 40069131 Individual Design Project, August 2012 M.Sc. Urban and Rural Design School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering Queen’s University, Belfast, United Kingdom

An overview of strategic interventions across the peninsula and the South Wall

Master Site Plan SKETCHING: SCHEME DEVELOPMENT

As an overview of intended interventions across Poolbeg, the Master Site Plan aims to illustrate a design method that will inform future developments and guide growth across the peninsula. It is both an overview of general ideas, and a tool to inform further detailing in its urban design.

SITE PROXIMITIES

Sketched plans were a vital progressive tool in developing a managable scheme for the peninsula. They offer crucial insight into the processes of design across a range of scales and contexts.

A dynamic and contrasting mix of land uses are present on the peninsula, each offering an unique but important element to the peninsula and the wider Dublin region.

A series of illustrations (right) shows the process of design that eventually informed the final Master Site Plan (below). To the immediate right is a study of connections and relationships across the site, leading to the concept of themed routes, and a particular interest in the Pigeon House site.

It is ia long-term vision for Dublin’s coast: one that will require a phased approach.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT NETWORK EXTENSION

PUBLIC CYCLE + PEDESTRIAN NETWORK

Two new connections across the River Liffey and the Grand Canal aim to encourage movement into and around the Poolbeg site.

An improved bus corridor system provides for ease of vehicle access into and along the primary thoroughfares of the Poolbeg Peninsula.

Designed across the entire peninsula is a system of cycle routes, pedestrian pathways and amenity areas that link with the greater urban axis of Dublin City. This provides the city with a continued public realm framework that feeds into the Poolbeg region along three different routes:

Additionally, a long-term and phased introduction of a tram extension from the Point Depot to Poolbeg would connect existing Luas (red line) systems with the city centre and further west into Dublin City. This Luas Poolbeg Extension project would become phased into the entire peninsula development.

The South Wall Heritage trail The Poolbeg Landscape Network The Dublin Bay Way

Poolbeg Extension

An extension to the existing East Link Bridge allows the existing Luas tram network (red) to work its way along Pigeon House Road and into the peninsula.

Studies in linking a residential corridor along Sean Moore Road with the peninsula through a mixed-use core development at the IGB Site (left).

Amongst these industrial, commercial, social and environmental assets are a number of sites that were studied in greater detail further on.

NEW PUBLIC CONNECTIONS

A new pedestrian bridge (blue) will finish the urban corridor that will exist along the River Liffey, connecting city centre with the coast through a framework of public realm intervention.

GRIDDED

UTILITY SPACE Existing port facilities must be maintained to ensure the continued success of Dublin’s industrial trade.

Recognised as one of Ireland’s most significant economic, trade and tourism gateways, the functions of Dublin Port are intrinsic elements of the peninsula and region as a whole.

INTENSIFIED INDUSTRY SPACE Due to the dynamic composition of land uses, Poolbeg must provide for industrial and utility expansion in both a feasable and sustainable pattern.

The consideration of surrounding systems is crucial in ensuring maximum benefit for those industries that occupy this new industrial complex. Feasable connections and transport options ensure that a sustainable development of industry, amenity, utility and landscape is achieved across the peninsula.

WASTE-TO-ENERGY Dublin’s commitments to waste reduction and cleaner energy generation means that the Greater Dublin Region needs to begin changing how it processes waste.

Of the four options recognised for a new thermal incinerator (Walkinstown, Poolbeg, Clondalkin and Loughlinstown), Poolbeg offers advantages due to its proximity to water, to the national grid, to waste water treatment and to transport connections.

74%

59% 26%

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Master Plan scale 1:5000 @ A2

300m

PIGEON HOUSE STATION

2012

landfill

25%

16%

recycled / recovered thermal treatment

Dublin’s rich industrial heritage at Poolbeg becomes a new cultural attraction along the greater urban corridor through Dublin City.

This transformation of the derelict Pigeon House Station into a series of exhibition pavilions and interactive displays, describing the region’s heritage and the history of electricity generation, brings together local interest groups with state-of-the-art interactive technologies and educational resources for visitors to the area.

2025

Land use zoning The dynamic and mixed-use nature of Poolbeg creates a pattern of many land uses that are within immediate proximity to one another, offering a number of social, industrial and environmental benefits for the region as a whole. The balance of many of the peninsula’s different priorities and uses is crucial to developing a functional and usable place for all of those who will be using it.

Load-On, Load-Off Port (LOLO)

Below is a general description of the primary land uses across the site.

Public performance space

Pigeon House Plaza

URBAN PUBLIC REALM Improved access and surface condition at particular nodes and areas of special interest.

PRIVATE REALM AND LIVING SPACE The provision of private outdoor space for those areas that are zoned for residential and commercial uses.

PRIVATE UTILITY SPACE Existing industrial land zoning, as outlined in City Council, Dublin Port and DDDA Master Plan schemes.

PUBLIC PARKLANDS AND GREENS Public green corridors and parklands that aim to create a cohesive green network across the peninsula.

BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION AREA Existing and newly-prioritised areas for habitat preservation and augmentation along the coastal landscape.

Site within the Dublin Region A reference back to the peninsula’s regional context examines the wider connections to the urban landscape: how the Master Site Plan forms part of a wider system across Dublin Bay and City.

Lansdowne Road Stadium

RINGSEND PARK AND STADIUM

IRISH GLASS BOTTLE SITE

Existing sports and leisure facilities at Ringsend and Irishtown are popular within surrounding communities. Access to them, however, is limited and often hidden, meaning that those who pass through the area remain unaware of them.

Purchased by Becbay Ltd. - a consortium of property developers and Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA) in 2006 for €431 million, and valued in 2012 at just under €45 million (C&AG), the current IGB site is owned by NAMA - a governmental response to the financial crisis and associated property collapse.

An improved pedestrian and cycle network begins to connect those existing facilities with a new public realm system along the coast towards the Pigeon House and South Wall. With connections to new Luas stops, it aims to encourage local public transport usage, and connect to parklands that form the beginning of the region’s Poolbeg Landscape Network pedestrian and cycle system.

500m DDDA Bernard McNamara Derek Quinlan

26%

41%

Becbay Ltd

value of IGB land

33% €0 2006

2012

This large and flat site becomes a mixed-used commercial + residential core, creating a vital link between Irishtown and the peninsula through a mixed-use village centre.

MIXED-USE CORE A contemporary urban development of mixed-use office space, retail space and living space remains in keeping with the DCC Development Plan 2011-2017: “to seek social, economic and physical development and/or rejuvenation of an area with mixed use, of which Z6 [employment & enterprise] would be the predominent use”.

POOLBEG ECOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION CENTRE Along with Dublin Bay’s North Bull Island Interpretive Centre (DCC) and Booterstown Marsh Bird Sanctuary (An Taisce), This new Ecological Centre will offer educational, research and interpretive resources for discovering more about the varied habitats of the peninsula and the wider bay region.

The restricted grasslands for brent geese and the Nature Park (right) become associated resources for the centre.

IRISHTOWN NATURE PARK

BIRD SANCTUARY

Offering a diverse range of walking and cycle trails, Irishtown Nature Park is Poolbeg Peninsula’s greatest environmental and ecological asset, and is also the area’s most popular landscape attraction.

Through the Winter, light-bellied Brent geese arrive to Dublin Bay from Arctic Canada (via Iceland) so as to survive the relatively warmer Winter months here.

As part of a new greater Dublin Bay coastal biodiversity framework, the Nature Park plays a crucial role in maintaining Dublin’s wide variety of coastal habitats for many birds, hedgerow animals, insects and plantlife. As such, it is a key point along the Poolbeg Landscape Network.

This 2-hectare reserve, maintained and managed by DCC, remains a popular feeding habitat for the geese. Public access is not possible, though a new system of pathways allows for greater observation without disturbance.

Poolbeg Peninsula: Master Site Plan (ii) Poolbeg Peninsula, Dublin City

Bart O’Doherty 40069131 Individual Design Project, August 2012 M.Sc. Urban and Rural Design School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering Queen’s University, Belfast, United Kingdom

An overview of strategic interventions across the peninsula and the South Wall

07

PHASED, LONG-TERM & SUSTAINABLE The entire Plan is composed of a number of smaller projects that each present different functions and values to the region. Due to the mixed nature of the site’s uses, a phased plan is necessary to achieve those aims that are set out in the Plan below.

Transport corridors, amenity spaces, coastal landscapes and public facilities are introduced in a planned progressive time scale.

PIGEON HOUSE PLATFORM: 200m.

Re-establishing Dublin City’s connection with the bay and the Irish Sea, whilst also maintaining a strong urban core, is a continuing theme of this design proposal.

A 200-metre-high viewing platform is developed into the decommisioned yet standing Poolbeg chimney stacks, creating a visual link between the city and the sea at an iconic point on Dublin’s skyline.

At one end of the city stands the Guinness Storehouse SkyBar, at the other the Pigeon House Platform.

VIABLE NETWORKING

TRANSPORT CORRIDORS

Examining methods of linking the new Luas Corridor and new pedestrian/cycle routes with the peninsula, without impeding the existing industrial and utility road networks on site (right).

Numerous routes across and through the site aim to link existing amenity facilities in Irishtown and Sandymount with the proposed interventions at Poolbeg.

These studies aim to provide a cohesive network of corridors that exploit the natural beauty of the peninsula’s setting, whilst also offering the most practical utility routes to and from sites of industry and commerce.

BIODIVERSITY Encouraging the protection and sustainance of birdlife across the peninsula, this area of land is to become a bird- and plant-life sanctuary, within which the ESB silo will remain.

COASTAL LANDSCAPE MANAGEMENT

BEACH ACCESS

Dublin’s diverse coastline is a rare feature for any capital city to have. Its maintainance and safeguarding is necessary to ensure its continued success as an active and protected biodiversity system.

The peninsula’s beach areas were formed by the longterm dredging of the Liffey mouth (early 18th century) as an attempt to maintain a clear transport channel into the city quays. Natural tidal and river flows, along with land engineering and reclamation works, have resulted in sandy beaches across areas of the city’s coast.

As part of a greater network of coastal management, a public access way through and along the Poolbeg Landscape Network is developed, ensuring the safety of the coastal landscape and those environmental systems that continue to thrive along it.

Plant habitats are encouraged to grow through ground treatment and protection orders.

Access to existing beach areas is improved through surface renewal; signposts and wayfinding systems give visitors local information on orientation, water conditions and local flora.

THE SOUTH WALL

GREATER URBAN CYCLE NETWORK

Finished in the early 18th Century, the Dublin City Assembly built the original South Wall (then “The Piles”) of oak timbers, and was strengthened with granite stone by the late 18th Century. It has continued development over a phased period since then, resulting with both intentional and unplanned results.

A proposed expansion of Dublin City Council’s existing bicycle rental scheme sees the network of bikes rise from 55 to 300 stations across the city up to 2016 (DCC, 2011).

Dublin’s South Wall is now a public walkway, with many small fishing and observation areas along it, as well as a swimming club. Surfacing is improved here for bicycle and pedestrian use (main image, pg. 5), with improved information panels about the bay, its history and its continuing development.

END OF THE LINE Terminating the Liffey axis of Dublin, the South Bull lighthouse marks a point over 10 kilometres from the Phoenix Park, linking a series of public realm projects along its urban course. It aims to link the core of Dublin City with its coastline once more.

With an improved and prioritised cycle and pedestrian network across the Poolbeg Peninsula, DublinBikes poses itself as an ideal medium to improve public realm connections between the city and the coast.

The peninsula’s coastal walkway and cycle network the Dublin Bay Way - links the amenity space and science park at the Pigeon House (see previous page, left) with the end of the South Bull wall along a spacious and expansive route, offering an environment that contrasts with both the Landscape Network and the Heritage Trail. This gives visitors an engaging and entirely diverse experience at Poolbeg.

New bicycle stations, as well as simple surface upgrades and signposting, bring one of the world’s most successful urban bike schemes to the Dublin coastline. @Poolbeg

“

“

An engaging and diverse experience

Bird reserve

AMENITY + BIODIVERSITY

UTILITY + INDUSTRY

AMENITY + HERITAGE

Irishtown Nature Park + Poolbeg Landscape Network

waste water treatment facility

Pigeon House Station and viewing platform

Dublin Harbour

Dublin Mountains +7m.

+4m.

+4m.

high tide mark

THEMED ROUTES

SECTION THROUGH SITE

DUBLIN CITY CENTRE

PIGEON HOUSE CENTRE

Poolbeg is a unique transition of urban thresholds, providing a place for Dublin City’s many industrial and sea port functions, with an immediate edge next to recreation, public amenity, biodiversity and coastal landscape areas.

SEAN MOORE PARK

IRISHTOWN NATURE PARK

THE SOUTH WALL

“

“

An examination of the site from an alternative perspective indicates the relative proximities of the peninsula’s many functions (above, right).

A unique transition of urban thresholds

BORROWED LANDSCAPE

Three routes are integrated throughout the peninsula, each focusing on a particular theme or element of the region.

To the south of Poolbeg, the Dublin Mountains provide a beautiful and dramatic backdrop to the peninsula’s views south along the coast. To its north, Dublin Harbour is a constant channel of activity and recreation with boats and ferries passing every few minutes.

The South Wall Heritage Trail

The peninsula begins to exploit these advantagous perspectives to the wider landscape by strategically orientating spaces, vistas and facades to benefit this borrowed regional landscape.

The Poolbeg Landscape Network The Dublin Bay Way

The Pigeon House Poolbeg Peninsula, Dublin City

A new science park; a new education centre; a new perspect

The original electricity plant Phased construction of the Pigeon House electricity generation plant began as early as the turn of the twentieth century. The site is now unused, though owned by DCC and ESB. The many structures that adjoin the original structure are in a deteriorated state, though remain architecturally protected.

Image: Dublin City Council Heritage Office

Developing a Pigeon House site plan A large expanse of hard landscaping is proposed over the existing waste water treatment overflow tanks to become an open plaza, as accomplished with great success at Riverbank State Park (NYC, 1993) and Sherbourne Park (Toronto, PFS Landscape Architects). This acts as a central space between the new Pigeon House Centre (right), office space to the south and improved commercial/industrial office space to the west.

Each of the three themed routes (see page 7) converge at the Pigeon House, where the Dublin Bay Way begins to extend along a new promenade along Dublin Harbour, leading past the new 200m-high viewing platform.

Position in the city

Pigeon House Complex

Access to existing industry at the ESB site remains, with pedestrian routes strategically placed at a distance from those heavier transit routes.

A new urban node for the Dublin region, a point where the city meets the sea. The Pigeon House Complex is a celebration of Poolbeg’s maritime, military and industrial heritage through the centuries. From viking arrivals to the creation of Dublin Harbour, from British occupation of the site to 1976 when the ESB power generation station was decommissioned, the Science Park and Centre offer an array of interactive experiences.

The Pigeon House Hotel becomes a visitor centre and information point - a central focus of the region located in the original and beautiful granite building that was once occupied by then-caretaker Mr. John Pigeon (whom the region is named after).

200 metres above it is Dublin’s highest point: Pigeon House Platform, offering a dynamic and breathtaking view over Ireland’s c

The entire project becomes part of a wider visual axis across Dublin City centre, mirroring the successes of the existing viewing platform and tourist attraction at Guinness’ Gravity Bar (see below).

Guinness Gravity Bar (St. James’s Gate)

Poolbeg Chimney Stacks

0

section scale 1:750 @ A2

60m

08

Bart O’Doherty 40069131 Individual Design Project, August 2012 M.Sc. Urban and Rural Design School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering Queen’s University, Belfast, United Kingdom

tive over Dublin

The science of power, the power of science.

PIGEON HOUSE PLATFORM A viewing platform is developed at a point 200 metres over Dublin City, giving the highest perspective over the capital. This is incorporated into a visitor and information centre at the base, which is connected to the Dublin Bay Way coastal pedestrian and cycle route.

@ the Pigeon House Centre, Poolbeg, Dublin City

200m.

ELEVATOR SHAFT Internal construction and engineering improvement works give the existing west Pigeon House chimney stack a structurally sound form.

+ HALFWAY POINT A platform at just above 100 metres allows an interim view over the peninsula and its surrounds.

EXTERNAL IMPROVEMENT Physical improvements to the appearance of the chimneys is necessary, considering the neglect and isolation of the structures over the last decade.

ESB STATION The Electricity Supply Board of Ireland will remain in their current location at Poolbeg, allowing the coastal public network to its north, while maintaining access and utility space to its south.

capital.

4m.

0m.

high tide level : 0m

HARBOUR LIFE Home to Dublin Port and many private or club marinas, Dublin Harbour remains one of Ireland’s foremost economic gateways.

It is therefore a busy passage for industrial, commercial and leisure craft, as well as being home to many tern colonies. The public promenade that stretches over part of the bay forms parts of the greater Dublin axis, and is locally party of the Dublin Bay Way.

VIEWING PLATFORM SECTION

Dublin Bay’s water quality reports continue to indicate improvements within the Harbour.

This is a welcome indication, as the harbour’s waters are home to a diverse range of salmon and trout species, as well as otters, grey seals and common seals.

As a method of illustrating the relative height of the western chimney stack, and also its immediate proximity to the water’s edge, this section gives the area a scale that is not seen so dramatically in the Master Site Plan.

central axis

DUBLIN HARBOUR

Much of Dublin Harbour is designated a Special Protection Area and a proposed Natural Heritage Area (Environment plan, page 2).

Link between the city and the sea Poolbeg Peninsula, Dublin City

A new and longterm Waste-to-Energy investment for Poolbeg

The peninsula as a bridge 0

The concept framework plan (page 4) describes the process by which Poolbeg can operate as a termination point of a greater urban axis that leads through Dublin City centre from Phoenix Park.

scale 1:100000 @ A2

5km

At a point where the Grand Canal enters the River Liffey, however, the dynamics and structures of the site and context are posed with a difficult challenge around accessibility, public space and the configuration of these along confined routes.

East Link Bridge improvement scheme Peripheral road networks around Poolbeg are primary routes for heavy goods traffic and commuters, due in part to the network upgrade connection with the Port Tunnel (see page 1, map 1).

An approach is described here that prioritises modes of public transport (Luas and bus corridors), and the extended cycle network from the city centre (right).

With the proposed Luas extension across the East Link Bridge (right), there were numerous challenges in overcoming this multi-lane bridge across the River Liffey. Keeping the road widths the same, and consolidating pedestrian access to one side only allows for two tram lines (model: Alstom 401). This provides a wider pedestrian channel across the bridge without hindering road widths or street lighting systems.

Existing scheme Existing expansion Proposed expansion Coastal focus

The spatial configuration of this strategy is outlined below through plan (1:10000) and through schematic sectional perspetive (bottom of page).

Two spliced systems The two primary systems that are introduced to Poolbeg offer contrasting modes and routes throughout the peninsula (right).

Ringsend

0

scale 1:10000

Pigeon House Plaza

Poolbeg Village

@Poolbeg Four tram stops are strategically located along nodes of interest and activity, with the option of connections to a DublinBikes station at each. From these bike stations, it is possible to travel further along dedicated bicycle corridors, offering chances to stop at information posts and break points.

Irishtown Nature Park

Entrance points onto the peninsula are located alongside existing coastal bicycle and pedestrian routes.

It is the intention of these routes to offer completely different paths throughout the peninsula, with connection points at tram stops for ease of use.

Regional context of public routes New public network corridors that lead towards and onto Poolbeg are the final points along the urban axis through Dublin (below). They are part of a network of urban design interventions that reconnect Dublin City to the coast.

New urban corridor The existing grass verges between York Road and Pigeon House Road are re-imagined as a revitalised and reconnected urban gateway to Poolbeg (right, looking eastwards).

Phoenix Park City Centre

South Wall

Pedestrian walkways, cycle routes and green-surfaced tram lines are lined into a contemporary corridor that begins to extend the greater urban axis of Dublin City towards Poolbeg.

Planted screening and local parking facilities are provided, as is a DublinBikes parking area at the Ringsend Luas stop.

Individual Design Project, August 2012 M.Sc. Urban and Rural Design School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering Queen’s University, Belfast, United Kingdom

g and the Greater Dublin Region

Image: the point where Dublin’s Grand Canal enters the River Liffey, terminating the pedestrian and cycle routes that exist further towards the city centre.

Greater Dub Draft Tran lin Area sp 2011-2030 ort Strategy

Luas Poolbeg Extension A longer-phase development at Poolbeg region aims to connect the existing urban light tram system of Dublin with those facilities, amenities and parklands that are proposed across the site of study.

Extending from the Point Village on the north quays, the new Luas line is strategically planned to follow a route of attractions and places across the peninsula, as well as to service existing and proposed residential and mixeduse nodes at Ringsend and Poolbeg Village.

This cyclical route is in line with the Greater Dublin Area Draft Transport Strategy 2011 - 2030 for urban network extension along the Luas Red Line (conceptualised below).

Busáras

George’s Dock

2030 vision

“

Extending Luas Red Line [...] beyond the Point Depot across the Liffey to Poolbeg.

“

0 @ A2

09

Bart O’Doherty 40069131

Ch. 6, pg. 4: “Strategy Options and Assembling the Strategy” GDA Transport Strategy 2011 - 2030

Pigeon House Plaza

Mayor Square

Spencer Dock

Irishtown Nature Centre

The Point Poolbeg Extension

Ringsend

Poolbeg Village

500m

Bike parking facilities are strategically placed at nodes of converging activities, like here where the Dublin Bay Way route and the Poolbeg Landscape Network meet, which is also next to a proposed bird reserve (see Master Site Plan, page 7).

Crossover points between Luas and bicycle networks are strategically located at public interest points and Luas stops.

The option of travelling all the way out into the centre of Dublin Bay by bicycle is posed by the surface improvements along the Dublin Bay Way cycle lanes (see sectional perspective, page 5).

Coastal landscape management Poolbeg Peninsula, Dublin City

Landscape Management

A biodiversity initiative to bridge Dublin’s existing and divers 0

scale 1:10000 @ A2

500m

Poolbeg’s diverse coastal habitats provide Dublin City and Region with an opportunity to become a thriving capital city with a rich coastal ecology system. Its management and safeguarding, however, is vital in achieving this long-term goal for the area.

A network of greenways provides access for both us and the rich fauna of the area, along a network of developing coastal hedgerows.

Rock armour lines much of the coast, and this has intentionally been retained as a measure to limit access in certain densely planted areas, as well as to retain the sandy drainage channels that are exposed at low tide.

A conceptual framework of coastal management is designed to feed into existing inland green spaces at Ringsend and Irishtown, creating planted corridors that pierce different areas of the site.

Popular walking routes along Poolbeg’s south coast.

Accessible by the new Luas corridor (see page 10), Irishtown Nature Park’s contemporary Ecological Interpretation Centre is designed to merge into the landscape of the peninsula. It offers information and discussions on the area’s diverse environmental structure.

Accessible by the new Luas corridor (see page 10), Irishtown Nature Park’s contemporary Ecological Interpretation Centre is designed to merge into the landscape of the peninsula. It offers information and discussions on the area’s diverse environmental structure.

Pedestrian corridors and prioritised cycle routes allow easy and safe navigation of the Nature Park along improved surfaces. Enhanced hedgerows offer an inviting, engaging and adventurous journey across Poolbeg’s higher terrain, commanding long views towards the Dublin Mountains.

Drainage channels must be maintained along the rock armour for low-tide water flow. As such, major development outwards from the peninsula is restricted along the south edge of Poolbeg, as the sand flats offer little structural foundation.

Section line: An examination of topography and proximity is conducted through an aerial sectional perspective, slicing the land along a direct line inland.

Bay network Poolbeg is to become the centre of a triad of ecological resources along Dublin ay’s diverse coast line, with North Bull Island Centre and Reserve and Booterstown Bird Reserve becoming two associated educational and study resources for the Dublin region, each focussing on a specialist topic of their own area: Bull Island Centre: coastal dune systems Irishtown Park: hedgerows and plant life Booterstown: birds life and marsh lands

Bull Island Nature Reserve

Structural elevation illustrates the building’s relationship with the surrounding landscape.

Irishtown Nature Park Booterstown Marsh Nature Reserve

sectional elevation of

Poolbeg Ecological Interpretation Centre

plan

10

Bart O’Doherty 40069131 Individual Design Project, August 2012 M.Sc. Urban and Rural Design School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering Queen’s University, Belfast, United Kingdom

se coastal habitats

Tern colonies reside through parts of the year on an industrial island mooring, and as such the site is protected from demolition. A new grasslands is encouraged to develop directly south of it, giving Poolbeg’s north fringe a biodiverse pocket of life, and an area of interset directly off shore from the Pigeon House complex development.

A newly-allocated bird reserve area is placed on land that currently surround a large ESB silo tank. With improved habitat quality in the region, Poolbeg can expect to become a truly bio-diverse capital city amenity. Landscape screening also contributes to the environmental aesthetic of this part of the peninsula.

Beaches formed at Poolbeg over one hundred years ago due to silting of the Bay from heavy engineering works. Today these beaches form part of a greater coastal dune system that is as habitat-rich as North Bull Island’s grassy dunes. As part of a protection plan, access must remain along established paths in vulnerable and sparse areas.

The edge condition of Irishtown Nature Park is of a rock-armour foreshore, providing a weather-proof barrier against stormy conditions. This will remain, although there will be stone walkway extensions that penetrate out into the sand at low tide, creating a low-impact intervention that is as dynamic and changing as the tide that covers and reveals it.

FORM CONCEPT A progression of the structure’s shape, from rigid prism to landscape element: Within the original Master Plan scheme, the Ecological Interpretation Centre was designated as a simple block form.

An integration between the building and the landscape was necessary to achieve the maximum from both elements.

Bringing together both the landscape and the built form using the facade and green space.

Wholistic integration between form and context is achieved through an organic roof form.

Utilities like the regional Wastewaster Treatment Plant, though not of high architectural merit nor any conservation value, must be respected for their utlility function and not changed, adapted or moved to suit the many other land uses surrounding it. It is seen through section to contrast with the naturalised surrounds of the peninsula.

An observation walkway is directed along the north fringe of this Council-protected brent geese feeding area and grasslands habitat. As it exists today, it is a wasteland of construction rubble and overgrowth, posing an attractive option for low-key development of the Poolbeg Landscape Network route along the south of the peninsula.

POOLBEG ECOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION CENTRE An interior system of stepped and ramped areas divides the centre into seperate spaces for classes, exhibitions and displays, while the top tier remains a through-way towards the exit onto Irishtown Nature Park.

Access to the centre is provided along the new Luas tram corridor that extends across the Poolbeg Peninsula from the Point Village and Dublin City centre, with a tram stop immediately outside the Centre and Nature Park. Parking and DublinBike facilities are also on site.

above:

The Centre is designed to sink into the surrounding landscape, creating a cohesion between the peninsula’s coastal built form and the local topography.

3-Dimensional sectional perspective of Irishtown Nature Park. right: 3-Dimensional concept for proposed Ecological Interpretation Centre.

0

scale 1:250 @ A2

10m

Waste-to-Energy thermal treatmen Poolbeg Peninsula, Dublin City

A change for Greater Dublin’s waste management

Thermal treatment for Dublin The extraction of energy from waste materials through thermal treatment is considered to be a far more sustainable aapproach to industrial waste management than Dublin’s existing policies on landfill development. Considering that the majority, but not all, of Dublin’s industrial waste can be recycled back to raw materials or re-used within the system, this leaves a surplus amount of waste that must be dealt with in line with European Union policy on waste management. See below for the EU Waste Hierarchy pyramid:

ROOFTOP ACCESS

The design of the sloped roof allows for the transformatio a green roof system. Not only does this provide a node o public network of walkways, it also provides enhanceme corridors that thrive across the southern coast of the pen

The roof system is part of a Sustainable Drainage Schem at the site - a necessity due to the non-porous nature of foundations after excavation (see right). Additionally, th method of sustainable temperature control for the facili

prevention minimisation

HOUSING FOR INDUSTRIAL FACILITY

re-use recycling

In keeping with the initial single-structure design concep utility space for the thermal plant is housed within an en proposals, however, this housing incorporates land belo The sloping gradient aims to maximise passive solar pote as improving surface drainage.

energy recovery disposal

A design for Poolbeg Due to the unique physical, socio-economic and environmental context of the peninsula, the design of a new thermal treatment plant was deemed to be a very important particular detail for the greater region of Poolbeg.

INTEGRATED UNDERGROUND ROAD SYSTE

Circulation into and around the plant facility is based on

One entrance serves those vehicles coming towards the control room, biolers). Another access slope serves those

In approaching this proposal, it was studied how the existing scheme was met by local stake-holders and interest groups. Concern arose over the size and bulk of the proposal (by Friis & Moltke Architects), its capacity estimates and its visual impact on the wider region, all of which would have a detrimental impact on Dublin’s waste management sector. The Irish Waste Management Association, together with SLR Consulting, submitted these concerns officially to the European Commission.

TECHNICAL COMPONENTS OF THERMAL T

The interior details of the plant are reduced from the sta Consulting on behalf of the Irish Waste Management As relative to the available waste market” in the Dublin reg

With these factors considered, the design process was re-examined (far right) and a design was produced that illustrates consideration of the multitude of dynamic factors that are present across the peninsula.

Control facilities and silos remain, though a reconfigurat

INTEGRATION OF SITE INTO THE WIDER CO

The Waste-to-Energy thermal treatment plant at Poolbe design that incorporates passive solar gain, sustainable modelled on the integration between public space and exploit the diverse qualities

Layers of uses The concept of ‘housing’ the utilities of the thermal treatment plant remains, yet these are sunken slightly below ground level, creating a more accessible roof area that becomes part of the public realm. Individual layers are exploded (right) to help illustrate the multi-purpose design of Poolbeg’s (and Dublin’s) new thermal treatment facility.

The accessible nature of the Nature Park, as well as prov Poolbeg. The thermal treatm

Existing design proposal and its impact along skyline.

Why Poolbeg?

Other options across the Greater Dublin Region for the construction of a thermal treatment facility are illustrated below. Poolbeg offers numerous advantages due to its proximity to sea water, an industrial national grid connection, the port area and an industrialised road system.

100%

Dublin Region Waste Management Plan

74%

Poolbeg Peninsula

Clondalkin Walkinstown

26%

Loughlinstown

0%

2002

2004

2006

2008

nt project

on of the incinerator into of interest along the ent to the biodiversity ninsula.

Individual Design Project, August 2012 M.Sc. Urban and Rural Design School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering Queen’s University, Belfast, United Kingdom

1

PLANTED ROOF DETAIL Successful vegetation growth is achieved on the sloping roof through detailed layers:

me (SuDS) for water run-off f the structure’s he roof system provides a ity.

11

Bart O’Doherty 40069131

Designed by Danish firm Friis & Moltke Architects, the existing Waste-to-Energy plant proposal aims to minimise visual impact through the use of tilted facades and rounded corners, yet also to maintain a strong visual identity and a dynamic expression.

100m.

rooftop vegetation (grasses)

SNCR

BOILER

CONTROL ROOM

FLUEG. COOL

TURBINE COMPARTMENT

SILENCER

growing medium (loam soils)

SCRUBBER

FABRIC FILTER

CRANE 50 T

TURBINE

WASTE BUNKER

filtering fabric

Existing proposal

root barrier insulation

pt for the facility, a general nclosure. Unlike the initial ow ground level (see right). ential for the site, as well

waterproof membrane

2

industrial housing structure

With a structural height of 52 metres (and a chimney stack height of 100m), however, the visual impact of the design is quite significant.

It is examined here how some of the structure can be ‘pushed’ underground to house the majority of utility space within the facility’s shell.

EM

n a cyclical system, aimed at reducing any congestion at entrance or exit onto public roads.

SNCR

BOILER

CONTROL ROOM

TREATMENT FACILITY

ated 600,000 tonne capacity to a substantially smaller size, based on market research conducted by SLR ssociation, who deduced that the proposed capacity and size of the plant was “grossly oversized, gion (pg. 5, IWMA, 2010).

FLUEG. COOL

CRANE 50 T

TURBINE COMPARTMENT TURBINE

3

SILENCER

WASTE BUNKER

SCRUBBER

FABRIC FILTER

e plant, with a sloped road system providing a “hidden” access into the technical area (waste bunker, e vehicles leaving.

step 1

The tilted facade concept of the original proposal remains; these are further accentuated so as to exploit the south-facing aspect of the site. This also begins to connect the surrounding landscape with the structure.

Utility space is decreased in size in light of the IMWA’s 2010 paper on the necessary capacities of the facility.

tion of the facility allows the chimney stack to be located away from the public domain.

SNCR

BOILER

CONTROL ROOM

eg provides functional and aesthetic benefit to the wider region of Dublin. As an example of urban drainage benefits, enhancement of existing biodiversity corridors, and a public realm that is creatively d industry, it is a model of design for future expansion across Dublin Port facilities that aims to involve and of the city’s coast, whilst maintaining the fundamental utilitarian functions of a port facility.

e sloped structure provides a vantage point that gives a new perspective across the coast and Irishtown viding a point along the Poolbeg Landscape Network that stretches along the bio-diverse south coast of ment plant becomes just one important element along a greater green corridor across the peninsula.

4

TURBINE

step 2

SILENCER

FLUEG. COOL

TURBINE COMPARTMENT

WASTE BUNKER

SCRUBBER

ONTEXT

FABRIC FILTER

CRANE 50 T

Reflecting the ramped system of vehicular access in the initial proposal, the design solution (below) looks at ramps that allow vehicular access underground instead.

The chimney stack is strategically located away from the south-facing aspect,optimising the sloped roof space for public access and green space, as well as providing both passive and active solar benefits to the facility.

CONTROL ROOM

SNCR

BOILER

above, left: Aerial perspective over proposed thermal treatment facility, outlining layered components though schematic explosion diagram; below: Timeline graph illustrating the desired progress of waste management in the Greater Dublin Region between today and 2025.

5

TURBINE

FLUEG. COOL

SILENCER

TURBINE COMPARTMENT WASTE BUNKER

SCRUBBER

FABRIC FILTER

CRANE 50 T

Design solution

The integration of a sloped green space on top of the facility begins to incorporate two dynamic elements of the peninsula: public greenways and industrial space.

The form is a mould of interlinked parabolaids, creating a constantly curving surface, allowing for drainage.

WASTE MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR THE DUBLIN REGION

2010

2012

2014

European Landfill Directive requirements

completion of incinerator

today

59%

25% 16%

2016

2018

2020

As targeted through European legislation (1999/31/EC), Ireland is obliged to adhere to more sustainable methods of waste disposal (European Landfill Directive).

Established through the Dublin Region Waste Management Plan (2005-2010), key targets are aimed for by 2020 (left), meaning that 25% of Dublin’s waste is to be thermally treated and, in turn, be returned in part to the regional electricity grid.

Recycled/recovered Thermal treatment (W-to-E facilities) Sent to regional landfill site

Brownfield coastal regeneration Poolbeg Peninsula, Dublin City

An examination of the Irish Glass Bottle Site and the Sutton-t

Irish Glass Bottle Site

M O O RE

RO A

D

(N

O RT HB O UN

D

)

The IGB site at Ringsend offers a unique gateway opportunity to Poolbeg. Set between the existing communities of Irishtown and Ringsend, the upper grasslands of the peninsula, Sean Moore Park and the Irish Sea, the area is re-imagined here as a vibrant social hub for the region, a new Poolbeg Village that ties together its dynamic surrounds. But first, a brief overview of its recent history is examined.

O UT HB O UN

D

)

SE A

N

65.8m

RO A

D

(S

Construction entrance to the site today.

M O O RE

Becbay, Ltd.

SE

A

N

A consortium of developers and the Dublin Docklands Development Authority, Becbay were the purchasers of Irish Glass Bottle site in 2006, at a price of €430 million from South Wharf and the Dublin Port Company. This year the site was claimed by NAMA, after Becbay Ltd failed to retain the site as a private asset. The Comptroller and Auditor General then released files that valued the site at just under €45 million. As a site that symbolises much of the greed and corruption that was so rampant through Ireland’s economic boom years, the Irish Glass Bottle site offers a new opportunity to establish Poolbeg as a high-quality coastal development.

Property 1: figure ground area 3070.9576m2

71.8m

Fenced edge conditon of the site.

Property 2: figure ground area 2706.2952m2

Office and enterprise over retail and commerial: Developing an active street environment with shops, cafes and businesses is crucial to the success of this mixed-use quarter.

Residential over retail: A critical mass and density of residents and retail areas is necessary in creating a new sustainable urban core and employment prospects at Poolbeg Village.

A proposed loose grid network feeds into the peninsula from existing residential fringes, offering a variety of local shops and new higher-density living spaces.

Green spaces feed into the site from the south (see Master Site Plan, page 6), and tree-lined avenues are strategically located away from industrial corridors that are required further into the penninsula site.

The entire scheme is a major focus along a greater high-quality public realm roject proposal that exists already along parts of Dublin’s coast - the S2S route.

This Sutton-to-Sandycove proposal is seen (below) to pass directly through parts of the new Poolbeg Village scheme with prioritised bus corridors.

Sean Moore Road In tangent with the City Council’s development policy on tree-lining streets through heavier urban areas (Development Plan 2011 - 2017), this active roadscape is seen to contrast with existing site conditions (see page 3, image 3) through active street frontage, prioritised cycle lanes and storm water drainage systems to ensure efficient run-off (as part of a Sustainable Urban Drainage Scheme across the peninsula).

Sutton Raheny Clontarf Irish Glass Bottle Site Sandymount Blackrock

Sandycove

Bart O’Doherty 40069131 Individual Design Project, August 2012 M.Sc. Urban and Rural Design School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering Queen’s University, Belfast, United Kingdom

to-Sandycove coastal route

12

1. GROSS DEVELOPMENT VALUE: Yield of 10% required

Property Valuation The residual valuation method of property valuation is demonstrated in this mixed-use core of Poolbeg (right). This financial appraisal of the proposed development calculates the site value using up-to-date property market research and existing governmental schemes in the Republic of Ireland such as Stamp Duty on property. As of December 2011 in the Republic, Stamp Duty is capped at 2% on all non-residential property. Other costs such as construction fees, professional fees, marketting the scheme and yield required on return are all inputs into this valuation equation.

Net lettable area

16500 m2

Rental value per sq. ft.

€170 /m2

Rental income per annum

2,805,000

Onsite parking spaces (20 @ €300 pa)

60,000

Total Estimated Rental Value (ERV)

2,865,000

Yield required

10.0

Capital Value (Gross Development Value – GDV)

28,650,000

10% (100 Yearly Purchase)

2. Development Costs Building Works Building works

6,600,000

16500 m2 @ €400 /m2

Professional fees

660,000

10% of building work costs

Total Building costs

7,260,000

[Works + fees]

Marketing

Thermal treatment for Dublin General grid layout plans are established to begin property valuation of those blocks highlighted (left).

Marketing and other lettings costs

12,000

Finance Estimated total interest paid over refurbishment period

900,000

Total Development Costs

8,172,000

Profit 15% of total development costs

1,225,800

Total Development Costs and Profit

9,397,800

3. Site Value

The Irish Glass Bottle Site is a core node along many of Dublin’s great urban systems.

Amount left for site purchase

19,252,200

GDV less [total costs and profit]

Minus purchaser’s costs

721,957.5

1.75% surveyor’s fee; 2% stamp duty

-

Surveyor’s fee @ 1.75%

336,913.5

-

Stamp Duty @ 2%

385,044

Site Value

€18,530,242.5