STAGE 3 STRATEGY, SITE C EVP 8028 URBAN DESIGN IN PRACTICE CATHERINE MCCORMICK 1
Introduction Introduction
Context
During Stage 2 of the project, the aim was to prepare an urban design strategy for ‘ Site C’ in the Liberties area of Southern Dublin. Stage 3 of the project now gives us the opportunity to break away from the group and pick a particular plot within Site C and create our own design proposal. This project will repeat the strategy proposed in stage 2 and then take a detailed step and discuss further design proposals for an ‘urban public square’ which compromises a number of uses.
Site C is located in the Liberties area of Dublin, on the south bank of the River Liffey. The map shown in Figure 3 illustrates the context in which the site is located within the city. It identifies local landmarks, key areas within the locality and the proximity in which they are to Site C. The map highlights boundaries which are approximately a 5 and 15minute walk from the site which emphasises the prime location in which the site it situated, and that key landmarks or areas can be easily accessed by foot in a relatively short space of time.
“Do not neglect the idea of ‘a little urban fun’” – Tibbalds 1992
Concept Progression Stage 1 of the project was a preliminary stage to analyse Site C and identify its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The main points which were concluded from this stage were; a lack of visual connection to the River Liffey despite its proximity, the need for a pedestrian friendly environment along Bridgefoot Street, greater permeability throughout the site, greater economic investment in Thomas Street, and the isolation from Heuston Station caused by the Guinness/ Diageo site. Following on from this Stage 2 of the project aimed to create an overall design strategy for Site C. Having created a thorough analysis at stage 1, we were able to create the following proposals for our strategy; create a strong central public square, remove vehicle access to the perimetre of the site, attract new economic investment to Thomas Street and retract the boundary of the Guinness site to extend the visual link to Heuston Station.
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Figure 3
Figure 2
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Stage 2 Design Proposals •
The original site had quite a coarse grain in terms of building blocks and open space. We have proposed a number of solutions, which aim to open up the site create a finer urban grain and increase the visual and physical attributes of the site, shown in figure 4.
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As there is no visual connection to the River Liffey from Site C. We attempted to remedy this by proposing an arterial pedestrian walkway from the cenre of the site out to the river, shown in figure 5.
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The Guinness site isolates Site C from the connection to Heuston Station so we retracted the boundary of the Guinness site to the south. This should overall the visual and physical connection to Heuston Station. (figure 6).
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By attracting new economic investment in Thomas Street this should better the transition between the North and South of the city.
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As highlighted in the original analysis Bridgefoot Street needs a more pedestrian friendly environment, so as a remedy we directed pedestrians from Bridgefoot Street into the main square of the site, as well as linking the street with surrounding open spaces. Figure 7 aims to portray this.
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Overall the site needs to be much more permeable for both vehicles and pedestrians. We proposed to make the site more permeable for both pedestrians and vehicles, limiting the amount of vehicular access through the site. Figure 8 shows the permeability for pedestrians.
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Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7
Figure 8
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Stage 2 Design Proposals •
The following figures illustrate proposed images for the site in stage 2. Figures 9 and 10 show our proposed central square in the centre of the site. By removing the green space, and increasing the surrounding paving the square opens up the area, as well as increasing the vitality and activity throughout the site.
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As a means of increasing the visual connection between the North and South of the site, at the edge of the James Joyce Bridge, a proposed open pedestrian walkway with no vehicular access was created, shown in figure 11. This gives a straight line of sight straight through the centre of the site, allowing visual access to the activities within the centre of the square.
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Another aim of our strategy was to increase the visual connection between the site up to Heuston Station, shown by figure 12. If a body was to stand in the centre of the Square looking down Watling Street, we plan to retreat the boundary of the Guinness walls so there is a direct visual link. At present the wall cuts off the view, creating a boundary to the site, physically and visually.
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A final proposal was to increase pedestrian movement along Bridgefoot Street, and reduce the vehicular movement along it too (figure 13). Through the creation of a boardwalk along the left hand side, pedestrians should be pushed to use one side of the road and flow the centre of the site.
Figure 9
Figure 10
Figure 11
Figure 12
Figure 13
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Examples of Best Practice Millennium Park, Chicago, Illinois
‘Green Leaf Project’, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Millennium Park is a 24.5 acre park situated in the centre of Chicago’s central business district, hosting space for performances, art, sculpture, - such as the giant steel structure “The Bean”, architecture and landscape architecture. Originally the site was a dilapidated ground level car park that was in dire need of redevelopment. The project aimed to transform the commuter railroad tracks, surface parking and degraded parkland in the northwest corner of Grant Park into a landscaped venue for free public programmes, concerts and events. It also aimed to lay the foundation for future private residential and commercial development in the area. The overall idea was to create a ‘one-of-a-kind’ public art space as a gift to the citizens of Chicago from those who had made their fortunes in the city.
The aim of the green leaf project is to design a sustainable community in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It takes full advantage of the local natural resources to create a space that combines architecture and natural for habitable use. Located on the outskirts of Dhaka this sustainable garden idea aims to house 10,00 residents by 2015 which space for dwelling units, a convention centre, a mosque, retail units and a school. The project considers the microclimate; air flows, local ecology and natural environment, and has been designed in such a way that it compliments all these factors. This allows habitants to experience this part of the city and nature simultaneously.
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Examples of Best Practice The Ataba and Opera Square Areas, Cairo, Egypt
This example shows the on-going, intended redevelopment of Cairo, Egypt. The project aims to bridge the gap between the Islamic and European Cities that have developed over time, reconnecting them visually and ecologically. By firstly disconnecting the current urban fabrics, the plan aims to create an urban green archipelago, compromising different aspects to reconnect the dismantled urban fabric. The images above show the major public space that will be created. It combines an extensive mix of urban planning, infrastructure improvements, landscape architecture and garden design to connect the two cities. This idea can be taken on board by the redevelopment of the Liberties site, as we aim to reconnect the North and South as well as the East and West of the city, again, visually and ecologically.
Bryghusgrunden, Copenhagen, Denmark
Bryghusgrunden is one of the few undeveloped remaining sites in Copenhagen with a potential link both the city and the waterfront. This shares similarities with Site C in the Liberties as this are too has an underdeveloped link between the North of Dublin city centre and the waterfront along the River Liffey. The Bryghusgrunden project proposes a mixed-use building that is compromised of housing, public space, offices, parking and the main attraction of the Danish Architecture Centre. This centre houses its own exhibition areas, research facilities, an auditorium, conference rooms, a bookstore and a café The building straddles the busy Christians Brygge ring road that allows the traffic to pass through the site as normal. By straddling the road, the building allows for the creation of new urban connections for both pedestrians and cyclists along the waterfront. As a means of combing the landscape with the built form, playgrounds have been created as this supposedly eases the transition. 6
Individual Site Analysis Vehicle and Public Transport Routes In terms of road usage, the aim of this proposal is to remain the same as the strategy developed in stage 2. We had aimed to make the site as pedestrian friendly as possible, therefore restricting vehicular access to the boundaries of the site. The vehicular access has been shown in green in figure 14 As the site is based round the pedestrian, it is important to again highlight the surrounding public transport routes, and their proximity to the site. The Luas line is shown in yellow, and the local bus route is shown in orange in figure 14. It is also key to point out that the individual site that this stage aims to focus on is highlighted by the purple circle in figures 14,15 and 18
Figure 14
Pedestrian Routes Again as an aim of the strategy is to make the site more pedestrian friendly, we have shown the new pedestrian passages in red. As a means of creating a central pedestrian node, the majority of pedestrian pathways through the site lead to the open square created in the heart of the site, the main focus of this final stage of the project
Building Heights Site C is located on a hill, which falls from Thomas Street, down towards the River Liffey. As a means of sympathising with this change in topography it is appropriate to have the building heights flowing with the slope. The image in figure 16 Image show a skyline view of the site as if you were to stand on the north side of the river. It building height, which sympathises with the topography also emphasises key landmarks such as St. Patrick’s tower and Heuston Station.
Figure 15
Pedestrian route
Figure 16 Building heights
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Individual Site Analysis Location The Location of the individual site is right in the heart of Site C. Currently there lies a large vacant space between Bridgefoot street and Watling street which runs along Island Street. The site itself has excellent potential to regenerate the area and create a strong supportive community space. As suggested in Stage 2, it could be turned into a communal meeting square and this analysis aims to look at this in depth.
Land-use Currently Site C is predominantly used for residential purposes, with poor economic investment throughout, there is a great need to introduce more retail and commerce into the area. Figure 18 aims to demonstrate the proposed land use changes. The light blue stripes show the proposed buildings that are of residential use, and you can see they dominate a large proportion of the site. Again as a means of connecting the North and South of the City through economic investment, Thomas Street and Usher’s Island will be predominantly retail and commercial, shown with green stripes. The remaining building use will be a mix between retail and residential, shown in dark blue stripes.
Figure 18
Between the buildings, the public realm has been greatly increased and is shown in red stripes. The aim was to open up the site and make it more permeable for pedestrians, allowing them to easily pass through and make use of the site.
Legibility
Figure 19
As stage 2 proposed a number of new pedestrian nodes throughout the site, (shown by yellow circles in figure 19) Stage 3 will now focus on the largest central node in site c. Main vehicle routes are shown in dark green, boundaries with a dashed purple line and focal points with red stars.
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Individual Site Proposals Recommendations
Figure 20
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As stated in the design strategy developed at stage 2, Site C lacks a strong, communal centre. By creating a centre square this will not only enhance community spirit, it will develop the vitality of the area along with physical and visual attributes of the site.
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The facing images highlight how run down the area currently is, along with the lack of amenities available in this wide vacant site. It also highlights the potential hazards to children who use derelict buildings as climbing frames.
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By creating a strong pedestrianised centre, this allows room to develop pedestrian links to the surrounding Bridgefoot Street, Thomas Street, Island Street and Watling Street. Which ultimately leads to a greater, permeable site. Shown in figure 20
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In terms of land use the square will combine retail, commerce and residential use. Currently residential blocks back onto the site so it is key to enhance their surroundings. The inner square will be predominantly retail and commerce on the ground floors.
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In terms of green space, it is key to combine this with the open public space. Stage 2 had suggested to rid the area of green space, however I feel it necessary to include given the large number of children residing in the area.
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Individual Site Proposals 3D Model Views As the centre of the site needs to be much more permeable for both vehicles and pedestrians. Am open sqaure combining both built form and open space is to be created, which will ultimately limit the amount of vehicular access through the site. Figures 21-23 visualise the idea of this proposed open sqaure
Figure 21
New Urban Green Space Figure 22
Figure 23
As a means of combining the natural environment with the built form, there is to be a large green space to the east of the site connecting the residential areas into the retail and commercial based areas. This green space, in a sense, will ease the transition of uses allowing residents, tourists and workers all to use the same communal space or recreational or leisure purposes. By furnishing the area with appropriate furniture such as the grass tyre stools shown above, the daunting aspects of the site are lost, and it becomes a friendlier environment to make use of. This project has aimed to combine nature with urban form to create a mixed-use public space in an area of Dublin that is falling into decline. The area is in a prime location surrounded by key tourist points such as the Guinness factor, Heuston Station and Temple bar and should therefore be enjoyed as a place to stop and look around or pass through. It also aims to improve community relationships and enhance the public realm. 10