ANALYSIS INCHICORE
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The name Camac comes from the Irish “camuisce”, meaning “the crooked water”. It flows through Clondalkin, Drimnagh, Inchicore and Kilmainham before joining the Liffey at Heuston Station over a 325 mile long journey, of which 6.4 miles is culverted. The Camac is Dublin’s fourth largest river and was used to power numerous mills until around the 19th century.
TRACING THE RIVER CAMAC
The river Camac played a vital role the establishment of Inchicore. It attracted many industries and mills as a source of power and water, nearly 30 mills were powered along its entire course. Today the Crooked River lies hidden within built environment of Inchicore and is unused and difficult to get
to, making it a prime location as a dumping ground. How can the potential of the river be recovered as an amenity and a source of power and water? It could make a nice walking and/or cycling route to Heuston Station...
How close can you get to the Camac? Walls, fences, gates, private estates and dead ends don’t make it a very public river! The Camac used to power several mills and was central to the community of Inchicore.
WHERE IS THE CROOKED RIVER
VACANT IN INCHICORE Inchicore has suffered from a gradual decline of its urban fabric. Bad planning and Celtic Tiger projects have ignored the social and physical needs of the town and its people. Combined with the economic downturn, this has led to a growing number of vacant spaces in Inchicore.
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
IMPERMEABLE INCHICORE cated on cul de sac streets. Would you like to see a more open and connected community? PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
This is a study showing the unconnected routes through Inchicore, with a particular focus on Emmet Crescent and Thomas Davis Street, with schools and community amenities lo-
DEAD END/NO ACCESS EXISTING ROUTES
NEW PEDESTRAN
GOLDEN BRIDGE INDUSTRIAL ESTATE
The Goldenbridge Industrial Park uses over 5 hectares of land between the canal and the Tyrconnell Road. Today it is made up of industrial size sheds. The occupants range from glass centres to a Carribean food cash and carry and a climbing centre. There is also a number of vacant units there too, roughly 30-40%. Access to the park is restricted to one entrance to the street and the river is built over to allow for more road access. It has a great location and potential along the canal. It is also along the “innovation corridor” or “gateway to the west”
as described in the DCC strategy for the Naas Road area SW of Inchicore. There is a boundary fence around the whole area separating the surrounding territories of the church, the school and the Blackhorse Luas stop. The question is how to enhance the current condition of this place and its surrounding neighbours? Could the place be reconnected with the canal and the river, which the mill had such a close relationship before?
school
vacant units
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potential park area Goldenbridge Industrial Estate and extended surrounding territory
I N C H I C O R E
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Information taken from the Central Statistics Office (CSO)Census 2011 for the two Inchicore parishes (Mary Immaculate & St. Michael’s) and Dublin City & suburbs.
We are part of an architectural thesis group in UCD, entitled ‘Expanded Practice’. We are currently undertaking a reading of the landscape of Inchicore, it’s social history, architectural legacy and close relationship to important landscape features such as the Cammock River and the Grand Canal. Expanded Practice is a methodology of analysis, research and design that supplements the traditional design process, exploring modes of reading a place and designing architecture for it, which is associated with a more fluid set of processes and social conditions. The daily methodology of our work involves consultation with resources in both Inchicore and UCD. It is a collaboration, a sharing of information in order to plug this into the design process. It is of the utmost importance to the process that while practicing in an expanded field, the approach to analysis and representation is equally expanded, or expanding. We endeavour to use as many varied methods of representation and analysis as possible in order to achieve a more expanded analysis of Inchicore. This methodology is developing as it is being applied, it is a learning and absorbing process that requires testing, experimentation and tweaking. It is our hope that this analysis will contribute to the on-going discussion of how space and resource is used, in Inchicore and in a wider field. This is a collection of thoughts, drawings, ideas , suggestions, interventions and history.
W H O ARE WE? We are a group of five UCD architecture students called Expanded Practice. We are doing a collaborative project with the people of Inchicore. Our goal is to generate a public discussion about how space is used in the area and what could potentially happen there to tap into its potential.
JOIN IN THE DISCUSSION! Visit us for a chat and some tea! Give us your thoughts or stories, learn a bit more about Inchicore’s history and development, see some old and current photos of the railway works or propose your own changes in the town. We will be in: Common Ground, 15 Tyrconnell Road. Monday - Wednesday 10am-5:30pm (24th March - 2nd April) Inchicore Sport and Social Club, Inchicore Square 2-5pm, 5th April See exhibition boards in Inchicore Public Library Library opening times, 7th - 17th April
CONTACT expandedpractice@gmail.com
SUBMIT YOUR IDEAS!
Tear out this page, draw or write down your ideas or comments and drop them off at : Expanded Practice Common Ground, 15 Tyrconnell Road Pop into our Ideas Exhibition for a chat and some tea and biscuits! Saturday April 5th 2-5pm Inchicore Sports and Social Club (Former CIE Hall) Inchicore Square