Concepts + Artwork of the 21st Century Liffey Project

A VIS ION FOR THE L IFFEY QUAYS

Supported by

The authors would like to extend their thanks to those who supported the development of this project including

Dublin City Council and Dublin Civic Trust

Publication prepared, designed and edited byDavid Jordan BA MRUP MSc and Fergus Browne BA MRUP MSc

© David Jordan and Fergus Browne (2013)

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electrical or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented,

including photocopy, recording, or any other storage and retrieval system without the express permission in writing from the authors.

Urban Nexus was established in 2010 with the intention to explore cities using alternative techniques and methods. The opinions and ideas expressed in this document are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of Dublin City Council or Dublin Civic Trust.

This independent initiative was born out of the belief that we are currently at the threshold of a new

urban paradigm + that conventional ways of planning + designing the city are becoming increasingly

limited. The 21st Century city is an intriguing drama. It is a place where the themes of sustainability +

green infrastructure are in vogue, where cultural regeneration is experiencing an all-time high, where

public transport is in + the car is out. Despite these ideas, conflicts of interest occur preventing this

‘idyllic’ city emerging. In this ‘please all’ approach the bigger picture becomes diluted + the result is

a mish-mash of unfulfilled plans. The aim of this initiative is to stimulate conversations about the future

of the Liffey Quays, a space largely left-behind in the City. Emphasising the important role design plays

in making a place successful underlines this research. This publication presents a reflective overview of

the 21st Century Liffey project, illustrating selected artwork + concepts from both the evaluation + vision

stages, which were each subject to a detailed publication. The ideas posed in this work are

conceptual + aspirational, + are based on a 2030 vision for the Quays. This has been an effective

tool to initiate debate among key decision makers + the general public. It reflects our

belief that the Liffey Quays should become a stage which can showcase the best of

Dublin + be celebrated by Dubliners as the key civic spine of the City.

Prologue

Prologue

Setting the Scene

Prelude: Evaluating the Quays

Conversation + Debate

Boulevard of Open Space

Revising Space

Rooms + Corridors

Epilogue

Contents

01

17

41

53

63

79

102

Setting the

Scene

James Joyce, Finnegans Wake

‘Riverrun, past Eve and Adam’s, from swerve of shore to bend of bay, brings us by a commodius vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs’

0m 39 m+

Legend

02

Topographical Rendering of Central Dublin

City, River + Design

The River Liffey, the most defining feature of the Capital, ris-es in the Wicklow Mountains and from there makes its way westwards onto the plains of North County Kildare, where it meanders north and then east, entering the jurisdiction of Dublin City Council in a steep valley close to the Phoenix Park. It continues through the City before emptying into Dublin Bay. For most of its short 125 kilometre course it flows through open countryside, yet the Liffey is indelibly linked with the city in which it terminates. For Dubliners, the River and its Quays lend their City an intimate and familiar sense of place. Despite its small scale, the Liffey continues to de-fine Dublin to the same degree that the Tiber characterises Rome or the Thames, London. The River has historically cre-ated a strong geographical and symbolic reference point dividing the City into north and south thus facilitating the development of strong cultural identities and communities.

Normally a city’s river is an attraction in itself, however the Liffey Quays presently lack this quality. Why is this the case? It is chiefly because the Quays exude a backland type character, as they fail to align themselves with either the southern or northern character areas. For instance, Temple Bar largely turns its back on the Liffey. The Quays therefore can be seen as suffering from an identity crisis. This howev-er, is not due to an absence of character but more to do with a lack of thoughtful design and consideration for this pivotal space. A vision for the future is now needed to pull the Liffey Quays out of its present malaise. Therefore, it can be seen that design is central to such a strategy and key to the success of the Liffey Quays as a space.

03

Project Space

The project space or area of focus is comprised of only a relatively small portion of the Liffey Corridor. However it is important to note that this work will also reflect on the con-textual significance of the River’s surrounding hinterland. Despite the seemingly small area of study, the space is nevertheless shown to be vast, comprising of no less than: 7 kms of quays, 11 bridges, 1.1 km of quayside parking and some of the most important movement routes in the City.

05

06

Project Concept

The Liffey is currently acting as both a connector and a divider. The central design concept is based on this oxymoron. A re-visioned Liffey Corridor has the power to connect north to south and park to bay, in turn creating a nexus through which various dramas can be enacted. The Liffey Quays are the central defining feature of Dublin and re-imagining them has the potential to radically re-define the City Centre for the 21st Century.

07

The Evaluative Stage

Stakeholder Dialogue

Summ

er 2010:

Formed Urban Nexus.

November 2010: Established Liffey Corridor

discussion group within the Council.

September 2010: Dublin City Council

endorse the Liffey Corridor Project.

May 2013: Com

plete document.

Launch of vision exhibition.

Spring/Summ

er 2011: Continued work on

evaluation + project website.

Summ

er 2011: Presented initial findings to City

Manager + Econom

ic Development Unit.

Autumn 2011: Evaluation finalised + printed.

Early 2012: Engagement with key stakeholders.

Dublin Civic Trust agree to support initiative.

Summ

er 2012: Progress ‘design solutions’.

Hold interim exhibition + lunchtim

e debate.

October 2012: City Intersections event.

The Conceptual Stage

T h e C o m p a s s

T h e R u b i x C u b e

08

Concluding Exhibition + Vision Launch

City Intersections:

May 2012 Exhibition @

+ Lunchtime debate

Funded by:

With the Support of:

Liffey

Themed

Event

Processes @Work

It is important to recognise that this project itself is essen-tially a process. That is to say, the initial conceptual stage was crucial to the production of an evaluation, while the evaluation itself was critical to getting various stakeholders involved. The success of this approach has resulted in the Liffey Quays being designated the No.1 public space in the City. This signifies the broader nature of our work, in that we hope to capitalise on the growing desire amongst key stakeholders to ‘do something’ about the Quays.

09

Gre en ery

Detail

Light ing

Pav em ent

Con ce pts

10

A r tIdeas We Like!

Successful design has the power to tell a story. Through innovative and subtle lighting, avant garde public art, greenery, creative pavement solutions + design details, this story can be enacted where the city itself is the mise-en-scène and its inhabitants the players. This section serves to illustrate ideas which can help stimulate the re-visioning and re-imagining of the Liffey in the 21st Century city.

11

L at in Quarte r, Par i s : Wide pe de s t r i an cros s i ngs he re a l l o w pe op le t o fe e l at e ase whe n cros s i ng t he s t re e t.

C ove n t Garde n, London : Sh are d space cre ate s a re l a xe d at mosphe re + s l o ws do wn c ars .

One of the bus ie s t pe de s t r ian cros s ings in London has been radica l l y t ransformed . I ts ne w layou t me ans that pe op le on a l l s ide s can cros s at the same t ime - e ven diagona l l y !

Oxf ord C i rcus, London :

The f orme r e le vate d ra i l way h as be e n suc ce s sf u l l yre- imag ine d as b o th a popu l arconne c tor + a wa lk w i t h a v ie w !

The H igh L i ne , Ne w Yor k C i t y:

Par i s-P l age s : Br i ng ing t he se as ide t o Par i s f or t h ose wh o c anno t le ave t he C i t y dur i ng t he summe r mon ths, t he temporar y be ache s h ave prove d w i ld l y p opu l ar w i t h re s ide n ts + to u r i s ts a l i k e !

www.gehlarchitects.com

walkonomics.com

Ne w Road , Br igh ton :The cre at ion o f sh are d-space a l ong t h i s road h as t u r ne d t he space i n to an ac t i ve + l i ve l y de s t i n at ion rathe r t h an jus t a ro u te .

Promenade P lantée, Par is:This f ormer ra i l v iaduc t was t urned in to a land-scaped rou te ne ar ly 20 ye ars be fore the H igh L ine was cre ate d .

Connections are the life blood of the city. It is vital that they should be functional i.e. to transit pedestrians from A to B with as much ease as possible. However, it can be seen that this is often not the case in our cities. Often times by using simple low-cost solutions such as shared-space or wide zebra-style crossings this can be easily achieved. Connections can be playful too. In this way routes can ful-fil their primary role but also constitute an interesting space in their own right. As such, well-designed connections have the potential to also become popular destinations.

Inspirational Connections

13

Paris and the River Seine are inextrica-bly linked in a way which many other riverine cities are not. While the Seine has historically been an important ar-tery for trade and commerce, the City best used the River to showcase its ar-chitectural glory. Its Quays are lined by iconic structures and crossed by bridg-es many of which are works of art. It is of little wonder that these very Quays have been designated by UNESCO as a world heritage site. The relation-ship between city and river continues to develop and evolve. For the past decade some 2.5 kms of the lower quays have been closed to traffic and turned into a series of beaches for the summer. Aptly named the Paris Plages, they have been immensely popular and has led to the development of a strategic plan whereby large sections of expressways along the Quays are set to be permanently pedestrianised.

Par i sThe English Capital is defined by the majestic meanders of the River Thames, yet it has only recently begun to realise the potential amenity the River could offer. Since the urban re-generation of the late 1980’s the City has journeyed a long way, with once seedy areas along the Thames being transformed into cultural and recrea-tional venues for people to visit and enjoy. Indeed, London is perhaps a number of years ahead of Dublin in terms of showing what riverside re-generation can add to the overall cultural offering of a city. An example of where this regeneration is most ev-ident is the South Bank. This area is a hive of activity, with its flagship Tate Modern Gallery linked by the Millen-nium Bridge to the City of London. Further upstream, plans for the rede-velopment of Battersea Power Station are also heavily based on the role of the River as an amenity space in the City. The idea of the Thames Path is also a concept that could be easily transferred to the River Liffey.

London

Historically reliant on its dense net-work of canals as a means of move-ment, it is perhaps not surprising that the City has retained an intimate relationship with its waterways. Due to this, its residents have a familiarity with the element which is most ap-pealing to the urban designer. For example, the waterways themselves are unguarded by walls or railings. This combined with the fact that res-taurants set out their tables just inches away from the canal edge allows for a strong level of interaction between the person and the water. The tra-ditional and successful built form of many doors-narrow units fronting onto canals has been re-visioned for the 21st Century with contemporary archi-tecture being promoted in new de-velopments. Indeed, it is striking that residential developments occupy the waterfronts, a trend which is reversed in Dublin, where offices dominate prominent river frontages.

Amsterdam

14

Cities We Like!

As part of the 21st Century Liffey Project we undertook a series of study trips to various inspirational cities. Not only were these cities exploring new opportunities underpinned by a great understanding of urban design, but each has had a strong relationship with its waterways. The connec-tion with water, for most European cities is a historic one that was maintained over the centuries. However, London had lost this connection and similar to Dublin, it is still in the process of rediscovery.

15

Prelude:Evaluating the

Quays

‘...the City is a drama and all its components, for example its areas of activity, routes, spaces and the Liffey are characters in this drama’

Figure Ground

The figure-ground map (left) illustrates how Dublin’s street and block network is unique, in that it is closely asso-ciated with the evolution of uses and activities which have occurred throughout the history of the City. Many of today’s character areas correspond to variations in the urban grid. Dublin’s streets have evolved and were influenced by the various development trends of different historical periods. Examples vary from the narrow winding medieval street network of the Old City focused around Christchurch Cathedral, to the formally planned Geor-gian squares. The urban grain of the present is the result of multiple layers of historical development. Inverting the figure-ground map of Dublin (see right) illustrates the rela-tionship between built form and land use. The dense con-centration of built form, both north and south of the River Liffey, is located within the north and south retail quarters. As one moves away from this core area the intensity of development decreases significantly, indicative of lower density residential developments. It is also evident how Trinity College, Merrion Square and St Stephen’s Green have influenced the development of the urban form of the City Centre.

19

Figure Ground + Water

The River Liffey is the most important natural feature which has defined and influenced the development of Dublin, from its origins as a Viking settlement to the present day. The relationship between water and built form can be best seen today in the Dublin Docklands, where new civic spaces have been created along the Campshires and at Grand Canal Dock. The larger urban footprints of these contemporary mixed-use developments can be clearly identified on the eastern-end of the figure-ground map.

21

The Bigger Picture

In comparison with other cities, Dublin is richly endowed with natural features. As such, the Capital can be de-scribed as both a riverine city and a maritime one. It is a City that also has its centre defined by canals, and its hinterland framed in part by a great urban park and by mountains. However, the regional scale of such features has meant that most people are disconnected with these natural attributes. The future strategic goal of the City must be the connection of all these elements. A high-quality promenade and cycleway along the Liffey Corridor would not only link up with the planned S2S (Sutton-to-Sandycove) cycle route but also connect the Phoenix Park to the Bay. This could act as a sustainable ‘trunk line’ that would have interlinking spurs with similar schemes on the Royal and Grand Canals and other key cross-city routes. In terms of urban design the Liffey Corri-dor is Dublin’s central interconnector in the 21st Century.

22

G r a n d C a n a l

Ph oe n i x Park

R o y a l C a n a l

R i ve r L i f fe yLiffey Valley

C ore

Bu l lI s l and

Wi c k l o w Mo u n t a i n s

Po o l be g Pe n insu l a

Re ta i lDub l i n

BayWar Memor ia l Garde ns + K i lma inh am

G r a n d C a n a l

R o y a l C a n a l

R i ve r L i f fe y

Po o l be g Pe n insu l a

PAR K C I T Y B AY

Dub l i n Bay

C e n t r e

C i t y

The basic regional structure of the Capital highlight’s the role that the Liffey plays in defining the overall basic form of the City and its hinterland.

Strategic Context

The River Liffey forms a natural corridor that links the green features of the Liffey Valley and Phoenix Park, the grey of the Inner City’s built form and the blue of Dublin Bay. It is therefore a logical step to try and best utilise the space along the Corridor to integrate these three elements: Park, City and Bay.

Park - City - Bay

The abstract rendering above depicts the desired levels of inter-activity where the Liffey can act as a conduit by drawing the Bay inwards towards the City and threading the Phoenix Park along its quaysides to the Bay. This blurring of boundaries can only be realised by the promotion of increased interaction between people and water within the City.

Desired Inter-activity

23

Par ne l l Square

St Ste phe n’s Gre e n

Par ne l l Square

St Ste phe n’s Gre e n

Loop l i ne

Loop l i ne

The route between Parnell Square and St Stephen’s Green forms the main com-mercial thoroughfare of the City and includes some of Dublin’s most import-ant public spaces such as Millennium Plaza at the G.P.O., O’Connell Bridge and College Green.

The Commercial Spine1

When intersected with the Liffey Corridor the basic urban form of the City Centre becomes fully apparent. This classic cruciform structure gives Dublin its core legibility. Together these two axes are vital to the functioning of the Inner City.

The LiffeyCorridor2

The inclusion of the various bridges and connections give a clue as to the importance, even dominance of the north-south routes. Also, one sees the importance of O’Connell Bridge as a major space at the intersection be-tween the two axes.

Paths + Connections3

When the main areas of activity or character areas are included the rea-son for the dominance of north-south routes is fully realised, as people want to get from one area of activity to anoth-er. This is particularly evident between the North and South Retail Cores.

Areas of Activity4

St Ste phe n’s Gre e n

The Cr uc i f orm St r uc t u re !

Par ne l l Square

Sou th Re ta i lQuarte r

St Ste phe n’s Gre e n

Sou th Do ck lands

North Re ta i l

Quarte r I .F.S .C. + North Do ck lands

Temp le Bar

Loop l i ne

Loop l i ne

Par ne l l Square

24

Sou th Re ta i lQuarte r

Par ne l l Square

St Ste phe n’s Gre e n

Sou th Do ck lands

Bar r ie r

Bar r ie r

North Re ta i l

Quarte r I .F.S .C. + North Do ck lands

Temp le Bar

The dominance of north-south routes results in these streets being extremely active while east-west routes along the Quays become devoid of such vibran-cy, in effect becoming doldrums areas. Also, the Loopline Bridge has the effect of reinforcing the physical and psy-chological divide between the historic Quays and the Docklands.

Barriers + Doldrums5

Urban Structure

Appreciating how the urban structure of Dublin works is similar to understanding the narrative of a story, in that the City is a drama and all its components, for example its areas of activity, routes, spaces and the Liffey are characters in this drama. It is therefore critical to have an insight as to how these characters interact if one wants to understand the story of how the City Centre functions and make proposals for its future. An examination of how the main players interact shows clearly that the Liffey, the main protagonist in this story, is somewhat overlooked and sidelined at present.

25

26

Psychogeography

The psychogeographic map of Dublin’s City Centre (see left) is inspired by the work of the Situationist International movement and is the result of an interpretative exercise which divided up a traditional map into distinct atmos-pheric entities, based on an analytical walk through these spaces. Psychological perception is key to this study and the intention was to illustrate Guy Debord’s concept of Dérive or drift, where the pedestrian can move freely or ‘drift’ through the urban environment. The arrows indicate this concept, where their frequency and size relates to the relative importance of the movement channels between the various urban areas. The spatial location of the atmos-pheric entities on the map correspond to their perceived distance from each other. This form of urban analysis has proved useful in that it positions the pedestrian to the fore-front of the urban evaluation, defining urban units based on the experience of place, rather than on geographical or political divisions. While it must be emphasised that this type of cognitive analysis is very much subjective in nature, it is a worthwhile exercise as it helps to pinpoint areas that suffer from a poor connection with other districts. As the psychogeographic map illustrates, this disconnection is for the most part not caused by distance but by poor-quality of both land uses and the public realm which negatively impact on peoples perceptions of space.

27

North Quays

South Quays

Assessment Scale 9-11+ entrances per 100 metres - highly desirable

5-8 entrances per 100 metres - somewhat desirable

0-4 entrances per 100 metres - not desirable

Street Entrance Analysis

Inspired by the work of Jan Gehl, this analysis maps the intensity of entrances opening onto the Quays. It is seen that the more entrances present that open onto a par-ticular street, the more vibrant and successful that urban space will be. In practice this would mean that the block should take on a so-called narrow units - many doors form, which Gehl expounds to be the most successful in cre-ating vibrant streets. This exercise seeks to find if the lack of entrances along the Quays corresponds with a lack of activity in these areas and vice versa. For the purposes of

this study a 3-tiered assessment scale was devised (see above). Ideally there should be an entrance at least every 10 metres (10 per 100 metres). The results highlight that the central Quays on both sides of the River have many en-trances thus increasing the possibility for street activities. To the east and west of these areas the number of entrances decreases markedly, resulting in a corresponding lack of footfall. It is noted that office uses rather than retail and service based activities are predominant in these areas.

28

Four Courts

Custom House

Legend

Good Encounter

Neutral Encounter

Poor Encounter

Good Encounter

Poor Encounter

Neutral Encounter

Ground Floor Transparency

The following assessment has analysed façade transpar-ency, texture and detail of ground floors along the Quays. It is most desirable to be able to see into buildings, similarly texture in the form of high-quality materials and fine details are also critical. This study has looked at each of these fac-tors in turn for every building along the Quays. Each build-ing has been assigned to one of three respective catego-ries: good, neutral or poor encounter. A good encounter is one where both façade transparency, texture and detail engage with the person in the street, where as a bad encounter is one where these characteristics do not intact with the public. In the case of the Docklands there are few

active frontages on the street with the quality of the public realm being reasonably good, thus most of the built form in the Docklands lie within either a poor or neutral category. In contrast, the public realm along the City Centre Quays is at a lower standard compared to the Docklands, but the area has a greater proportion of good encounters with the buildings. The findings do not show bias towards historical built form. For instance, the quality of the detail and texture of the Four Courts is exceptionally high, however the build-ing lacks transparency and its use is closed-off from the street. It was thus assigned a neutral result.

29

Movement is an essential part of everyday city life. Move-ment channels operate in the same manner as arteries and veins do in the human body, transporting the vital ingredients necessary for life to continue. In other words, there is no point creating successful public spaces if peo-ple cannot reach them with ease. There is also a need to strike a balance between creating pedestrian and cycle friendly spaces, providing public transport and catering for vehicular traffic. Often times city environments can be dominated by the car, making spaces both unattractive and unsafe for pedestrian users, who in turn avoid city spaces. This has the effect of rendering large portions of the urban landscape to become underutilised and neglected. The movement hierarchy of cities, which frequently places the car at the top of the hierarchy, needs to be reversed in order to cre-ate and meet the needs of a sustainable and walkable city.

It is no exaggeration to say the elephant in the room or in this case, the Liffey Corridor is the car. This is despite the major investment of recent years in projects such as the Port Tunnel and the Luas (light-rail system). In the long term, these large scale investments coupled with other initiatives including, the Dublin Bikes scheme, the provision of Bus Corridors and the College Green Bus Gate, will undoubtedly contribute to a modal shift away from private car use within the City Centre. According to the Dublin City Transport Plan

(2008), the City Centre’s street network is nearing capac-ity. Therefore, in order for Dublin City to continue to be at the centre of a vibrant and dynamic city region and also make a meaningful contribution to Ireland’s economic recovery in the years ahead, there is no choice but to in-itiate a shift away from the private car. It is clear from the analysis carried out that the Liffey Quays are designed for the vehicle, not the pedestrian. To ease this transition

away from reliance on the car, the public realm must first be redesigned for the person

on the street.

Movement + the Liffey

30

Over the past number of decades the Quays have been redesigned to cater for an ever-increasing level of private vehicular transport. The current situation sees the Liffey Corridor at the centre of a complex traffic management system where the Northern Quays carry the eastbound traffic and the Southern Quays the westbound lanes (see image above). This situation sees the role of the River Liffey being confined to acting as a mere central divider. Many other routes converging on the Quays are them-selves one-way, all designed to cope with the morning and evening peak-travel times.

Vehicular parking on quaysides fall into various catego-ries from loading bays and set down areas to taxi ranks. However, the majority is private vehicle parking that is me-tered by the City Council. This is not overly predominant along the Quays but it does tend to be clustered along areas that are visually sensitive i.e. the Four Courts and along George’s Quay opposite the Custom House.

1,800 p/hr - Total vehicular capacity for one lane of the Quays

V i ta l Movement S tat i s t ics

33%- Percentage of Dublin City Council residents that use a car for travel to work/school

1.1 Kilometres- Length of Quays taken up by car parking

108 Metres- Length of Quays taken up by taxi ranks

31

Street Clutter Study

Inspired by the work of Hans Monderman, a Dutch trans-port planner who pioneered the concept of the naked street (i.e. shared space) it was decided to carry out a street clutter analysis of the core study area. While it is im-portant not to label essential street utilities such as traffic lights and stop signs as clutter, they and many other items such as public art and monuments were mapped to see if by their very intensity and distribution they constitute visual clutter. The map (see opposite) illustrates a portion of the area mapped from the Four Courts to the area east of the Millennium Bridge and provides some interest-ing findings.

The public realm has a huge bearing on a person’s inter-action with the city. A high-quality and uncluttered public realm creates both an ease of movement within a district and increases its legibility, engaging with the pedestrian and encouraging further exploration of the city. Conversely, a low-quality public realm does much to create a hostile environment and discourages people from walking through an area. This is unfortunately the scenario which we current-ly find on the Quays, where the design of the public realm actively discourages people from walking in an east-west direction along the River. It is therefore not surprising that 86% of those surveyed have a negative opinion of the pub-lic realm along the Quays (see below).

Public Realm

Survey: Responses towards public realm on the Quays

86%

14%

Legend

Negative

Positive

This figure is simply far too high for an area vital to the overall well-being of the City Centre. Therefore, both de-cluttering the Liffey Corridor and the utilisation of more refined pavement materials and street furniture would help contribute towards the creation of an attractive and uni-fied public realm, which in turn would attract more people and activities.

32

P

B

S

Cycle Ranks

Dublin Bikes Stand

Flag Pole

Information Board

Post Box

Public Art

Railing

Real Time Bus

Bus Stop Sign

Naked Pole

Parking Meter

Planters

Seating

Signage

Telephone Box

Traffic Light

Bins

Bollards

Bus / Taxi Shelter

Street Light

Utilities Box

Wayfinder Sign

i

2 Mins...

A

P.O.

L

U

WF

Legend

33

Four Courts

Civic Offices

River Liffey

Painting the Quays Red

The comprehensive evaluation of street clutter on the Liffey Quays shows that such clutter tends to be most concen-trated in areas where there is a greater amount of public space available. This is particularly evident at junctions. It was also found that signage, railings and bollards are all responses to high levels of traffic. The result is a public that have become disengaged with its public realm, where their experience of poor-quality space becomes the norm. The evaluation sought to convey the extent of public desensitisation to poor-quality urban space and lack of attention to detail by graphically visualising images of street clutter along the River (see example near left, Essex Quay). This exercise in painting the Quays red has proven extremely effective in pro-actively engaging with people as to the plight of the City’s civic spine, where we are cur-rently witnessing a phenomenon of addition when it comes to street furniture. Subtraction is now needed in order to create a more attractive environment along the Quays. A general exercise in de-cluttering along the Quays would be the lowest cost - biggest impact intervention that could be undertaken along the Liffey in the short term.

35

This section of the Quays is proximate to the important junction of O’Connell Bridge. While congestion on Bachelors Walk has been eased by the Boardwalk the vast majority of space on the quayside (13.5 metres) is still dedicated to vehicles. On As-ton Quay there are four lanes dedicated to vehicles, creating a hostile pedestrian environment in a space that experiences a great deal of footfall.

Example: Bachelors Walk - Aston Quay

Liffey Cross Section Analysis

Often times quaysides like those of the River Liffey are examined singularly. However, this ignores the fact that the space is bound not by the river, but by the built form on the opposite quay. The following detailing of two such cross sections allows a more intimate examination of this space between the built façades.

19.3 m 42.7 m 24.7 m

87.7 m

36

B A C H E L O R S W A L K D E T A I L

Foo

tpa

th+

Tre

es

Boa

rdw

alk

2.8 m 13.5 m 3 m 4 m

Foo

tpa

th

Loa

din

g+

Se

t-d

ow

n

Ca

rs

Ca

rs

Ca

rs

37

A s t o n Q u a y D E T A I L

3.8 m 14.6 m 6.3 m

TAXI

TAXI

Foo

tpa

th

Foo

tpa

th+

Tre

es

Ca

rs

Ca

rs

Loa

din

g A

rea

+ B

us

Sto

ps

Taxi

Ra

nk

38

Conversation +

Debate

‘Successful urban design is not about creating arbitrary spaces but is about fostering community empowerment, civic pride and people-centred places.’

Initiating Change on the Quays

From the outset of the 21st Century Liffey Project, one of the key themes promoted was ‘Conversation + Debate’. Raising public awareness and interacting with people who use the Liffey Corridor was crucial in hoping to real-ise the desired output of the project to initiate change on the Quays. Therefore, the methodological process employed sought to engage with key partners and stakeholders and get the message out to the public from the very beginning. The outputs of this conversation and debate have informed the vision for the Liffey. Also, vital to the success of the project was the support of Dublin City Council, the body that manages the Quays. This rela-tionship has been relatively successful as the 21st Century Liffey Project itself now forms a part of the City’s first ever Public Realm Strategy.

21s t C e n t ur y L i f fe y Pro je c t

Dub l i n C i t y C ounc i l+

Dub l i n C i v ic Tr us t

Dub l i n C i t y Pub l i c Re a lm Of f ice r+ C i t y P l anne r

Ke y s takeh o lde rs + t he pub l i c

Dub l i n C i t y Pub l i c Re a lm St rate gy

2012 - 14

Fu t ure Stat u tor yLoc a l Are a P l an f or

L i f fe y Quays

St ra te g y f o r I n i t i a t i ng Ch a nge

Supporte d by

Engaging with L i a

i s ing

wi t h

Part o f

Informing

43

21st Century LiffeyConnector

+ DividerExhibition #1

Interim Exhibition

An inaugural exhibition 21st Century Liffey: Connector + Divider was held in May 2012 in the darc space gallery, Dublin. The event was sponsored by Dublin City Council and the Dublin City Business Association, with support from Dublin Civic Trust and the Irish Architecture Foundation. The Guest of Honour and keynote speaker was Duncan Stew-art, RTÉ presenter, producer and award winning architect. The principle aim of this exhibition was to stimulate conver-sation and debate about the future direction of the Liffey Quays. It highlighted its many problems, including traffic congestion, excessive street clutter and poor pedestrian environment. Judging from the feedback, the exhibition was positively received by the attendees who felt for the most part that its timely and constructive contribution to public debate about how the post-boom City should be improved was optimal.

Lunchtime Debate

As part of the exhibition, a lunchtime conversation was also held. This was chaired by Dr Sandra O’Connell editor of the Architecture Ireland Journal. The idea behind the event was to both widen debate and to have a more formal discussion about the issues highlighted in the exhibition. The debate began with a brief presentation and walk through of the exhibition by the authors. The attendees were then invited to take their seats and the talk was initiated by Dr O’Connell who spoke about the major topics for discussion and opened up the floor for questions. While there was a myriad of issues discussed, the conversation soon became centred on the problem of traffic on the Quays. Indeed, all of the participants seemed to be in agreement with the view that significant improvement in the public realm of the Quays is not possible without first radically addressing the problems of traffic congestion and car dependency in Dublin.

The problem of superfluous and ever-increasing street clutter was also noted by the participants. It was felt by many attendees, particularly those associated with the retail interests in the City Centre, that street clutter not only physically detracts from the aesthetics of the City, it also does much to inhibit the pedestrian experience. Many feared that if the situation was not addressed this could be detrimental to the local economy over the longer term. While the debate was designed to be just one element of the wider Connector + Divider exhibition, it was felt that this was actually the most beneficial part of the event.

45

Circle the area along the Quays which you think is most in need of intervention.

Custom House

Four Courts

Civic Offices

Convention Centre Dublin

46

Feedback + Comment

Feedback from both the public and stakeholders is vital to the project as it can help pin-point issues that may not be evident from a purely desk-based study and also provides a larger basis of thought and input. This has resulted in the vision not only representing our findings but also wider opinion. Indeed, judging from the public feedback it can be seen that the person in the street is as much in tune (if not more so) as policymakers in recognising both the shortcomings and indeed the potential of the City Cen-tre, including the Liffey Corridor. The feedback received focuses on the same range of issues we have often sought to highlight including the role of the car, the quality of the public realm and land uses and activities in particular are-as within the City.

The map (see left) provides just one interesting example of how we involved interested stakeholders and the public at large in our research for the 21st Century Liffey Project. This exercise was designed to find out exactly where people felt that an intervention or an improvement scheme along the Quays was most needed. Each circle represents the opinion of a particular respondent. The results provide an interesting insight as they show that the overwhelming majority of those questioned felt that the area between O’Connell Bridge and the Customs House is in need of greatest attention. This correlates with the results of the Liffey Evaluation (2011) where it was found that there was a significant psychological and physical barrier between the historic Quays and the Docklands. The evaluation found that this breakdown was most prominent around

the Loopline Bridge. In order to realise the Liffey Corridor as a connector and a Boulevard of Open Space, the afore-mentioned divide in particular, needs to be addressed.

47

48

Views of the Public

The series of post-its (see left) formed part of the feedback received in the Connector + Divider exhibition. Post-its have long been used as a way of gaining a quick insight into the public’s thinking on a particular subject and have the advantage of anonymity and an element of playful-ness that make them popular and therefore well-utilised. While critics may say that post-its lead to superficial and glib comments, they have the element of unprompted spontaneity that can be lacking if a person was directly asked for his or her opinion or to complete a survey.

The selection of feedback illustrates that despite the fact that no boundaries were set on the nature of the com-ments, they are remarkably focused. Indeed, the main is-sues on which they are centred on is the problem of traffic dominance and the corresponding neglect of pedestrian and cyclist infrastructure along the Liffey Corridor. It was seen that many of the comments allude to the possibility of the Liffey Corridor becoming an amenity area with sugges-tions for riverside plazas, outdoor swimming pools and line-ar parks along the Liffey. Interestingly, the improved public realm of the Campshires seemed to provide an inspiration for some, with the opinion being expressed that something should be done to improve the link between O’Connell Bridge and the North and South Docks.

49

Engagement

Successful urban design is not about creating arbitrary spaces but is about fostering community empowerment, civic pride and people-centred places. As such, engage-ment has been a vital part of every stage of the 21st Cen-tury Liffey Project. This is also to ensure that the vision for the Quays is a response to public opinion.

The project is fortunate to have Dublin City Council on board, as they are the statutory body responsible for the preparation of any future Local Area Plan for the Liffey Quays and subsequently for carrying out public realm improvements which can help make our vision a reality. As the result of a successful working rela-tionship a refocus of spatial policy has taken place and the City’s Public Realm Strategy has identified the Liffey Quays as the primary public space in the City. Dublin Civic Trust also lends its support to the project. As an independent charitable organisation working to pro-tect and enhance the built heritage of Dublin, their endorsement of the project has helped increased public awareness.

Key Supporters

On completion of the evaluation stage it was felt that the future success of the project required the need for an aware-ness of the initiative outside the confines of the City Council.

A targeted approach was employed that sought to en-gage with key organisations such as Dublin Civic Trust, Irish Architecture Foundation, Dublin City Business Association

and the Dublin City BID (Business Improvement District). Businesses on the Quays such as hotels, solicitors firms,

architectural practices, retailers and residents were engaged with and made aware of the project.

Talking with Stakeholders

50

Throughout the evaluation stage of the project, regular workshops were carried out with key officials within Dublin City Council and a regular Liffey Corridor discussion forum was established. The workshops proved beneficial and were used as a spring-board to debate the future direc-tion of the Liffey Corridor. They also provided a platform to set out the key findings and direction of the project, while raising awareness of the need for change along the Quays. This interaction proved fruitful in obtaining support within the organisation and to ensure that each department was fully briefed and aware of the project. After the evaluation was complet-ed and the interim exhibition held, an intensive workshop was organised to obtain input from all department officials within the Council at the outset of the design stage.

Liffey Corridor Discussion Group

In the preliminary stages of the evaluation, online surveys were devel-oped to ascertain the nature of awareness and feeling towards the public realm along the Liffey Corridor. The first of these surveys was a general public realm survey which investigated the individual intuitive responses to and psychological perceptions of different public realm settings.

A survey in relation to the Millennium Boardwalk was also undertaken to see if the respondents perceived the intervention to be a success or failure. The survey also asked for alternative suggestions as to how the amenity could be enhanced to improve the overall experience for the user. For both surveys the City Council’s Plan-ning and Economic Development Division was invited to take part. The rationale for choosing a workplace population in the Council was due its proximity to the Boardwalk.

Online Surveys

City Intersections is an interdisciplinary public forum dedicated to debating urban issues in Dublin. Organised by Dr Madeline Lyes,

the discussions take place on a monthly basis. The October 2012 session was organised as a special Liffey themed seminar to

mark the mid-point in the 21st Century Liffey Project. The City Intersections audience is unique in that it attracts a mix of

built environment professionals and students but also City residents. The timing of the talk was especially

optimal as it was at this point that the project was making its transition from the research phase to

the concluding design phase. The feedback from the discussion was particularly useful

as the attendees raised some interest-ing issues on the future potential of

the Liffey.

City Intersections Event

The aim of carrying out field surveys, interviews and pa-tronage counts was to assess people’s intuitive responses to and psychological perceptions of the Liffey Quays and in particular the Boardwalk, an important space constructed along the Quays. The patronage study was designed to as-certain the number of people who enter and walk along the Boardwalk in contrast to those who decide to walk along the footpath inside the Quay wall at given times. Simultaneous counts were taken at set times for a five minute duration. It was found that in total, 60% used the Board-walk, while 40% chose the footpath. Inves-tigating this further through interviews, it was found that anti-social behaviour, lack of po-licing and poor management all contributed to people not using the Boardwalk.

Fieldwork: Surveys, Interviews + Patronage Counts

51

Boulevard of

Open Space

‘Where the evaluation painted the Quays red to highlight the problems of street clutter, we now envisage a greening of the Quays to realise the idea of the Boulevard.’

The R ive r + the Quays : A Cont iguous Path o f Open Space Th rough the C i ty

BO

U L E VA R D O F O P E N S P A

CE

R E - C O N N E C T I N G T H E CI T

Y

The following chapter sets out a framework for design which explains the principle concepts integral to achiev-ing a re-visioned Liffey Corridor in the 21st Century. The overarching concept is based on the notion that the Liffey Corridor forms a grand boulevard of open space which bi-sects the City Centre. This contiguous path of open space includes the River and both north and south Quays, and represents the potential to create a setting that not only relates to the Liffey, but which is also unique to Dublin.

A Boulevard of Open Space

55

The Liffey Quays: Seeing Red, Envisaging Green

Painting the Quays Green

A traditional boulevard along the Liffey Corridor as the first fundamental design choice, correlates strongly with the stated principle to develop a designed thread to unify the space along the Quays, whilst also respecting the various character areas through which the Liffey flows. The notion of re-imagining the Quays as a boulevard through the City is also appropriate as it reflects the Quays prominent but

often unappreciated role as an artery or transept, bisect-ing the commercial core of the Capital. A Liffey boulevard would reflect the Quays’ importance in the urban form of the City. In essence, where the evaluation painted the Quays red to highlight the problems of street clutter, we now envisage a greening of the Quays to realise the idea of the boulevard.

56

Area of Intensive ActivityArea of Amenity Area of Amenity

A Re-visioned Scenario for the Quays

The Quays Re-visioned

The role of the Liffey Quays needs to be revisited to meet the requirements of the 21st Century. Historically, the devel-opment of Dublin has been inextricably linked to the River. At present, the Quays are a forgotten space, dividing the north and south City Centres and a space which is dom-inated by vehicular movement. The Liffey Corridor needs to be re-imagined and its potential as an amenity and movement channel fully realised. A redesign of the Quays

can prioritise pedestrian and cyclist movement along the Corridor linking the Phoenix Park to Dublin Bay. This corri-dor would be punctuated with areas of intensified activity between Wood Quay / Ormond Quay and the Custom House. This will reconnect the Docklands back into the City Centre, while maintaining each area’s distinctive charac-teristics.

57

Design Concept

A Rooms + Corridors Strategy is the central design concept behind the 21st Century Liffey Project. It is based on the understanding that cities are made up of a series of paths, built form and open space. In order to re-vision the Liffey Quays, this predominantly linear space is divided into a number of rooms or destination points. These spaces in turn

are connected to each other and the City Centre at large through a unified design scheme. In this way the Liffey Quays can become a central civic amenity for Dublin, that is not only highly connected and legible, but also a destination.

Urban blocks develop around the central movement channels and various public spaces emerge. These public spaces include squares and greens and become key destinations.

Form+ Space

Cities are made up of a series of paths and connections, funda-mental for getting around.

Paths+ Connections

The concept of Rooms and Corridors is in-spired by these basic components of urban space. The Liffey Corridor should not be considered as just a linear path. It can be di-vided into a series of rooms, which are each connected by corridors. This design principle is central to the vision for the Liffey Quays.

Rooms+ Corridors1 2 3

58

G.P.O.

O’C

onnell

Street

Spire

The Idea of a Room

The idea for developing a series of rooms along the Liffey Quays was devised following the results of the Liffey Corridor evaluation. Pedestrian surveys found that people consid-ered walking along the Quays to be long, monotonous and uninspiring. Consequently they chose to walk along other linear routes such as through Temple Bar or Dame Street. A strategy was therefore needed to create punctual spaces of interest along the Liffey Quays while also re-specting its special linear character. This is where the idea of the Room becomes central to the vision.

A good contemporary example of how thoughtful urban design and landscaping has been used to cre-ate a room is the Millennium Plaza in front of the G.P.O. on O’Connell Street. Formal planting and the use of high-quality materials specifically designed for the space, serves to create a punctual point along this street. The pleached trees do much to emphasise the idea that one is entering a room, the idea of the G.P.O being the focal point of the space also signals its importance. Modern sculpture is also accommodated in the guise of the Millennium Spire.

59

Identifying Rooms

Based on the analysis carried out as part of the evaluation stage of the project and as summarised in the preceding pages, a number of rooms have been identified within the study area. In identifying these rooms cognisance was taken of the presence of historic or significant landmark buildings, the availability of additional space, nodal points such as a junction with north-south pedestrian movement routes, and existing or potential land uses and activities.

These rooms will be developed as landmark or destination points and will require additional investment in terms of materials and finishes used. This will create areas of inter-

est along the Liffey Corridor for both Dubliners and visitors alike. Linkages between these rooms will be developed as high-quality corridors, which will not only connect the entire Liffey Corridor, but will also connect the Quays with well-patronised spaces and routes close by. This strategy not only provides a means of re-visioning this significant linear space by punctuating it with areas of interest, but it also allows for realistic and achievable phases of develop-ment, taking cognisance of the availability of funds. See Rooms + Corridors chapter where design and finishes of a selection of such rooms will be detailed.

Identifying Rooms + Corridors

60

1

3

4

5

62

River Liffey

Dublin Bay

Phoenix Park City Centre

Dublin Docklands

The availability of space north of the Ha’penny Bridge, the vibrant land uses and the presence of one of the busiest north-south pedestrian routes justify developing this space as a room.

Ha’penny Bridge + Liffey Street 3

Fronted by one of the most significant buildings along the Liffey Corridor, the western portion of Custom House Quay makes an ideal room due to the avail-ability of space and the potential for a land use change.

Custom House Quay1

The most important north-south nodal point in the City, O’Connell Bridge has the potential to become a focal point on a grand scale.

O’Connell Bridge2

The availability of additional space, the presence of some charming buildings and linkages directly into Temple Bar, make this space an obvious choice as a room.

Essex Quay4

Similar to the Custom House, this building is one of the most important landmarks in the City. This space should reflect the significance of the building.

Inn’s Quay /Four Courts 5

There is potential for this space to be-come a prime public space, linking the River to Collin’s Barracks. There is also the long term potential to connect it with new uses on the Guinness site.

Croppies Acre /Collin’s Barracks6

61

Revising Space

Seth Ullman, Project for Public Spaces

‘I’m a pedestrian before I’m a driver, a rider, a passenger, a worker, or a shopper’

Public space is at a premium in Dublin. There is intense competition between various interest groups to prioritise this space for their preferential use, be it for parking, vehi-cles, public transport, pedestrians, cyclists, utilities, street furniture or landscaping. In the context of the Liffey Quays some of these have to be de-prioritised for the sake of a better environment. Difficult choices will have to be made in order to realise a long term vision. The 21st Century City should be a responsive one, pro-actively anticipating and adapting to change. In practice this means the Quays need to be “rightsized” for the sustainable city. This involves removing all on-street parking, reducing vehicle lanes and lane widths, radically transforming the pedestrian environ-ment and providing quality cycle infrastructure. This chap-ter will be taking a people-centred approach in revising this space for the year 2030.

Competition for Space

A number of key spatial principles have been established which form the underlying basis of the vision for the Liffey Quays. The first is the realisation that the north and south Quays should not be considered in isolation to each other. They are part of a boulevard of open space which runs through the City Centre. The segregation of the Quays, as seen in current management structures in place only enforces the divide. In order to create a destination point along the Liffey Quays, they need to be considered as a cohesive unit. It is also essential to respect and maintain the intrinsic relationship that exists between the built form and the River itself. Anything which physically divides up the Quays, such as walls should be avoided at all costs.

Key Spatial Principles

The key spatial principle is the re-alisation that the Liffey Quays are a boulevard, where the space is bound not by the river, but by the built form on the opposite quay. The River is therefore the point of focus in this relationship. It is paramount that this be acknowledged, as the first step in re-visioning the space.

The Quays: A Single Visual Envelope

64

Pedestrian activity should occupy the space fronting the river, followed by cyclists. Buses should be located nearest to the built form, to accommodate the access and egress of passengers. Cars can occupy the remaining space. In cases where there is not sufficient room for this indicative layout, pedestrians and cyclists must take precedent fol-lowed by public transport and lastly the private car.

Placement of Key Players Along the Liffey

145

Collins Barracks

Smithfield

Grangegorman

Heuston

Phoenix Park

Kilmainham / War Memorial Gardens

Temple Bar

North Retail Quarter

Custom House

Grafton Quarter

I.F.S.C.

Grand Canal Way

Royal Canal Route

Sandycove

Sutton

Poolbeg Light House

Convention Centre

Four Courts

Liffey Valley

S2S

Cyc

lew

ay

Cosán na LifeLiffey Path

The Thames Path A Template for the Liffey

The Quays have the potential to not only become a central distributor of pedestrian traffic to the major attractions within the City, but also become a destination in its own right. At a strategic level this route should become Phase 1 of a greater Liffey Path extending past the Phoenix Park westwards towards the Liffey Valley and beyond. This idea takes its inspira-tion from the Thames Path - a walking route by the River which runs from its source to the sea.

Walking on the Quays

The creation of a high-quality cycle route is fundamental to the vision of creating a boulevard linking the Phoenix Park to Dublin Bay along the Liffey Quays. The best solution for achieving this is to provide cycle lanes on both north and south Quays. In the inter-est of re-visioning the space for the long term, this solution will ensure that the design of the public realm is not compromised. We call this propos-al the P2P or the Park to Peninsula route. This will interconnect to the S2S (Sutton to Sandycove) route and to other key sustainable movement corridors within the City.

P2P - Park to Peninsula Cycleway

Phoenix Park

Dublin City

Phoenix Park Poolbeg Peninsula

Park to Pen insu la

P2P Cycleway

66

A future scenario would see the Liffey Quays as a boule-vard, providing a quality walking and cycle route between the Phoenix Park and Dublin Bay, which passes through a number of rooms, each containing a distinctive scheme. Enhancing and providing connections throughout the City Centre is pivotal and as such, existing pedestrian routes would need to be enhanced and new pedestrian priori-tised routes and cycleways developed (see opposite).

Connecting Space

Legend

Rooms

Liffey Boulevard

Pedestrian Prioritised Routes

Public Transport Priority Route

Pedestrianised Quay

The historic function of the Quays has been for movement. This role will continue to be fulfilled by the Liffey Quays in the 21st Century city. However, the basic aim of any re-vi-sioning of the Quays will be to make it easier for people to get about town rather than cars. A Liffey boulevard environment will attract people to use this space as part of their journey within the City Centre. Yet, the delivery of a quality and de-cluttered public realm that prioritises peo-ple will naturally impinge on the road space that vehicles currently use. There is an inverse relationship between the quality of the public realm along a route and the capac-ity of that route to accommodate traffic. If the Quays are to be rightsized into a sustainable urban boulevard, then the car-dominated space must become a place that is designed for the pedestrian.

Getting About Town

WEST- Heuston Station- Phoenix Park - Liffey Valley (South Dublin / Co. Kildare)

- Dublin Bay- S2S Route

EAST

67

In the revised quay lane layouts, increasing space for the pedestrian alongside the quay wall is a priority as the Liffey must be the focus of attention. It is the intention that for the majority of the length of the Quays, two lanes of traffic (one lane for buses and one for cars) will be provided on both the north and south Quays. Depending on the width of a particular quay, the revised layout allocates 3 to 3.5 metres for each lane. In some cases this is narrower than the present width of lanes. This is designed to limited the speed of traffic in the City Centre.

By reducing both quay lanes and widths and eliminating all quayside parking, the goal of reorientating the public realm of the Quays away from the car will be realised. This space can then be used for landscaping and allowing for a more generous provision for seating and bicycle facilities.

Realising the Boulevard

The diagrams illustrated on the opposite page show two types of space that form the majority of the Liffey Quays.

The re-visioned scenario (right) is proposed to be applied to the following Quays:• Burgh Quay (part of)• Eden Quay• Aston Quay (part of)• Ormond Quay Upper• Inn’s Quay • Merchant’s Quay• Wood Quay

The re-visioned scenario (far right) is proposed to be applied to the following Quays:• Burgh Quay (part of)• Aston Quay (part of)• Wellington Quay (part of)• Ormond Quay Lower• Essex Quay (part of)

68

In cases where there are three lanes of traffic, the removal of one lane will allow for wider pedestrian pavement and a dedicated cycle lane. Seating and bicycle bays can be placed in between the trees. Only one row of trees can be planted due to the limited space. However, the greening of the quay and the increase in the width of the quayside pavement will do much to make it an attractive prom-enade.

Re-Visioned 3 Lanes Quay

BUS

BUS

The revised design for an existing three lane plus parking layout will involve the removal of parking and one lane of traffic. This will allow for generous river-side pavement, a cycle lane, and provision for a double row of trees with seating. The aim is to realise a setting which from a spatial perspective is similar to the situation on the regenerated Campshires in the Docklands. The two remaining lanes will be com-prised of one bus lane and one vehicle lane.

Re-Visioned 3 Lanes + Parking Quay

69

Pinch Points

Pinch points occur along the Quays where only two lanes of traffic exist. This situation is especially serious for pedes-trian amenity as the quayside footpath narrows in some places to less than one metre in width. Compromise is therefore necessary at these points. Pedestrian, landscap-ing and cycling improvements will mean that in some lo-cations maintaining two lanes of traffic will not be possible.

The iterations (see below) for Essex Quay illustrate various solutions for dealing with pinch points.

The construction of a boardwalk as the only option for pedestrians is not rec-ommended due to the long term risk of flooding and the associated main-tenance works involved. This solution would not allow for the planting of trees leaving a critical gap in the proposed boulevard.

Boardwalk1Extending the quay wall at pinch-points is also not recommended as it would detract from the integrity of this historic structure and upset the harmony which exists throughout the length of the Quays. Landscaping will not be possible in this scenario.

Quay Wall Extension2Removing one lane of traffic and pro-viding a combined bus and car lane at pinch points allows for cycling, pedestri-ans and planting inside the quay wall. To limit potential congestion, no bus stops will be provided along these stretches and the lane will be greater than the minimum standard of three metres.

Remove Car Lane3

The following Quays are affected by this issue:• Ellis Quay / Arran Quay, 410 metres• Essex Quay / Wellington Quay, 170 metres• Aston Quay (Ha’penny Bridge), 65 metes

70

The planting of trees is a fundamental part of realising the vision for a Liffey Corridor boulevard. Trees will provide es-sential structural elements, that will create a unity between the north and south Quays and also enhance east-west connections. One of the central concepts for the Quays’ vision is the notion of the mise-en-scène, in which the Quays themselves become a stage. Drama is created through the changing colours of the trees themselves, from green to yellow and brown in autumn and bare in winter, providing a constant change of backdrop for the Liffey

Corridor throughout the year. A continuous boulevard of trees is the missing link along the Quays, essential for softening the landscape and enhancing the experience of the space for users by providing atmosphere and in time, a sheltered canopy. To ensure the healthy growth of the trees and their roots, trees should be planted in uncovered connected tree pits. There should be no tree grills and the pits will be finished with a fine gravel. This will create an intimate setting along the River, helping to emphasise the boulevard setting of the Corridor.

Greening the Boulevard

Pleached Lime trees could be located along the narrow stretches of Quays, where con-ventional planting is not appropriate due to a lack of space. They will also be employed in some of the rooms where they will aid in the framing of buildings. This will provide a design consistency in the boulevard maintaining a green link from the Phoenix Park to the Bay.

Pleached Lime TreesIn order to demarcate some of the rooms, Lime trees should be planted. Also a very popular urban tree, particu-larly in Europe, these species seem to thrive along side the Liffey as they were planted extensively in the 1990’s Liffey Campshire regeneration schemes.

Lime TreesThe London Plane should be predomi-nately planted along the corridors of the Liffey Quays in order to create the green boulevard. This is a very suitable urban tree, which has been used throughout Dublin. Depending on the width of the Quay, it is possible for two rows to be planted side-by-side.

London Plane Tree

71

123

6

4

7

5

8

The materials pallet for the Liffey Corridor is based on high-quality and consistency. High-quality for durability and consistency to create a designed thread along the River. The approach taken is based on the Rooms and Corridors strategy, where the rooms, intended to be focal points will be paved with indigenous Leinster Granite, while the corridors will use the standard pavement materials. Other furniture such as lighting, bins, bike stands and seating should be of high-quality and coordinated throughout the Quays.

Materials Pallet

Pre-caste Concrete Paving1

Bituminous Macadam Cycle Track2

GraniteDivider3

Bollards (cellar protection)4

Seating5

Bins6

Cycle Stands7

Uncovered Tree Pits873

Land use is the crucial component in creating a vibrant and active urban environment. The larger the footprint of a building, the less active the streets surrounding the building are. This was particularly noted in the Docklands where single-use urban blocks are commonplace. The Docklands is now establishing itself as Dublin’s new Central Business District (CBD) and as a result there is a demand for high-quality large scale floor plates for office use. However a balance needs to be struck in such developments which should seek to incorporate an optimal mix of commer-cial and residential uses. To enliven the Quays it is critical that residential developments front onto the Liffey. In the City Centre, such large scale development is out of the question, here we should seek to maintain the successful footprint of the existing built form whilst at the same time promoting a healthy mix of uses and high-quality contem-porary architecture.

Land Use + Activities

74

Ormond Quay Upper

Rubix Cube

Traditional Form

The contemporary Liffey Block draws its inspiration both from the traditional quayside built form on Ormond Quay Lower and contemporary architectural design. It can be seen that the proposed form emulates the traditional narrow units - many doors format that continues to be so successful in the historic urban cores today.

Re-visiting the Liffey Block

75

New developments in the Docklands should set a new standard in terms of mixed uses and promoting a fine ur-ban grain, particularly at ground floors. Indicative perimeter blocks can support office or residential units, while slender towers would increase residential density in the area.

The Docklands Block

76

The perimeter block and court typology allows for the provision of private, public and semi-private open space within the block. There are many options which can allow for different functions and activities to take place. The subdivision of the space into private allotments or gardens is one such interesting solution for the space.

Inside the Docklands Block

77

Rooms +

Corridors

‘A 2030 vision for the Quays is realised though the promotion of a Rooms + Corridors strategy which lays down a solid design-based foundation for the radical transformation + re-imagining

of the City’s civic spine, where the Liffey Corridor becomes the mise-en-scène of the capital.’

Constructing the Boulevard

The key to realising the Liffey Boulevard is the Rooms and Corridors strategy, which capitalises on existing spaces within the urban form of the Liffey Corridor to create a number of ‘rooms’ or public spaces designed to punc-tuate the Quays, while also taking care to respect their traditional linear nature. The Rooms and Corridors strategy is designed to be applied to the entire length of the Quays, however for the purpose of illustration a selected number of rooms including O’Connell Bridge, Custom House Quay, and Essex Quay will be explored in detail as future rooms,

whilst the idea of the corridor will be applied to Burgh and Eden Quays, and Bachelors Walk respectively. The notion of the mise-en-scène on the Liffey Corridor is also a central component for the vision. In keeping with this, both the rooms and corridors will demonstrate their ability not only to have a functional use but also to be a stage for works of public art or exhibitions. The River itself is intended to become the central character in this re-visioned drama and therefore this work will also explore how it can be best adapted to integrate with both people and the City.

80

Major Civic Space

Focal Artwork

Commercial Spine Boulevard

D’Olier Street Boulevard

R i ve r L i f fe y

R i v e r L i f f e y

O’Connell Bridge Room

The central element to a re-visioned O’Connell Bridge is the proper utilisation of the large amount of space pres-ent. The various coloured hashed areas on the concept diagram (see left) indicate the huge scope for increasing space for the pedestrian. In this way it can be seen that the room concept comes fully into being and the creation of a grand civic plaza is a realistic prospect. Crucially, pe-destrian desire lines, critical for the success of such a large space are taken into account.

Legend

Liffey Boulevard

Primary Desire Lines

Diagonal Desire Lines

O’Connell Bridge Plaza

81

The O’Connell Bridge room is essentially the main cross-roads of the City Centre. The design scheme proposed is both radical and yet restrained. It is radical in the sense that the majority of the space is allocated solely for the use of the pedestrian majority who use it. Indeed the diagonal crossings are designed to give the person in the street a sense of safety and freedom in both their use of the space and their choice of journey through the space (see image, left). The nature of the design is also refined to allow for the full expression of the existing classical urban form of the area. The landscaping scheme is a conscious response to the layout of Westmoreland and D’Olier Streets as the tree planting is designed to both emphasise and complement these axes, lending a Boulevard-like feel to the City. Similar-ly, the granite planters with pleached trees on O’Connell Bridge endeavour to both soften the environment and delineate the space. The pleached trees take their cue from the scene on Millennium Plaza at the GPO and are designed to bring a certain level of designed consistency southwards from O’Connell Street. Leinster granite pave-ment should be used throughout this space to highlight the importance of this room to the City. This pavement mate-rial is ideal as it sits comfortably with the Portland stone of O’Connell Bridge.

As is usually the case at pedestrian crossings, the traffic lights go red for one route so as to let cars and pedestrians cross this route. However, when junctions become satu-rated with pedestrian footfall this classic system breaks down and an alternative solution is required. This solution

is a diagonal crossing and is best seen in action at Oxford Circus in London. Here, at set times all traffic is stopped on all arms and pedestrians can even cross diagonally - effectively dealing with the pent-up demand. This type of pedestrian crossing, pioneered in Japan, is ideal in a situation where pedestrians are clearly in the majority but yet the space needs to be open for vehicles and public transport. The O’Connell Room with its complicated series of junctions and high pedestrian footfall therefore qualifies as a space suitable for such a responsive design solution.

The Crossroads of the City

The Diagonal Crossing Oxford Circus, London

83

Realising the Mise-en-Scène

A plinth has been placed at the intersection of the D’Olier Street / Westmoreland Street axes to accommodate tem-porary pieces of public art (see example left, sculpture by Barry Flanagan). By creating a stage for public art at the most prominent place in the room, the idea of the mise-en-scène is realised in a fun and contemporary manner. The concept draws its inspiration from the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square and is designed so that the installation is temporary, to be replaced on a continuous basis. Thus, the constant change of installations reflects the concept of continuous flux in both the Room and City.

Since 1998 the empty plinth in the north-west corner of the square, which has become known as the Fourth Plinth has been utilised to show a series of temporary installations (see right). For example a 1:30 scale replica of HMS Victory in a giant glass bottle was installed on the plinth in May 2010. This was replaced by a work entitled ‘Powerless Structures, Fig. 101’ a sculpture of a child on a rocking horse. The forth plinth has caught the imagination of the public and has become incredibly popular. It has helped the re-imagin-ing of Trafalgar Square without detracting from the area’s historic setting. Indeed, it is as popular an attraction in the Square as the focal point that is Nelson’s Column.

March 2012

March 2011

85

R i ve r L i f f e y

Campshires

Connected Uses

Important Views

Legend

Liffey Boulevard

Primary Desire Lines

O’Connell Bridge Plaza

Dublin Civic Museum

86

Custom House Room

The Custom House Room has the potential to undergo the most dramatic transformation of all spaces along the Liffey Quays. The fundamental concept for this room is based around the awareness of the symbiotic relationship which needs to exist between the use of the Custom House, the quayside and the River. Presently, the area around the Custom House is devoid of activity. This lack of vibrancy has been the lead cause in contributing to anti-social be-haviour. Revitalising the space around the Custom House should not be about designing for design sake as the building’s architecture is the primary feature and as such, all new interventions in the space should be deferential to the Custom House. Therefore, the overarching approach behind the re-visioning of this space is refined design based on high-quality indigenous materials. No trees would be planted in front of the Custom House so as to maintain the link between the built form and the River. However, pleached lime trees could be planted to frame both the Civic Plaza and the building. Indeed the key element for the creation of a room at the Custom House is the devel-opment of a grand civic plaza on the Quay.

87

Activities for the Room

A major new cultural and civic space is proposed for the Custom House. This would take the form of a dedicated civic museum for Dublin, an amenity which is something the Capital badly needs. The proposal draws on the exist-ing museum at the Custom House, which has been closed for the past number of years and would if reopened and expanded, be host to various spaces designed for both permanent and temporary exhibitions. Spaces which can cater for lectures and temporary events will also be pro-vided. It is noted that the use of the Custom House would remain primarily for administration (government offices). In order to create a space which is vibrant throughout

the day, a restaurant could be also developed, which remains open past museum opening hours. An interesting opportunity could be realised if the CHQ building were to be developed as a maritime museum for the Capital. If this occurred the two venues could be marketed as a duel destination with single-ticketing for both. This is something that is worthwhile exploring in further detail. The plaza is designed to host a continuous series of events, both great and small throughout the year. Inspiration is drawn from South Bank in London where stretches of the riverside are host to various activities such as book fairs and markets.

89

Animating the Public Realm

As has been previously stated, refined design is key to creating a grand civic plaza in front of the Custom House. The design envisages the plaza itself being pri-marily paved with Leinster Granite, indigenous to Dublin, as this granite complements the Portland Stone of the building. Diorite cobblestones would be laid in the centre of the plaza to punctuate the space. Pleached Lime trees would be planted flanking each end of the Custom House, delineating the entrance to this room (see previ-ous page). They would be planted in a way so as not to detract from views of the building from the opposite side of the Liffey. The formal nature of the planting is a re-sponse to the classical symmetry of the building.

The formality of the space is nicely juxtaposed by the presence of the proposed dancing fountains, located to the front of the portico, where an element of playful-ness is injected into the urban scene. The use of water was considered an appropriate design feature to link the space with the River Liffey, whilst not detracting from the architecture nor the classical design scheme for the public space. The fountains would provide height and structure to the public plaza, albeit controllable. This water installation is similar to the one in place at Somer-set House in London (see upper right) and is designed to be interactive, flush to the pavement surface to allow people to walk between them. By controlling water pres-sure the height of the fountains can be managed at any desired level. At night, LED lighting would provide a light show, further animating the space. The fountains would

be switched-on during the summer months or during special events, but can be easily turned-off if the space is required on the plaza for outdoor events.

The proposed Custom House Plaza is designed to cater for pedestrians and cyclists in an informal manner, drawing its inspiration from the classical European city squares. To ac-commodate pedestrianisation of the space, traffic would be diverted to the rear of the building at Beresford Place.

90

BUS

R i v e r L i f f e y

R i v e r L i f f e y

Legend

Liffey Boulevard

Desire Lines

Essex Quay Room

Temple Bar link

Soft Landscape Areas

Focal Artwork

Th e C o n c e p t

92

Sm o c k A l l e y

Th e a t r e

Essex Quay Room

The Essex Quay room has the potential to become an at-tractive public space along the Liffey Quays, which wouldcontain seating and planting to create a tranquil environ-ment. Located adjacent to Smock Alley Theatre and the Civic Offices which houses a significant workforce, there is demand for an upgrade to the Quay’s public realm. The space also has the potential to encourage a strong pedestrian link between Temple Bar and the Liffey Quays, functioning as an anti-room linking these two dynamic spaces in Dublin. As a juxtaposition to the quite formal setting of the scene, which is framed by buildings on three sides and the Liffey on the fourth, a slightly more playful and contemporary design can be used drawing on the theatrical uses fronting onto the Quay (see diagram, lower left). The aim is to create an environment which not only becomes a room along the Liffey Boulevard, but which also relates to the land uses and activities taking place in the adjacent buildings.

93

A Soft Landscaping Solution

The design concept for Essex Quay is to apply a green and soft landscaping solution to what is presently a hard space. Contemporary seating planters are placed to relate to desire lines across the space and are seeded with wild flowers, to create a more relaxed feel to the space. Some of the existing trees would be maintained and incorporat-

ed into the scheme. In keeping with the theatrical theme, a contemporary piece of sculpture (illustrated work by Guy Haley) depicting the comedy and tragedy masks is placed in the centre of focus. The installation would be illuminated at night (see image above), alerting people to the pres-ence of the theatre.

94

Burgh + Eden Corridors

The primary objective for the Eden and Burgh Corridors must be to overcome the existing divide and create an effective link between the growing central business district of the Docklands and the commercial core of the City Centre. The key aim to achieving this is the creation of a visual link between the Docklands and O’Connell Bridge by means of thoughtful landscaping, a continuous cycle path and generous pavement provision with seating (see image above). The greenery of the trees is the most effec-tive design link, as in the longer term they will grow to cre-ate an attractive and sheltered canopy over these Quays. Another concept that would be suitably located along this

quayside is the idea of creating an outdoor permanent exhibition space (see left). Its function should not be for the purpose of advertising events, but exclusively centred on exhibiting a work in its own right. For example the display panels could showcase an exciting urban design project for the Liffey Quays or illustrate the work of the finalists of the Texaco Children’s Art Competition. This kind of public display of art would not only show that the City Council is serious about the promotion of good design and an inter-active public realm, but would also show the potential of the Quays to host such work.

97

99

Bachelors Walk Corridor

Bachelors Walk is a good example of how a congested area of the urban environment can be re-imagined by re-moving just one lane of traffic. The space gained along the quayside allows for an eastbound cycle lane, increased room for pedestrians and sustainable tree planting. The re-sult of this is the creation of an attractive City Centre prom-enade which enables the pedestrian to have a positive experience of their journey along the Liffey (see above).

The setting back of the built form on Bachelors Walk in the area closest to the junction at O’Connell Bridge enables room for the placement of outdoor seating for café and restaurant uses (see left). Such uses should be encouraged in this area as they will lend a continental-style atmosphere to what is a very prominent section of the Quays.

Animating the River

The River itself is intended to become the central char-acter in this re-visioned Liffey Corridor Boulevard so that it takes its rightful place as the key area of amenity and activity in the City. The creation of landscaped pontoon gardens on the Liffey is one interesting design solution of how to help people to interact with the River. Such struc-tures could stretch along a Quay being linked to each other by bridges. The idea of the pontoon is that they are the ideal multi-functional space, not just a promenade but a venue for riverside picnics, cafés and a docking point for the Liffey Voyager service. The pontoons could also host a river kayaking centre, emulating the existing one in the Docklands but bringing this activity to the heart of the City. For the pontoons to be successful it is critical that they be overseen by a comprehensive management body that looks after the structure on a day-to-day basis. An appro-priate site could be on Ormond Quay Upper where the structure could help to enliven this quiet section of the of the Liffey Corridor (see left).

101

The 21st Century Liffey Project has explored a city + its river. Over the past number of years the City

has evolved dramatically but the River has not. The Liffey Quays have been stuck in a traffic-choked

malaise for the past generation or more. If we want to break free from this car-dominated limbo there

needs to be a strategic plan where a focus on urban design is paramount. The Quays represent a

unique predicament for Dublin. They lie at the heart of the City but are not a part of it. A 2030 vision for

the Quays is realised though the promotion of a Rooms + Corridors strategy which lays down a solid

design-based foundation for the radical transformation + re-imagining of the City’s civic spine, where

the Liffey Corridor becomes the mise-en-scène of the capital. This is manifested through the creation of

a green Boulevard linking the Phoenix Park to Dublin Bay and punctuated by a number of feature

destination spaces or rooms, where the River is the central feature of the space. A paradigm shift is

required in Dublin in order to achieve real + worthwhile change along the Liffey Corridor over the next

couple of decades + as such the time has come for a daring + creative response at City Council level

to this challenge for the City. In essence two approaches can be applied to the Liffey: utility + passion.

The utilitarian approach currently witnessed has resulted in an unchanged Quays in an ever-changing

City. A passionate approach, demonstrated by our project, must be adopted for the Quays to

become the central amenity that 21st Century Dublin both needs + deserves.

Epilogue

102

www.urbannexusinitiative.com