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Nuachtlitir Oifigiil Institiid Ailitir Trdhreacha na hireann, Samhradh 2010

The ILI Awards

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LANDSCAPE Ireland is the official journal of the Irish Landscape Institute. The Irish Landscape Institute is the representative body for landscape professionals in Ireland. The Irish Landscape Institute is affiliated to the European Foundation for Landscape Architecture and the International Federation of Landscape Architects. Editorial: Irish Landscape Institute PO Box 11068 Dublin 2 Ph + 353 1 6627409 Email ili@irishlandscapeinstitute.com visit www.irishlandscapeinstitute.com

CONTENTS
P 02 News & Events

SPECIAL FEATURES
P 05 A Message from the President of the Irish Landscape Institute P 06 The 2009 Irish Landscape Institute Awards
P9 P 12 P 14 P 21 P 23 P 25 P 26 Commercial & Institutional Category Landscape Planning Category Public Realm Category Heritage & Conservation Category Residential Category Research Category Student Category

Editorial Committee: Kieran ONeill MILI Rowan DArcy GMILI Reviewed by Deirdre Black
All rights reserved. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Irish Landscape Institute or the editorial committee

REGULARS
P 28 Project Profile: Designing Dublin P 32 On Location: Beyond Barcelona

Cover Montage:

Original image - Joyces Court Pedestrian Walk: Dermot Foley & Co Landscape Architects

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events

Mitchell + Associates appointed to undertake C o r k D o c k l a n d s P u b l i c Re a l m D e s i g n

Cork City Council view the regeneration of Cork Docklands as: a key part of the strategy for growth in the wider region in order to meet the objectives of social, economic and environmental sustainability. The Docklands comprises an area of approximately 162 ha. The long term strategic vision for the Docklands is a new urban quarter in Cork that will revitalise the city through high quality, contemporary design and a vibrant mix of uses. Mitchell + Associates have been appointed to prepare a detailed strategy and vision, and to prepare an implementable scheme to detailed design stage.

News
I n t e r n a t i o n a l Ye a r o f Biodiversity
2010 is the United Nations International Year of Biodiversity, which was launched recently in Bonn. Its declared as a celebration of life on earth and of the value of biodiversity for our lives. In Ireland a marginal value of biodiversity was estimated at 2.6billion in 2008 which helps focus our minds on its local financial importance. Minister John Gormley emphasised more intangible benefits in his statement The important message is that if we dont understand how vulnerable and important it is to our own wellbeing then people wont go the extra distance to protect it.

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For further information and news of events for IYB see the following websites: www.noticenature.ie www.cbd.int/2010/welcome/

CPD Tr a i n i n g Module: Introduction to Landscape Character Assessment

The Heritage Councl and its Partners: Institute of Archaeologists of Ireland, Irish Landscape Institute, Irish Planning Institute, Royal Town Planning Institute are running A Pilot CPD Training Module: Introduction to Landscape Character Assessment (LCA) which will take place in Spanish Point and Tulla, Co.Clare on 14th and 15th May 2008.

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From left to right: Michael Heurich (Tutor) Dr Karen Foley (Tutor) Eoin Campbell, Gareth Toolan, Gerard Moran, Yas Al Delamie, Kyle Petrie, Rebecca Massey, Damien Wildes, Danielle Naughton, Eunan ODonnell, Maria Duignan, Caitriona n Fhgartaigh, Dr Mark Richardson (Head of School) Yesim Guener, Simon Ronan, Kieran Culleton, Orla Brady

UCD Student Exhibition 2010

University College Dublin are hosting an end of year showcase of all this years Landscape Architecture students work and will incorporate an opening ceremony, wine reception, student exhibition and prize presentation. The event will be held on Friday the 21st of May in the Landscape Architecture Studio, Newstead ,UCD. - Doors open at 5pm - Exhibition starts at 6pm - Food and Drink reception - Prizes for the best boards per year

T h e Tr e e C o u n c i l o f I r e l a n d r e q u e s t help in locatiing heritage trees in Ireland

Heritage trees are an integral and valuable part of our natural and cultural landscape and are often among the oldest living objects in the country. They are found in our native woodlands, historic parklands and estates, in association with human settlement, along roadsides and in hedgerows, agricultural fields and occasionally as isolated specimens in the middle of housing estates or development sites. Heritage trees are often all that remains as a legacy of some of our most historic landscapes. They survive today because of their historical connections, aesthetic appeal, because of their ecological or botanical significance or simply because they are hidden away. However, many are endangered either through neglect or lack of knowledge. Many more have been lost or felled to make room for development, intensive agriculture and forestry or for misguided safety reasons. Existing legislative measures aimed at conserving trees of heritage interest are largely ineffective but little can be done to effect the necessary changes required to improve the efficiency of tree-related legislation without evidence of the extent of the resource to be protected.

For further information see: http://www.treecouncil.ie/tree_council_heritage_tree_hunt.htm The Official Journal of the Irish Landscape Institute, Summer 2010 P3

News

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events

Congratulations to the UCD class of 2009

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ILI 2010 Calender

events News &

The Institutes 2010 Calendar is available for download from the Institutes website (www.irishlandscapeinstitute.com). This years calendar image of Dublins dockland campshires was submitted by Rachel Murphy ILI.

I F P R A Wo r l d C o n g r e s s 2010
The International Federation of Parks and Recreation Administration are holding their World Congress in Hong Kong from 15th - 18th November 2010 with the theme of Quality Services - Parks, Recreation and Tourism.

New ILI Logo Unveiled

A new logo for the institute was finalised and launched in November 2009. The logo is a bold graphic of the letters: I L I .

For further information see: www.ifpra2010.lcsd.gov.hk/en

I F L A 4 7 t h Wo r l d C o n g r e s s
The International Federation of Landscape Architects 47th World Congress will be held in Suzhou ,China, which is located 80km west of Shanghai. Suzhou is regarded as a landscape destination as it holds some excellent traditional Chinese gardens & parks.This event is on between 28th and 30th May 2010. For further information see: www.ifla2010.cn

Going Overseas?
Whether by need or desire, many landscape professionals are now relocating overseas to establish or continue their careers. The institute would like to keep in touch and relate experiences of those establishing themselves abroad. Please e-mail us at: ili@irishlandscapeinstitute.com

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We are a young profession. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the ability of your professional institute to fully represent your interests in difficult times perhaps I should say limited ability. While we share all the same difficulties and are subject to all the same pressures as our sister disciplines in these hard times, we have limited numbers and resources generally within the profession to sustain the advances we have seen over the last number of years. Over the earlier part of our existence as a professional institute, we have gradually developed our membership and registration system and our professional practice examinations system. We have successfully linked into the European and International Federations and we have created links to and made our mark to some extent with government departments, a range of state agencies and our educational establishments. The efforts of my predecessors and Council members over the years should not be undervalued. Currently, amongst other things, we have been engaged in developing our own Codes of Conduct and our own Conditions of Engagement which will be of great assistance in guiding our membership and client bodies through the intricacies of that sometimes difficult professional relationship. However a current shortfall of information regarding our membership and practices threatens to seriously hamper our ability to speak with confidence on matters regarding the current state of our profession and its ability to deliver as we have over recent years. At a point where our profession is increasingly recognised as uniquely capable in the delivery of important, relevant and high quality work, how can we ensure that this momentum is maintained through this difficult period? What is the nature and extent of current employment (and unemployment) within our membership? What level of loss to the profession are we experiencing? What external pressures are being brought to bear upon our profession in this highly competitive environment? How are members in the Public sector fairing what problems and opportunities are presented in the current climate? What levels of business are our private Practices actually experiencing at present and how will this affect future prospects and performance?

What can be done to rationalise the pre-qualification and procurement processes that the public sector are required to employ and the private sector seem destined to endure? The Irish Landscape Institute has to date little history of seeking information regarding these matters from either you or your employer largely because until now there has been no pressing or perceived need. However, if we are to meet the real needs of our profession at present then we need such information now. The Institute intends to address this need firstly through conducting a membership employment survey, by introducing additional statutory information requirements at time of registration and by developing appropriate systems of managing and up-dating our membership database. Secondly, we intend to convene a small number of special forums for private practice representatives regarding the particularly debilitating free market climate at present. As these progress, they will be widened to include the public sector in discussion regarding the current experience of the profession in a broader sense. It is our intention subsequently to make representation to Government, armed with facts and serious suggestions to aid recovery. I trust that when these initiatives are launched, we can count on your support, advice and help, particularly initially in responding promptly to the survey. We can only fully represent you if we know the state of the profession and your views on these matters. In the meantime, we are currently considering the viability of subjects, speakers etc. for an Irish Landscape Institute Conference possibly to be held later this year. If you have any ideas on this or would like to contribute in some way, please contact me or anyone on the Council we are even accepting anonymous submissions for those of you who are frightened of being roped in!

Dave Kirkwood President, Irish Landscape Institute.

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The Official Journal of the Irish Landscape Institute, Summer 2010

Special Features

A Message from the President of the Institute

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Irish Landscape Institute Awards

2009

This Years Awards Categories: - Commercial & Institutional - Landscape Planning - Public Realm - Heritage & Conservation - Residential - Research - Student Award - Presidents Award

The Institutes awards ceremony was held in November 2009 with the awards presentation and exhibition taking place in Dublins City Hall. The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government John Gormely opened the well attended awards ceremony and assisted the ILI president David Kirkwood in presenting the first award of the evening. The event was the culmination of previous months of preparation carried out by the awards committee ,the jury and the many members who entered their work. The Institute gratefully acknowledges their efforts in contributing to the success of the awards.

Top left: Awards attendees viewing the nominees display panels. Right: Minister John Gormely opening the awards. Bottom left: Attendees gather to hear the winners being anounced. Photos by: Andrej Bartko

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Awards Ceremony Night:

Christy Boylan, Karen Foley, David Kirkwood and Margaret Egan

Pamela Harty and Alison Harvey with David Kirkwood

Deirdre Black Photos by: Andrej Bartko

David Kirkwood with Tom Tevlin of Kilsaran Group

Bernard Seymour

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The ILI Awards Jury Members:

Nigel Thorne
EFLA President Past President UK Landscape Institute

Victoria Ka va n a g h
Director MVK Architects Tutor UCD - Landscape Architecture

Grainne Shaffrey
Director Shaffrey Associates Director National Building Agency

ILI Awards Commitee:

Dominick Comerford Margaret Egan Joerg Schulz John Rice

ILI Awards Sponsors:

The institute would like to thank the following main sponsors for assisting: Nature Play Ireland Ltd SAP Landscapes Kilsaran Lifestyle

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Commercial & Institutional Category: WINNER Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology Walled Garden: Stephen Diamond Associates

The client brief was to design a garden in remembrance of DLIADT students and staff as an area to gather and chat, with more secluded areas for reflection and contemplation. The site is located in a previously neglected walled garden of 3,335 square metres. The project was completed in April 2009.

Jury Comments:
A 21st century design solution for a previously neglected traditional walled garden. There is clear spatial definition with strong formal qualities. A successful revival of the space into a contemporary format with appropriate consideration given to conservation of key elements. Management and maintenance regimes will be key to the future success of the design concept.

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C o m m e r c i a l & I n s t i t u t i o n a l C a t e g o r y : H I G H LY C O M M E N D E D University College Dublin Arts Block Entrance Deck: Stephen Diamond Associates

A universal access at the entrance to the Arts Block in the centre of the UCD campus, which provides enhanced amenity open space for the use of staff and students. At nightfall the benches come to life as a procession of overlapping light boxes glowing blue from within.

Jury Comments:
The scheme sits particularly well within the existing campus built form and the design is subtle and sophisticated.

COMMENDED Dun Laoghaire Golf Course, Dublin: Mitchell & Associates

This project, a 27 hole championship golf course uses the borrowed landscape of the surrounding area and existing mature tree planting on the course is complimented by extensive new tree planting including large semi mature trees specifically selected for each green of the course.

Jury Comments:
The golf course is in a sensitive landscape and works well within it. The design plays down the imposition on the landscape and integrates the mature trees and views.

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Commercial & Institutional Category: COMMENDED Industrial Development Agency Western Region Science & Technology Park, Galway: Murray OLaoire.

This project, at Oranmore in Galway was commissioned by the IDA. The first stage of the science & technoogy park was completed in 2008. Local landscape featuers such as dry stone walls and turloughs influenced the design.

Jury Comments:
An effective and ecologically sound approach to pre-development site attenuation the key to the success of the project will be evident as the site is slowly developed for the science and technology function but it is hoped that the early intervention of the landscape elements may dictate how the development takes shape in the future. The built form must be sympathetic to the new ecological landscape in all quarters

COMMENDED Beacon South Quarter, Dublin: Scott Wilson

Phase 2 of Beacon South Quarter, located in Dublin, included a plaza and a series of residential landscapes. The plaza centres on a pool and fountain and Scott Wilson devised innovative and practical solutions to challenges poised by the multi-level nature of the development.

Jury Comments:
High quality design combined with superior materials gives this area a wonderfully playful feel and sculptural finish. The area open to public access is more successful that the individual residential courtyards.

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Landscape Planning Category: WINNER Dublin Docklands Play Space Guidelines: Mitchell & Associates

The guidelines discuss the importance of play, both for children and for communities, how children currently play in Docklands; issues and opportunities; guidance on consultation; and analysis of appropriate and conflicting uses in the Play Matrices. A significant contribution of the Guidelines is the conception of a Play Map. This has been adopted by the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA) as a planning requirement, which illustrates an inclusive and diverse approach to play opportunities in new developments.

This plan, along with diagrams of the spaces illustrating their capacity to contain play opportunities, should be useful for all local authority departments dealing with play; landscape architects, planners, architects, developers, and people involved with communities where play opportunities are being developed. The Guidelines team included the equality consultant Maureen Gilbert, and the facilitator Irma Grothuis who ran invaluable workshops and consultation, particularly with children and adolescents. The client team and local community workers also played a strong part, from strategy to detail. Play Space Guidelines are available from DDDA, and on their website www.dublindocklands.ie

Jury Comments:
A comprehensive guidance document that allows for a strategic, dynamic approach to play in all its aspects without being too prescriptive. The recommendations make sound, practical sense and the objectives are well communicated to the end user. The DDDA are to be congratulated on their strategic approach to this important topic.

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L a n d s c a p e P l a n n i n g C a t e g o r y : H I G H LY C O M M E N D E D Cork City Landscape Plan: Mitchell & Associates

The study finds that the landscape within and around Cork city is not static. It is constantly evolving, particularly as the uses, land development and regeneration change to meet the demands and needs of the growing population.

Jury Comments:
A strong, comprehensive plan that takes a city in landscape context and reflects a unified approach to citywide development and planning. The city council should be applauded for commissioning this project and supported to ensure its implementation.

COMMENDED Public Realm for Birr, Co.Offaly: Paul Hogarth Company

This study found Birr home to some particularly fine examples of public realm, including Emmet Square and its two Georgian Malls and it also identified spaces offering great scope for improvement.

Jury Comments:
A very thorough study that places the town in an overriding landscape context with important strategic links along the river park area. This sits well with a sound understanding and sensitive approach to the fine and important architectural character of the town. The significant programme of consultation, which formed a core part of the process, is to be commended.

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P u b l i c Re a l m C a t e g o r y : W I N N E R Omagh Bomb Memorial: Desmond Fitzgerald

The concept of Reflecting connects to reactions to and consequences of the atrocity

The project is about light and reflection. Light unites us all in that it makes all life possible. The concept of Reflecting connects to reactions to and consequences of the atrocity.The design competition called for a concept to link two locations - the bomb site and a memorial garden some 200 m away. A mirror in the memorial park tracks the sun, and pours a constant beam of sunlight onto 31 small mirrors commemorating the victims of the atrocity. They are arranged around a reflecting pool to carry the light to a heart-shaped sculpture in a pillar of glass at the bomb site. Paved areas around the pool and at the southern end of the site allow people to gather for ceremonies and commemoration. The names of the victims together with an agreed text are carved along the top of a low limestone and quartzite wall.

Jury Comments:
A moving, dignified place of memory depicting modern forms that strike a clear message of memory and love. An appropriate compassionate design response reminiscent of modern great war memorials although smaller and lighter in expression. There might be slight criticism placed on specific details such as the number and siting of reflectors commanding the site and perhaps the finish to the glass column but the overall effect is one of appropriate remembrance and dedication. A successful collaboration between artist, landscape architect and craftsmen. P 14 Iris Oifigiil Institiid Ailitir Trdhreacha na hireann, Samhradh 2010

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P u b l i c Re a l m C a t e g o r y : H I G H LY C O M M E N D E D Dorset Street, Dublin: Mitchell & Associates

The main throughfare on the Northside of Dublin linking the route from the airport into the city had experienced a level of visual denigration over the years until the redesign by Mitchell+Associates for Dublin City Council.

Jury Comments:
An exceptionally simple but outstanding intervention along a very busy highway, which changes the whole perception of this important entrance into the city with high quality detailing and superb choice of materials. The interventions at the

front of the blocks of flats improve the interface between the buildings and the street simple design with effective flourishes, for example the bilingual street names within the paving elements

COMMENDED Dundrum Town Centre, Dublin: Mitchell & Associates

This project involved the creation of a new town square, centred on the historic Millpond. The space extends the usage of the town centre, so people gather to eat and visit the theatre and cinema after shopping.

Jury Comments:
Unquestionably a very lively and successful rejuvenated town centre shopping area, which is well used and a vibrant community hub. Its success is evidenced by the wear and tear on some of the finishes. T h e O f f i c i a l J o u r n a l o f t h e I r i s h L a n d s c a p e I n s t i t u t e , S u m m e r 2 0 1 0 P 15

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P u b l i c Re a l m C a t e g o r y : H I G H LY C O M M E N D E D Tullamore Town Park, Co.Offaly: Murray & Associates Jury Comments:

Jury Comments: A highly competent reworking and design of the town park with a good structure to the pathways, which form large areas of water, planting and grass. The parks character is augmented by the mature trees, which are allowed to impose within the otherwise restrained overall plan. Over the past number of years there were ongoing works within the park, including extensive tree planting, the provision of a car park, provision of circulation pathways and a new playground. Although these had all added to the park, there remained a need to create a masterplan that would unify these elements and helps tie the park into the surrounding town.

COMMENDED County Cork Library Public Square: Dermot Foley & Co Landscape Architects
The aspiration from the start of the design process was to achieve an abstract, sculptural quality for the space which would compliment the modernism of the County Hall and provide a visually calm space for both the County Library and County Hall.

Jury Comments:
The landscape design and detailing compliment the architecture and the attention to detail are well handled the sleek design suits the setting and gives uplifting modernity to compliment the library. The planted open wells to the lower ground area are a success. Access and use of them by library users would enliven these external areas and enhance this civic complex.

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P u b l i c Re a l m C a t e g o r y : C O M M E N D E D Kylemore Park, Dublin: Dublin City Council

This local park in Ballymount was reopened in 2009 following a re-design process with extensive local consultation.

Jury Comments:
A successful re-working of a previously poor quality amenity space comprising playful form and pleasant lighting features. Robustly made in an open and inviting manner, which is friendly and welcoming. Pathways follow real desire lines and there is generally a suggestion of community engagement and ownership.

COMMENDED West Street, Drogheda, Co.Louth: Mitchell & Associates

A competition winning streetscape improvement scheme which was commissioned by Drogheda Borough Council and completed in 2008.

Jury Comments:
This investment in the town centre is hoped will spark similar interventions elsewhere in the town regeneration process the planning to widen the sunny side of the street has worked well but there is still a division created by the strong lighting columns which allow the traffic to dominate along one side of the street.

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P u b l i c Re a l m C a t e g o r y : C O M M E N D E D Lower Chichester Street, Belfast: Scott Wilson

The aim was to create a high quality, contemporary pedestrian friendly space. This was achieved by using quality materials throughout complimenting the impressive historic and new buildings along the street. The Caithness stone, decorative lighting and planting provide a welcoming atmosphere.

Jury Comments:
A remarkable change brought about by the use of some simple, elegant and appropriate design interventions the execution is competent and appropriate although perhaps a little sombre. A significant impact on the whole area has been created.

COMMENDED Cortober Riverside Park, Roscommon: Murray & Associates

Roscommon County Council supplied the brief for the preparation of this landscape masterplan and management proposals for the improvement of an existing park on the bank of the Shannon, across the main N4 bridge from Carrick-on-Shannon

Jury Comments:
A very attractive riverside walk with terraces providing room for display planting and places to linger and admire. The planting in the river is a winning touch. The use of bright materials set off the townscape and existing stone bridges and quaysides. It would be good to see the project completed at its eastern end.

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P u b l i c Re a l m C a t e g o r y : C O M M E N D E D Joyces Court Pedestrian Street, Dublin: Dermot Foley & Co Landscape Architects.
The creation of this pedestrian street was a condition of planning for the redevelopment of a city block and is one of several new connections in Dublins historic core.

Jury Comments:
A simple and generally elegant design intervention with mostly skilful handing of materials, which are textural, elegant, subtle and attractive. Perhaps questionable in certain areas where the street interfaces at either end, the positioning of the one tree and the steps part way along the walk.

COMMENDED Tallaght Zip & Plaza, Dublin: Sean Harrington Architects

Commissioned by South Dublin County Council, Tallaght Zip is a dedicated pedestrian and cycle route In Tallaght in west Dublin- zipping together the two disparate parts of Central Tallaght

Jury Comments:
Jury Comments: The scheme is a sound start to the rejuvenation of a vehicular dominated area. Generally well detailed but it does still cut off the pedestrian path from the adjacent buildings and future interventions need to address the dominance of the cars even further particularly at road junctions and crossings. South Dublin County Council is to be congratulated on the attention to design detail in a variety of elements.

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P u b l i c Re a l m C a t e g o r y : C O M M E N D E D Riverfront Amenity Park, Carrick on Shannon, Co.Leitrim: Stephen Diamond Associates

The layout for the riverfront park involves several paved piazzas with urban lighting and seating, a new continuous compacted bound gravel pathway, native tree planting along with selected decorative shrub planting.

Jury Comments:
The design is appropriate in its context in town, along the bank of the Shannon, next to the marina, hotels and the main bridge. The designer has made a good effect with economy of means. The stripes of tall grasses make spaces for gatherings and groups along the Shannon and break up the linearity of the park. Very nice intervention.

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H e r i t a g e & C o n s e r va t i o n C a t e g o r y : W I N N E R Sculpture in the Parklands Landscape Strategy, Co.Offaly: Dermot Foley Landscape Architects.
Sculpture in the Parklands is an arts initiative located within the Lough Boora Parklands near Tullamore in County Offally .The vision is to inspire artists to create artworks in response to the unique landscape of the cutaway bog. Dermot Foley Landscape Architects were commissioned by Sculpture in the Parklands to formulate a landscape strategy for the future management of the sculpture park. The Proposed strategy is based on three main criteria: spatial, orientation and movement. One of the main spatial concerns is the future management of succession. This aspect of the strategy will be implemented from Winter 2009 onwards. The other proposals include detail design for signage, path edges and thresholds.

Jury Comments:
A sophisticated and imaginative project, which resolves a conflict between its two heritages industry and ecology. The work prepares within this previously industrial landscape a subtle and ordered structure that allows the artworks to respond to the place, while allowing the ecology and biodiversity to evolve. It acknowledges the cultural heritage and works as an underpinning landscape strategy; responding to the latent geometries of the site, both natural and man-made. It is a project of renewal and invention, and the openness and easy access provided is to be highly lauded. A contemporary and artful intervention, which brings visitors to a previously industrial bog land highlighting succession and the interaction between nature and art in a very delicate and fragile landscape. It is also positive to see the project continuing at a careful pace that includes addition and management.

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H e r i t a g e & C o n s e r va t i o n C a t e g o r y : C O M M E N D E D Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology Walled Garden: Stephen Diamond Associates
This scheme involved the creation of a memorial garden in a previously neglected walled garden at the institutes campus.

Jury Comments:
The hands-off approach to traditional restoration around the walls allows for gentle temporary artistic interventions. It is generally a well-ordered modern intervention in a previously neglected walled garden with clear spatial definition.

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Re s i d e n t i a L C a t e g o r y : W I N N E R The Recession Prosperity Garden, Bloom Garden Festival: Fieldwork & Strategies
The recession prosperity garden, highlights the prosperity, which this recession brings. The prosperity lies within having the time to build our own, think creatively and be more aware of our and the environments needs. The recession prosperity is a prototype garden. It was designed and built to show what a small urban courtyard can be turned into, as F&S deemed it would be easiest for City dwellers to develop a sense of the outdoor spaces usefulness and beauty within the own garden. In a sustainable manner, no concrete is used within the garden, rainwater is harvested, attenuation ponds hold excess surface run- off, the limestone and willow are locally sourced, all decorative plants are native, the vegetables are planted within pest-controlling companion plants and their seeds were sourced in Ireland.

Jury Comments:
As an entry for Bloom 2008, the garden is designed to be economically constructed by DIY, and to provide liveable space for growing vegetables, playing and living. It is full of creativity and generosity and is credible, inventive and achievable. A fantastically simple but elegant and practical 21st century response to garden design on a restricted budget providing every element of sustainability for anyone interested in making the best of their garden.

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Re s i d e n t i a l C a t e g o r y : H I G H LY C O M M E N D E D Residential Courtyard, Rockbrook ,Dublin: Bernard Seymour Landscape Architects.

The designers challenge in this scheme was to make a space of quality and utility for the residents where the sensation was of a courtyard in the most conventional sense.

Jury Comments:
A well designed and constructed landscape that responds well to the surrounding architecture. With elegant styling and a limited palette of quality materials it creates a beautifully sophisticated community space, exerting its own personality through use of form, materiality and planting.

Nature Play Ireland Ltd. Ballybanagher, Cummer, Tuam, Co. Galway Tel: 093 32718/028 86763079 Fax: 093 41101 E-mail: info@natureplay.ie Web: www.natureplay.ie

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Re s e a r c h C a t e g o r y : C O M M E N D E D Landscape Character Assessment & Wind Farm Development in Ireland: Dominick Comerford
This paper is a detailed study into wind energy development In Ireland and how it has been influenced by the current status of Landscape Character Assessment (LCA) particularly with regard to the planning process. The varying nature, quality and extent of LCA county wide is examined through a series of case studies and a detailed comparison is made between the Irish and Danish approach. The surprisingly high level of different approaches and lack of interface between Irish local authorities is demonstrated ; bearing in mind that wind energy sites tend to be in mountainous areas close to county borders. The need for a National Landscape Character Map and national body to deal with all wind energy planning applications is highlighted and recommended.

Jury Comments:
The recommendation for the implementation of countrywide policy similar to that based in Denmark is soundly based upon research into current practice. It is a sound basis for the furtherance of the debate and as a pioneering paper it forms the platform for further work in this vitally important area. The consideration for the need for national intervention in the creation of a unified policy rather than one of ad hoc development is fundamental to the argument.

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Student Category: WINNER In the Fields: Michael Cunniffe, University College Dublin

A strengthened peri-urban landscape combines with principal public parks and green corridors that feed into the heart of Dublin, to create a green infrastructure that demands to be respected, explored, and used. Access to the North Dublin Landscape is provided using new and existing routes with a supporting planting strategy according to path hierarchy. Demand for the provision of market gardens and allotments for the urban dweller is provided for in Areas of Intensity. The reordering of this farm land is done to facilitate the meeting and eventual intertwining of urban and productive rural landscapes. These areas may eventually become productivw urban parkland in an urban landscape that responds first to green infrastructure enabling a reconnection process with our food and cultural landscape. Landscape is structured using these routes and provisions in a way that reinforces landscape character, thereby informing future urban and suburban development.

Jury Comments:
Big, sophisticated thinking in landscape planning the focus is aimed at the amenity value of large areas of existing landscapes (including agriculture and parkland) rather than on development. A well-rounded and well-presented project making valid suggestions for integrating the urban edge and agricultural hinterland creating new patterns of access and mixed use landscapes. A process of landscape conservation through exposure, access and appreciation. Good to see landscape students taking on the larger scale strategic planning issues.

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S t u d e n t C a t e g o r y : H I G H LY C O M M E N D E D Model for the Future Form of Irelands Suburbs: Simon Ronan, University College Dublin
A new model for suburban development is required, one which allows its inhabitants to live sustainable, individual and socially enriched lives. The inadequacies primarily consist of a lack of integration of infrastructure, a lack of quality public open space and an inherent lack of flexibility within the system.

Jury Comments:
A well set out project that identifies the problems experienced in the existing Irish Suburban patterns and thereafter proposes a viable alternative pattern, which helps to resolve the issues. The proposed development patterns assist to reduce reliance upon the car within a relatively high-density development with a mix of easily accessible open spaces. It also allows for future proofing developments in a dynamic environment.

COMMENDED Urban Interactions with Nature: Marie Claire Kerrin, University College Dublin
The motivation of this thesis is based on a perceived lack of opportunities to experience and appreciate nature in the urban environment surrounding the River Dodder in Dublin.

Jury Comments:
A well presented project displaying fine sensibilities and imagination processing increased interaction between a limited section of the river edge and adjacent public space, along the River Dodder. The project might perhaps have been more interventionist with a greater gain to all elements of the landscape and environment.

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C a

u l d B e t t

Y o u e r D

D u b

s i g n l i n ?

Dublin City Council Landscape Architect Rachel Murphy

The application to join the Designing Dublin project called out the question Could you design a better Dublin? and last September, along with sixteen others I began to work on the Designing Dublin: Learning to Learn pilot. The project was a joint venture between Dublin City Council and Design 21C, a not for profit organisation which believes that Ireland can be a prosperous, innovative and happier country if we reawaken and tap the spirit of creativity and imagination. Armed with the exciting promise of new learning, invention, prototyping, building entrepreneurship and a wish to effect positive change through design thinking, we began the project not really knowing what to expect . The first hint that the pilot would be different appeared when we learned that we were to work without a brief, so from the start there was the exciting but also slight fear-inducing indication that this pilot would be a definite challenge usual work methods. Instead of a prescribed brief, a theme Finding the hidden potential of place was presented to us as we set out in Clongriffin, a new suburb in Dublins North Fringe. We began an immersive process of investigation,

having conversations with residents, local business owners and local authority staff to establish the needs and wishes of those in the area. We collaborated with an energetic, exuberant team of 17 students and two directors from the Danish Kaospilot school to run different types of processes, in the form of questions, to really delve into the issues that were part of life in Clongriffin. The answers that emerged were then transformed into defined concepts for change that could make the lives of Clongriffin residents better. The pace of working was fast; concentrating on quick invention and ideation, multiple solutions, fast iteration and also learning to let go of ideas. Also central to this cyclical way of working was experimenting and learning by doing, prototyping and investigating ways of using the city as a living laboratory construction hoarding was used to communicate project ideas, a temporary living room was built on the street to ask questions about routes people frequently used, and small scale, inexpensive ideas such as using daffodil bulbs displayed in local shops to invite residents along to walkand-plant afternoons were all part of trying out different ways

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to communicate and engage with the local residents, and to test out ideas, refining or reframing them as needed. A big part of this way of working was to be very open and flexible with ideas, during the 12 weeks we switched project groups a couple of times, ensuring we didnt get too attached to one project and to keep the projects fresh and full of vitality. Making ideas public was important in order to expand them and open ideas to collaboration and during Dublin Innovation week an open studio invited the public in to take part in discussions and workshop processes around the 18 fledgling concepts.
Investigating the theme hidden potential of place

Out of the 18 concepts, five projects emerged to be taken on to the next stage; HothouseCan Clongriffin design build a run a community hub?, a project which responded to the lack of local facilities and places to meet currently in the area, Path to the Coast, a project about connectivity and nature in the neighbourhood. Grow Local, another project sought to gather local knowledge skills and resources to build a local economy and PlayVision was about drawing on the creativity of the local children to imagine what life might be like in Clongriffin and involved an interactive adventure trail and an exhibition in an empty retail unit the main street, and lastly Communication Exchange which investigated ways to share local information in an exciting and easy way. Path to the Coast was an idea which brought together themes of connectivity , which is currently quite poor in Clongriffin, natural wildness , non-apparent in this highly designed urban environment and sense of place involving local history and natural heritage - the history of the area and indeed its significance as an early Danish Viking settlement site is not widely known, many residents are new to the area and there is little evidence of the history of the immediate area. Clongriffin has natural beauty, a mostly flat geographical area with its own microclimate, a coastal edge and a rural agriculturally productive hinterland, with a small river bordering the neighbourhood to the north. Path to the Coast project looked at different ways to connect people with this new place where they have chosen to live. This project along with two others, Hothouse and Grow Local are still live and being worked on in collaboration with the local residents who championed each project during the 12 weeks. The future of these projects depends on there being sufficient local interest in their continuation so the next couple of months will tell whether they will keep going in the longer term.

Making ideas public during Dublin Innovation Week

Imagining a Path to the Coast

The projects demonstrated how in this current time of extremely limited financial resources there are still methods we can explore and use to improve our way of life. This opens up opportunities of how we can really take on the challenge of doing more with less and also to recognise that small actions can be as, or in some cases, more important than big plans. The pilot took the idea of using the city as a living laboratory and made it real. It allowed us to test ideas quickly and cheaply, and adapt quickly to change. It demonstrated a situation where a collaborative approach allowed for a much more meaningful experience for everyone involved; it opened up a greater

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Communicating the Hothouse concept

opportunity for the local residents to have a more authentic role in the creation of solutions and for those taking part a chance to influence the city as we learned and also to discover our collective potential as a group and indeed explore own individual potential. It was hard hard work, evenings and weekends were sacrificed as the pilot gathered momentum. It was often frustrating as we struggled to find ways to best communicate the projects and working in a group for long days on end can be exhausting! The pilot however was ultimately, extremely rewarding; reinforcing, for me, the critical need to always be open to learning new things, to strive to leap out of my comfort zone, to embrace the powerful, but also nerve-wracking process of making your ideas public, which as a designer you often wont do until they are perfectly formed and fully detailed which can sometimes leave little room for discussion let alone collaboration. It also demonstrated to me how entrepreneurialism can, in its widest sense, seek to connect the needs and desires of a city with skilled, enthusiastic and creative people who have lots of ideas and are interested in making the city or place they live in better not just for themselves but for everyone. I had also been curious about the recent shift within the design realm from focus on the end product towards a more process-

led user-centred approach and had not really understood how this might actually work in real life or indeed how to bring this into my own work. The pilot, in the processes it demonstrated, the guidance we received and in the inspirational speakers who visited the studios taught me lots of new ways to approach the design process and to trust that in carrying out these different investigations the right end-product will emerge. This potential of design (as a creative process) to improve the welfare of a city and its citizens is certainly not a new idea - William Morriss Arts and Crafts movement and even Modernism imagined and created ways to improve the ways in how we live our lives. This current movement pioneered by designers such as Bruce Mau, who has put forward the question Now that we can do anything, what will we do? and IDEOs Tim Brown, has opened up an interesting debate about design and designers, and challenges us to think about our role in todays society with its increasing cultural, economic and environmental challenges. For further information on Designing Dublin or Design 21C go to www.design21c.com or www.designingdublin.com or contact info@designingdublin.com

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B e y o n d

B a r c e l o n a :

J u x t a p o s e d t r a n s i t i o n s b e t w e e n m o d e r n a n d m e d i e va l S p a i n :

On

Location

by Michelle Molloy

During five weeks in the north-east of Spain last summer I spent one week walking on the Camino de Santiago, from Pamplona to Burgos, and three weeks as a WWOOFer (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) with a family on a small organic farm in the interior of Catalua, west of Barcelona.The Camino de Santiago is a pilgrimage route that reached its hey day in the medieval age and is known in English as the Way of St. James. Camino has a broad meaning: road; path; track; walk; way. Regardless of individual motivations, the present day pilgrims of St. James are united by the purpose of reaching Compostela and the shared accomplishment of endurance and exertion. The physical requirements allow your mind to wander unhindered and explore the sensory experiences of the Camino landscapes. As a route that was formalized approximately 1000 years ago the Camino still has a strong medieval association. Many of the villages seem to have remained relatively unchanged for hundreds of years. Most of the pilgrim hostels in the associated towns and cities are located in the medieval centres. In order to perpetuate a medieval fantasy one needs to ignore obvious contradictions such as the required passage through suburbs into the medieval centres, suburbs can simply become a fleeting moment in the day.

Walking along the Camino, at times its possible to feel like the only person on the road. However any brief rest or open view reveals the thread of humanity stretched out behind and before you. The chain of people continues to stretch and contract, as it has for hundreds of years, in greater and lesser concentrations. There are many points where, over the routes lifespan, transport infrastructure has developed parallel to the route and the modern world can unexpectedly reveal itself to be within a hairs breadth. In one instance an oasis of manicured and watered greenery appeared at a point along the route; it was a golf course inhabited by a smattering of northern European looking men, pale in the sun. Suburbs were laid out to the north of it but the urban area they should be attached to didnt seem to exist. It was like walking through abandoned film sets. There were mock Tudor houses built in the Brookside style. The obviously Spanish designed houses resembled dismembered apartment buildings, two story sections simply bisected and laid across the site. A single clapboard house of resplendent Americana stood apart in its own field of prairie. Finally the sight of swallows in the distance was a relief as they signaled the re-appearance of the typical medieval village, the swallows having colonised many of the village buildings.

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The ascent of hills sometimes revealed a new landscape morphology rolling out below: seas of ripening ochre cereal crops spread across the landscape in vast monocultures; hillscapes formed like the soft peaks of whipped egg whites and verdantly striped by the first grape vines appearing along the route; in one vast panoramic view witnessing the landscape seems to transform into the red, Martian plains of New Mexico; the irregular lumps of soft sandstone hills laid in strips across the country when the grape vines end. This landscape is continuously productive but there is a constant tension between mass agriculture and small scale cultivation. The organic farming methods seem to fall into the latter, medieval, category. The cultivation methods are intensive and rely heavily on human labour inputs. The landscape is littered with the remains of pre-industrialised agricultural relics. Old groves of almond and olive trees stand untended. There are many empty masias, the old stone and timber farmhouses. It no longer seems to be a common or viable way of life. Agriculture, like the region, has become heavily saturated by industrialism. Water is almost invisible in the summer landscape. Instead,rustling green flows of rushes reveal the sub surface and subterranean presence of water. Green lines of wide leaved rushes run along valley floors and depressions. The need for water dominates; the control of water dictates the nature of the landscape. Once I arrive at the farm, the fragile dependence on a reliable water supply is confirmed. Cultivation is impossible in the everyday, prevailing climatic conditions of the region. Over the course of the five weeks the summer storms were a constant natural force. In the beginning the heat builds and in the late afternoon disintegrates in a massive downpour accompanied by thunder. Then dry thunder storms crackle overhead at night. The thunder booms and lightening stretches across the sky but they are aerial sky storms and unconnected to the earth. No rain breaks, the lightening doesnt strike the ground. By the end of

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On

Location

When approaching Najera its necessary to trudge through more typical suburban outskirts and across the new town to discover the fragment that remains of the old town, where the buildings merge into the sandstone cliffs that form the towns natural development boundary. Above the buildings caves can be seen dug into the soft sides of the sandy rock and vast numbers of storks nest there. In the cereal fields before Pamplona eagles and storks built eyries and nests on top of electricity pylons.

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On

Location

was a highly contested border land. Enormous statement churches stand next to the towers. In one village that is still inhabited, seven houses are clustered below a sheer rock face at the base of the peak. A fresh water spring originally made the village viable, now cars ensure its viability by allowing access to the surrounding urban settlements and the employment found there. Car dependency is the cost of rural living. Driving down the winding roads with the farmer, from the hills onto the plane, to get to a sawmill that uses local pine to produce low grade lumber that is perfect for constructing a sheep enclosure. When the motor cultivators need repairs, to get to work, to go shopping, to makes visits, it is necessary to drive in the rural situation. We drive to Villafranca, which is a thriving town at the centre of an industrial and wine producing district. Nevertheless, on Saturday every square and street in the town is occupied by a market vendors from whom its possible to purchase fowl, rabbits, pets, vegetable plants as well as fresh produce, foods, clothes, shoes and a hundred other things. In the discussed landscapes, the medieval and the modern have varying relationships. They exist in opposition, with modernity in dominance, with fragments of the medieval traditions intact and, in some wayside places, life continues not so completely dissimilarly from times past.

July even when the storm clouds do burst the rain reevaporates without ever hitting the ground. This is the dry season getting into full swing. Now that the land is desiccating forest, fires begin to blaze. Passing through some of the lands scorched by fire its like someone has changed the colour reel, the landscape is desaturated and monochrome, post-apocalyptic and still faintly smouldering. At this stage yellow, water carrying airplanes fly overhead all day. On the day of my departure the farmed rabbits are spending the day trembling in their cages with flattened ears. Smoke was in the air. In the vicinity of the farm a chain of watch towers are sprinkled across the highest peaks, the remnants of the Christian / Islamic frontier. The defenders used smoke signals to communicate with each other. At one time this

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AS NATURAL AS IT GETS

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Nature Play Ireland Ltd provide bespoke equipment to our customers which provides a unique aspect to any playground whilst conforming to all safety standards. Our aim is to realize your vision of a playground within its surroundings but more importantly to create a play space for children to explore, learn, relax, interact and most of all enjoy. Play is a critically important part to the development of childrens physical, social, mental emotional and creative skills.

For More Information Contact: Nature Play Ireland Ltd, Ballybanagher, Cummer, Tuam, Co. Galway Tel: 093 32718 Email: info@natureplay.ie www.natureplay.ie

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