A multi-disciplinary team led by Grafton Architects and Shaffrey Associates have been chosen for the redevelopment of the Parnell Square Cultural Quarter.  The announcement was made today by Dublin City Council and the Parnell Square Foundation.  

Grafton Architects have built an impressive portfolio of award winning projects both in Ireland and internationally.  Their work in Dublin includes the Department of Finance Building in Merrion Row (2007) and the Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Trinity College (1996, 2002).  Both projects received recognition in the RIAI awards.  Further afield, their work includes the Luigi Bocconi University in Milan which received the inaugural World Building of the Year Award at the 2008 World Architecture Festival.

Since their foundation in 1967, Shaffrey Associates have established a reputation for architectural, urban design and planning projects throughout Ireland and for working with existing and historic contexts.  Among their previous works are library and cultural buildings in Cavan Town and Lismore, Co Waterford.

The full team is as follows:

Welcoming the announcement, Lord Mayor Christy Burke said

 ‘this is a significant milestone in the redevelopment of Parnell Square, a cultural and historic gem right on our doorstep. This is the first and finest of our Georgian Squares and this project will invigorate the North Inner City, acting I’m sure as a catalyst to promote further economic and social regeneration in other areas of the City. It is great to see that a series of public meetings and workshops which took place over the past 12 months, involving all stakeholders from different social, economic and cultural perspectives, has informed the commissioning of the design and final design brief. I look forward to seeing the vision for the Square being captured in the design by Grafton Architects + Shaffrey Associates and I wish them every success in bringing the project to fruition’.

The centre-piece of the Parnell Square Cultural Quarter will be the development of over 11,000m2 at the former Coláiste Mhuire, anchored by a new City library which will offer a vibrant mix of cultural facilities for the city of Dublin

The full press release is available here

 photo credit: Greg Dunn, stoneybutter.com

Saturday 12 April 2014 saw Kevin Street Library reunited with its cupola.  City Architects have been carrying out work on this hidden gem in the city to bring it back to its former glory.  The Cupola was removed in 2012 as part of the libraries refurbishment, having suffered for many years from corrosion.

Kevin Street Cupola 2012, showing some of the corrosion to the original piece

Since then the cupola has been in the loving hands of Bushy Park Ironworks.  The extent of the corrosion was so great that the piece had to be all but reconstructed in galvanised steel.

The work carried out included several layers of painting.  The image below shows the cupola before painting, with a layer of grey primer, following a yellow layer of etch-primer, and with a subsequent green layer.  The final version is in a brass colour.

 The library was originally constructed in 1904 to the designs of city architect C. J. McCarthy and featured a delicate weathervane perched upon its cupola.  Its design showed the influence of many of the Carnegie Libraries being constructed at the time in Ireland and the UK.

Kevin Street Cupola, featuring its new weathervane, 12 April 2014

A conservation plan for the Library was prepared by City Architects.  Works are currently ongoing to upgrade the Library’s facilities while preserving its impressive period spaces and historic features.

The next phase of the refurbishment works are currently underway with Clancy Construction as the Main Contractor.  The works are principally involved in the entire re-roofing of the building, including specialist repairs to the exiting roof timbers and clerestory glazing.  The restoration of the brickwork and sandstone features and crests are being carried out by Oldstone Conservation Ltd.  Casey O’Rourke Associates are the design team leaders for roofing project, working with City Architects Division.  Work on this phase of the building will be completed early in the summer, and the internal fitout for a new 21^st Century Library will then commence.

First view of the newly reinstated cupola, 12 April 2014

We’ll keep you posted on further works being carried out on this hidden gem as they progress.

The shortlist for the Dublin Impac Literary Award 2012 which is run by Dublin City Public Libraries. The 2012 winner was announced as 'Even the Dogs', by Jon McGregor earlier this week. Photo: Jason Clarke Photography

In the final blog post responding to guest curators le cool Dublin on pivotdublin.com, we turn to proposals for a new city library for Dublin.

There is widespread agreement that Dublin, as UNESCO City of Literature, needs a fit for purpose 21^st century City Library. The process of advocating for its delivery, led by the Dublin City Public Libraries Service, is ongoing. City Architects are assisting with appraisals of a number of potential sites at the moment. Sites are being considered in terms of technical and financial feasibility issues.

Other  key criteria include: public prominence and visibility, regeneration benefits to the site location, public transport access and synergies with other cultural uses in the vicinity. Ultimately, however the overarching priority is that the chosen site must work as a City Library for the people of Dublin.  It must be transparent and open, not simply a building for the housing of books, but a flexible space capable of delivering on a range of services and programmes for learning, recreation and community connection. The aim is to develop a state of the art facility which promotes Dublin as a centre of literature and continuous learning, but the Library service is also aware of the significant benefits which a thriving cultural institution can bring to a district through knock-on regeneration benefits. In this regard the Library service and the Council are committed to examining sites in the vicinity of the existing Central Library in the ILAC Centre.

Quality of design and architecture in the public procurement system is a major issue for the public sector in getting the quality of facilities needed to deliver the best public services. Architectural competitions are one way of ensuring that the buildings the state provides are the best fit for the communities they serve. Better designed buildings create a better experience for their users, deliver better value in the use of resources and ultimately cost less through being more efficient to run and avoiding the costly retrofit work which badly planned buildings often require after they are built.

Now the RIAI (the professional body for Irish architects) are working with the  Department of Education and Skills to run a major new architectural design competition for the design of a new post primary school.  The competition is innovative for the way it is promoting design quality in relation to the price for the design service and it should hopefully act as a pilot for reform of the state’s building procurement system.

The site is located in the neighbourhood of Kingswood, Tallaght in West Dublin. The deadline for Stage 1 submissions is 12 noon, Tuesday 20 March 2012 and you can obtain a registration form here.

 Image: BIG architects, design for Vilhelmsro Primary School.