The truth will out about designing good urban spaces

WHEN IT COMES to outdoor spaces in the city, we often look in envy at our Continental and American cousins who sit and sip cappuccinos in urban squares and loll beside ponds and fountains. Okay, they do have the weather on their side but the Irish love to sit out too, and will don sunglasses at the slightest of solar rays, and yet we still have precious little space in which to do that.

The Dublin Docklands Development Authority has employed both US and Continental landscape designers to perhaps inject some of their magic into the docklands and three of them will be giving talks to enlighten us as to how they go about designing such spaces.

First up, on February 12th, is Martin Biewenga of Dutch company West 8 which has been landscaping across Europe, America, Russia and Canada, and has been working on ideas for the Liffey campshires.

Next is Martha Schwartz, the American landscape architect and artist who has given us the red poles at Grand Canal Dock (left). She will be discussing sustainability and design on March 5th. Finally, on March 26th, Olivier Philippe of Agence Ter, who is developing a linear park in the docklands, will discuss how he designs in layers. So, expect rich seams of information.

Lectures are free and start at 7pm in the CHQ building on Customs House Quay (tel: 01-635 1428 and aaiadmin@eircom.net).

Irish Times

www.buckplanning.ie

After the tree protests, street wins major landscape award

WHEN Dublin city bosses started removing trees to allow a major refurbishment of the capital's main thoroughfare five years ago, such was the public outrage that some Green Party TDs chained themselves to the trunks to stop further carnage.

But yesterday it emerged that the council's decision was correct, after O'Connell Street's landscaping won a merit award for the "outstanding" tree planting at the annual Association of Landscape Contractors of Ireland.

The judges noted that 27 boxed lime trees bordered a new plaza while eight weeping birch trees gave a "sense of movement even in the gentlest breeze".

And it will be a long-lived legacy, as the trees will last 200 years. The outcry back in 2002 surrounded the council's decision to remove 100-year-old London Plane trees, in order to create a streetscape to rival Paris' Champs Elysee.

SAP Landscapes was the overall winner this year, for the roof garden at SAS Radisson in Dublin 8.

Paul Melia
Irish Independent