Dublin, the capital of Ireland, is the largest city of this island on the western edge of Europe. It is on the east coast, facing England, on the estuary of the River Liffey, which flows into Dublin Bay and the Irish Sea. The city covers an area of 115 square kilometres. To the south, Dublin is bordered by a low mountain range, while the adjoining counties to the north and west are surrounded by flat farmland. The population of the Greater Dublin Area is 1.66 million, though the area administered by Dublin City Council has a population of some half million. The Greater Dublin Area is currently administered by four different local authorities, although within these, some jurisdictions are covered by other entities, such as the Dublin Docklands Development Authority. The city has a mild climate, with average temperatures of sixteen to twenty degrees in summer, four to seven in the winter. Average annual rainfall is high, at 840 mm, compared to London’s 650 mm.

Ireland, population 4.3 million, has recently evolved into an attractive working destination and foreign immigrants now make up approximately 10% of the population; the annual immigration growth rate of 2.5% is the highest in Europe. Much of the immigration is concentrated on the east coast, and particularly in Dublin where approximately 30% of the population lives. Ireland has the youngest population in Europe with approximately 38% under the age of twenty-five.
Dublin has arguably been the engine of Ireland's economic growth, with the leading sectors of the economy - software, electronics, financial services and tourism, which are clustered in the greater Dublin area - accounting for 48% of GNP.

Temple Bar

The evolution of separate authorities for different parts of the city began in the 1980s when the Temple Bar area, in the city centre, was slated for redevelopment as a bus station. There was opposition from locals, artists and others, leading to alternative proposals. Instead of proceeding with a plan by the Transportation authority to demolish large parts of the city fabric, a new body was set up by the then Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Charles Haughey to administer and fund the revitalisation of the area. Significantly, the City Council was not in control of this initiative, which was directly led by central government. As time passed, and the revitalization project was completed, the blame for all the problems that have arisen, and little of the praise or credit, has been heaped on City Hall. Today, the area is associated with many of the problems of northern European tourism-centred city centres; drinking, violence, and general vulgarity.

The Mayor of Dublin is not directly elected and has no executive powers, although the Green Party, currently part of the coalition government, will push for this as part of vital local government reform in the medium term. This absence of appropriate governance leads to a general lack of political focus on city matters. The typical Dubliner is becoming more wealthy, security conscious, and private in outlook; the lack of a sense of being a Dubliner is a current feature of city life.

Another locally administered area is the Dublin Docklands, managed and run by the DDDA (Dublin Docklands Development Authority), whose functions include granting development permits. This sometimes leads to a notion of privatised city management, as the DDDA may be unable to rely on the City authorities to deliver on its vision for development in the area. For example, many of the new public spaces associated with rebuilding around the docks are monitored by private security, a mildly threatening presence in the background to local life. Many public events in the Docklands public spaces are managed to within an inch of their lives, often requiring pre-booking, which excludes the casual observer or passing tourist. This is also a feature of the public events held in Temple Bar, and in most cases the public spaces are gated for the duration.

Docklands and the Dublin Dockland wall

The Docklands area is another illustration of the lack of joined-up thinking in Dublin’s development, since it manages to feel very different from most of the rest of the city. The predominance of new technology and business suits distinguishes the locality and ring fences a certain way of life. There is no need to look at the line on the map to find where Dublin ends and Docklands begins, particularly at Sherriff Street, one of the poorest neighbourhoods in the city, separated from the new area by the longest wall in Europe.

Garda Square

Another recent renovation of public space illustrates current changes in public life in Dublin. Store Street Square, a pocket of pavement outside a newly built police station, has been glamorized by the City Council to include security cameras, signs prohibiting skating or drinking and trees girdled with steel. The physical interventions delineate the current limits of acceptable behaviour, watched over by dutiful guardians of law and order.

CHQ Chique

Way down among the Docklands is a shopping destination so flash you’ll need your sunglasses. CHQ, a beautifully renovated tobacco warehouse, sprang into life at the height of Dublin’s consumer spending boom in 2006 and has maintained its sense of not quite belonging ever since. From the expensive leather sofas in the Mall, the Dublin Mountains are visible to the south, but who cares, when you could be spending a small fortune on kitchenware. The venue caters mainly to the workers in adjoining offices, who flood in for their lunch hour during the week, leaving a very expensive and lonely carcass for the rest of the time.

Off the Map: suburb Dublin

In considering an evolving Dublin, the view from above should be taken into account. A casual observer would remark immediately on the outward sprawl with its new low rise construction, a symptom of the health and wealth of the city in recent years. Not long ago this was a relatively compact city in the European mode, now many who use the city commute - privately - to the centre or, increasingly, along the M50, the single motorway skirting the centre, which is becoming central to the mental map of the place. Isolated attempts are being made to build sustainably, but the housing market dictates many of the criteria for location, services, densities and, ultimately, value.
While Dublin has been changing, many have been sleeping. Well, not sleeping exactly, but at least not thinking, especially in a collective or active sense. There used to be a strong tradition of activism here, probably reaching its height towards the end of the 1980s with the Dublin Crisis Conference movement. Many of today’s architecture students have corporate ambitions, while the high cost of city living, even just student accommodation, works against over-reflective, or over-collective thinking. To reflect collectively you first need time to meet.

The suburban university

Suburban reflections on the urban problem are a peculiarly Irish feature. The largest university, University College Dublin, recently ceased to offer education in the city centre, preferring instead to concentrate resources on a suburban campus, which is currently under large-scale development. The reasons for the move out of the city reflect politics, both local and international, and critical decisions taken in the seventies when many were fearful of the student masses. Other educational institutions have remained and prospered, but many of the planning officials, university professors, politicians and decision-makers of Dublin still live the suburban dream. Much of the activism surrounding buildings and the destruction of the city came out of the Architecture School in the sixties and seventies when it was located beside St Stephen’s Green. Maybe moving out of town did change the emphasis of the student body, as demonstrations have become rare.

Wolfe Tone Square

The tombstones are stacked up against a wall. The square has benches and trash cans, but also a tangible and easily consumable work of art. The brown cow is a favourite for tourists and shoppers with cameras. Instead of being a place for contemplation and creating a bond with history, this public space has been transformed to fit within the commercial set-up of the inner city.

Only very recently, the redesign of Wolfe Tone Square was seen as symbolic of a newly positive attitude to city life in Dublin. The project was the subject of an architectural competition in 1998, rare at the time, particularly for public space. Most entries, including the winner, sought to open the private graveyard to full public use for the first time, removing historic railings, uprooting gravestones, and generally changing the atmosphere for good.


Alan Mee Architects