DFLA

With the expansion of the newly built and fairly dense urban fabric, Airlie offers a platform for a healthy life, both human and non-human. In spatial terms, it features a variety of scales, from cosy small spaces under the trees to a vast circle-shaped clearing. It seems like a contemporary interpretation of the previously existing agricultural fields with the relatively large open spaces and more shaded spaces under trees, which will develop over time and establish a tangible relationship with the surrounding cultural landscape, mainly through plant selection, distribution and creatively situated mowing regimes.

We applaud the team’s perseverance in meeting the landscape requirements over a long period of time, adapting to the programmatic constraints and reinforcing the conceptual qualities, even though the landscape is all too often sacrificed for the sake of the performance.

Bridgefoot Street Park is a story about public space, community participation, circular economy, and ecological measures, and, above all, it is a project that well reflects our growing care for social and environmental issues of urban open space in the 21st century.

DFLA carefully embedded particular design approaches that have been occurring in the landscape architecture community in the past decade into a successful whole. The ‘beautiful messiness’ of the design language of the concrete surfaces reminds us of Catherine Mosbach’s approach to shape-finding. They suggest free use and are a platform for the community to get together and play. The ‘curiosity’ of the hill composed of demolition debris reminds us of Governor’s Island in NYC.

But it is not only the debris that forms the play of topography; other elements found on site were catalogued and were given a second life, a new meaning and a new purpose in a creative way. This is one of the most important challenges for landscape architects, namely recycling, upcycling and reducing the shipment of material to its minimum.

Bridgefoot Street Park is an extremely well designed hectare of urban land. The jury also praises the universal value of Bridgefoot Street Park; cities of various latitudes will hopefully learn from this approach and will have a benchmark for a reference.

New Public Realm for Tallaght Town Centre – A Human Habitat This landscape architect-led project marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of modern-day Tallaght. Today, Tallaght functions as one of four primary urban centres in Dublin’s polycentric planning strategy. However, in the 1980s, it was still a village surrounded by farmland. The first phase […]

Diamond Park celebrates community spirit and innovative design by fusing spatial discovery and play with the provision of much-needed green open space in the heart of Dublin. Designed by the landscape architects, DFLA, the 0.4-hectare park brings a transformative approach to urban renewal with a focus on social integration, spatial connectivity, and biodiversity, serving as […]