'...the lives we live' 2015 - 2020

A Masterplan for
the 21 st Century
John Mitchell
Director DMOD Architects,
Grangegorman Masterplanner
Creating a Masterplan
The lead designer and our partner in the Masterplan development, James
O’Connor of MRY, is fond of saying that a Masterplan is setting the table properly, not
serving the meal. It is no simple matter however to ‘set the table’ properly and a good
masterplan is a combination of and a reflection on many different considerations, the
final Masterplan document produced by the team listed nearly 20 principles, including
Public Art.
Part of the success of Grangegorman is the integration of the lands into
the fabric of the city, a key Masterplan principle being Connectivity. Previously the
lands, by the nature of their use were closed off from the city with the only boundary
on a major road being an imperforate north facing black calp limestone wall along the
North Circular Road. One is reminded of Kavanagh’s words ‘My Black hills have never
seen the sun rising’ and millions of Dubliners have sped by the site oblivious to the
potential behind the wall.
Before there was ever a Masterplan, however, there was a vision of a
committed group to develop the site for, the now Technological University Dublin
and healthcare uses for the HSE. And perhaps luck too, few cities having 73 acres
available for a substantial new use in the heart of the city. And it is the heart of the
city, standing on Capel Street bridge you are as near Grangegorman as you are St.
Stephens Green, a 15-minute walk both ways. Together with a great location, there
was a range of fine historic buildings, dating from 1804, and some fine stands of trees.
That is not to say that exploiting these features is a simple matter. A good example,
is an extant tree-lined Allee, designed purely as a path to walk down and back, a
therapeutic landscape element that now links the past with the present. While this
may seem like a small thing, the technical challenges of keeping a few hundred metres
of a tree-lined path while placing playing pitches and bleachers on either side was a
technical challenge both in design and construction. It is one of many examples of
an apparently simple component being delivered through great commitment and the
guidance of the Masterplan.
We tend to think of a vision as something ethereal, thinking of George
H.W. Bush’s famous quote ‘Oh, the Vision thing’. But in fairness to President Bush,
visions are ground in practicalities. Too often in this country, we develop buildings
ahead of the necessary infrastructure, think of Ballymun or the early iteration of the
IFSC. Part of the courageous vision at the Grangegorman Development Agency was,
in very dark times for the country, the decision to invest in the infrastructure of the
site, ahead of any buildings. The then CEO describing this strategy as ‘Live horse, get
grass’. DMOD were privileged to be involved in the design and delivery of this first
major project which built out a large element of the Public Realm with the highest
quality hard and soft landscape, playing pitches and playgrounds. In the modern masterplan
what can be seen is dwarfed by what lies hidden. Of the approximate €25m
budget less than a third can be accounted for by the elements visible above ground.
Also required in developing a piece of city are pipes for water and drainage, conduits
for digital communications, district heat pipes, retaining structures, substations.