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Grand Canal Square wins Place Making Award
Grand Canal Square was last week (16th February) announced as joint winner of the Place Making Award at an event at the Custom House organised by the Irish Planning Institute.
The Jury citation said of Grand Canal Square:
The linkages achieved, particularly eastwards and south wards, are strong and attractive in their connection and orientation. The ground form of the space relates perfectly in character and scale to that of the theatre. The civic weight of the theatre is in perfect balance with the Square. The Jury considered that the rectangular plate of space which reaches from the theatre far on to the water surface invites participation. Its vertical forms strikingly define their domain without overpowering the broader space. Grand Canal Square has now been tested by many successful events and by the passage of seasons from which it is beginning to collect memories and favourite times for those who use and enjoy it. Through the skill of its makers, it has acquired the distinction of a real place.
Senior Planner with the Docklands Authority, Anthony Abbott King accepted the Award for Grand Canal Square. Organised by the Irish Planning Institute (IPI), the National Planning Awards aim to highlight the best examples of planning practice and to raise the standard of townscape design and planning awareness both within the public and private sectors.
About Grand Canal Dock
The physical and social regeneration of Dublin Docklands to the immediate east of Dublin City centre commenced in 1997 and included a dramatic transformation of the Grand Canal Dock area. This former industrial, brown-field site which was disconnected from the city and accommodated a gas works and is now an urbanised city quarter with a working population of over 5,000, a popular residential neighbourhood and visitor destination.
The focal point of Grand Canal Dock is a the readily identifiable Grand Canal Square on the water's edge, a unique public space which demonstrates how high quality architecture and appropriate and innovative planning can transform and create a visual landmark and a new destination within the city. Grand Canal Dock is an important entertainment destination and commercial hub with legal and a new wave of digital organisations including Google and Facebook.
The Square is an integral part of the blueprint for the regeneration of the area - the Grand Canal Dock Planning Scheme, 2000. The 10,000m2 space was planned to act as the vital focal point of the new mixed use development area. The animation of the space is provided for by street level activity in the perimeter building blocks by the iconic Grand Canal Theatre and office complex to the west, the hotel to the north and the office building with finer grain ground floor uses to the south.
