4.8.1 Case Studies

Chancery Street House

This apartment building was developed in 1935 by Dublin Corporation and is located adjacent to the Four Courts in the inner-city. The flat complex was of exemplary modern design for its time and currently holds 27 apartments. While the provision of recreational space was not common in the earlier years of public housing this scheme did provide a small park on its northern side.

A full upgrade of this park was undertaken in 2010 by the Parks & Landscape Services, while the building was being refurbished. An original central cast iron fountain was restored to working order together with a new landscape of formal yew topiary plants. Refurbishment of an adjacent weighbridge building was also undertaken, which included the provision of a new clock by Stokes of Cork.

St Teresa’s Gardens & Dolphin Estate

These two estates are currently under a redevelopment programme. They were developed in the 1950s as large housing complexes following the modern architectural style. Their layout consists of blocks in grid layout pattern with little in terms of quality landscape provision. The redesign and refurbishment of these estates will involve demolition of existing blocks and development of new layouts. In order to provide a better living environment, the landscape provision will be designed to provide both a residential landscape and community landscape typically with the provision of a community park.

In developing new public housing landscapes or refurbishing existing public housing, there are a number of particular issues that require attention:

  • Public housing estates can have poor reputations in the wider city and may not be well integrated into the urban fabric. The quality of what is provided can help improve their identity and in particular the architectural quality and landscape design quality can improve the visual appearance of estates, as well as creating physical linkages to the surrounding urban areas.
  • It is important that public housing landscapes are well designed, contain appropriate facilities for recreation, both passive and active and are constructed using quality materials and workmanship.
  • Vandalism and neglect have been prevalent in public housing provision and there is a need for greater involvement of the residential community in the care of what is provided. Community consultation at the design stage together with their support of housing management on completion can assist in the success of schemes.
Masterplan image of Dolphin Estate Landscape Plan