Jamestown Road Affordable Housing
The first priority was to design attractive comfortable practical and secure houses and apartments that are easily accessible and enjoy good aspect, daylight, sunlight, natural ventilation and private or semi-private open space.
Equally important is the creation of a sense of community, identity and place through good quality Urban Design. We acknowledge the sites unique identity by building on the sites industrial past and preserving the existing brick carriage works chimney, approximately 22 metres tall. This is a landmark for the inchicore area. We have also borrowed in a more subtle way industrial design details derived from the existing buildings on the site and applied them to the new development.
Equally important is the creation of a sense of community, identity and place through good quality Urban Design. We acknowledge the sites unique identity by building on the sites industrial past and preserving the existing brick carriage works chimney, approximately 22 metres tall. This is a landmark for the inchicore area. We have also borrowed in a more subtle way industrial design details derived from the existing buildings on the site and applied them to the new development.
Our next focus was on the public realm. The creation of a sequence of public spaces are outdoor rooms that gradually become softer and more private in scale and feel as one moves through the community of Jamestown Village. In order to achieve this, the issue of car parking and traffic has to be resolved as they have such a hugely negative impact on people-friendly public spaces. This has been dealt with by placing 158 of the parking underground, within 50 metres of entering the site. The remainder of the parking is distributed throughout the site to contribute to a balance mix of movement, activity and convenience and to take advantage of the carriageways that have otherwise to be provided for emergency vehicles and refuse collection.
The Urban Design Concept is centred on two Squares and two Avenues.
Chassis Square and Jamestown Square are linked diagonally from the Main Entrance at Jamestown Road. This creates an attractive and interesting sequence of movement and spaces along the longest dimension of the site, giving a sense of openness and variety that belies the relative intensity of the development in comparison to its immediate neighbours and provides a legible and ordered map which creates an environment that can be easily navigated.
Jamestown Avenue and Craned Bay Avenue have the form of more conventional urban streets. They allow a modest flow of vehicular access with planting pavement and surface modulation clearly signalling the priority of pedestrians. The street names reflect the past use of the site. Crane Bay Avenue for instance lies along the line of the existing chassis factory Crane Bay and forms an axis with the brick chimney.
Chassis Square is the most public of the spaces with the shared communal activities, retail, crèche and community hall. Traffic also negotiates through the square to give it an added layer of intensity and activity. We have introduced the notion of a “Community Ribon” that forms a backdrop to the new animated Chassis Square where people live, shop and congregate, creating a sense of place and a focal point for the new community.
Chassis Square and Jamestown Square are linked diagonally from the Main Entrance at Jamestown Road. This creates an attractive and interesting sequence of movement and spaces along the longest dimension of the site, giving a sense of openness and variety that belies the relative intensity of the development in comparison to its immediate neighbours and provides a legible and ordered map which creates an environment that can be easily navigated.
Jamestown Avenue and Craned Bay Avenue have the form of more conventional urban streets. They allow a modest flow of vehicular access with planting pavement and surface modulation clearly signalling the priority of pedestrians. The street names reflect the past use of the site. Crane Bay Avenue for instance lies along the line of the existing chassis factory Crane Bay and forms an axis with the brick chimney.
Chassis Square is the most public of the spaces with the shared communal activities, retail, crèche and community hall. Traffic also negotiates through the square to give it an added layer of intensity and activity. We have introduced the notion of a “Community Ribon” that forms a backdrop to the new animated Chassis Square where people live, shop and congregate, creating a sense of place and a focal point for the new community.
