Previous state
The Bridgefoot Street Park project is the result of a collaborative design process in Dublin's Liberties neighbourhood. A map of the area from 1756 shows a number of dung heaps, suggesting that the site had been used as a municipal dumping ground. It subsequently had a variety of uses including as a site for a prison, for military barracks, and for rental housing. After the buildings were demolished, the site was a wasteland until it was occupied by social housing at the end of the twentieth century. Then it was redeveloped to create a green space.
Aim of the intervention
In 2016, the Dublin City Council (DCC) commissioned Dermot Foley Landscape Architects (DFLA) to design and build the park as an essential service for the Liberties neighbourhood and for the city of Dublin in general. The park was conceived in a design process that creatively involved a wide range of people from the local community. They shared models and knowledge with community gardeners; students at risk of being school dropouts were asked to make nesting boxes; and a sculpture made by former prisoners as part of their rehabilitation programme was installed.
Description
The distinctive feature of this project is the presentation of a new aesthetic based on natural processes. The methodology is an old one, consisting of collecting unwanted materials and using them creatively. It began with a new assessment of dumped and abandoned materials, which were chosen according to their colour and form.
Much of the waste material was selected for reuse from the city’s waste depots. A sample garden was constructed so that prospective contractors could understand the process to which they would be committing. A considerable amount of non-visible secondary material was used to shape the park’s three large mounds. Chunks of concrete, small quantities of calp stone, recycled glass, and brick seconds were used as paving, walkways, and retaining structures. Crushed material was transformed into aggregate for gravel or mixed with organic material to encourage plant growth. In short, creative use was made of large quantities of material which would have otherwise ended up as landfill.
Assessment
The Bridgefoot Street Park project is a treatise in practice. It provides research results from many channels: community workshops, plans, construction, park experience, and its own future evolution. In addition to its uses, it has also demonstrated the extent to which collectively undertaken ecological projects can be experienced and appreciated.
Since it was opened in 2022 the park has been praised for its “wilder” appearance and its innovative reuse of materials. It offers a new experience in a neighbourhood with few green spaces and serves as an example for future urban projects in Ireland. The legislative framework is constantly changing and the Bridgefoot Street Park has contributed to understanding of how the circular economy works. It has also encouraged local authorities to minimise waste in future projects and to work with available resources.
[Last update: 29/05/2025]
