Smithfield Square

An old horse market in Dublin, Ireland.

Redeveloped as a public open space as part of the re-generation of inner city Dublin

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<googlemap version="0.9" lat="53.348822" lon="-6.278172" type="satellite" zoom="16" width="300" height="250"> 53.348702, -6.27825 Smithfield Square, Dublin </googlemap>

=== Rationale: The site was chosen as a case study for several reasons:

1. The site was once a market square used for trading. Ireland has many towns with centrally located defunct market squares. They are now primarily used as car parks but have obvious potential as civic open spaces. While a small number of these spaces have been redeveloped in the past, Smithfield is a more recent example of this development. There is a huge sink of urban open space in Ireland yet to be tapped.

2. From a planning and development point of view there are some interesting aspects to this development. In the early 1990s the Temple Bar area of Dublin was redeveloped. There are similarities between Temple Bar and Smithfield square prior to redevelopment: both are centrally located sites; both were run down and unfahionable with many derelict buildings; both had alot of natural character. The Temple Bar redevelopment is generally considered a success, giving the area and its surroundings an economic boost. Traditionally the northside of Dublin where Smithfield is located, has been seen as the poor relation to the southside, where Temple Bar is located. The redevelopmaent of Smithfield was a step towards redressing this imbalance and giving that part of inner city Dublin a much needed boost.

3. An international design competition was held for the design of the square. This is a very early example of a design competition for a public open space in this country.

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