Heuston Gate Redevelopment

PKA was commissioned by the Office of Public Works in 2001 as its lead-architect for the OPW's major urban renewal project at Military Road, Kilmainham.

The objective of the development was to create a new mixed-use quarter on the State-owned lands between the Royal Hospital and Heuston Station.

Designed around well-established urban design principles, PKA's design paid particular respect to the strategic position of the site within the city, and the considerable historic importance of the location.

PKA's masterplan sought to pump-prime the regeneration of this part of the city: by way of the development of a flagship project with a vibrant urban environment and a high quality public realm that would stimulate similar developments in its vicinity.

In addition to restoration of the protected structures and national monuments on the site, the scheme included a total of fourteen individual buildings, combining work, living, leisure and commercial uses, that were aligned along a new pedestrian link which was intended to connect Kilmainham Gaol, the Irish Museum of Modern Art and Collins Barracks.

The development also contained proposals for Dublin's tallest structure - PKA's 32 storey residential tower - with a roof-top publicly accessible observation deck that was intended to create a counter-point to the high-density and high-rise development that was ongoing in the city's docklands.

Planning approval was obtained in 2005, and construction was scheduled to be phased over ten years. Both Dublin City Council and An Bord Pleanala's approvals particularly cited the quality of PKA's architecture and urban design as grounds for the grant of planning permission for the development.

Client: Office of Public Works

Value: €120,000,000

Size: 2.8 hectares

Reference: Mr. Ciaran O'Connor, Principal Architect, OPW.
Design: 2003