Temple Bar Framework Plan

Paul Keogh and Rachael Chidlow were lead members of Group 91, the collective of emerging practices that designed and executed the internationally-acclaimed Temple Bar Framework Plan between 1992 and 1995.

The plan proposed - radically at the time - a series of new pedestrian spaces and routes, as well as an architectural dialogue between contemporary architecture and the historic fabric that gave Temple Bar its unique identity.

In addition to our contribution to the overall plan, PKA were project architects for Meeting House Square, the flagship urban space developed by Temple Bar Properties on the site of a surface car park, and which was to became home to a number of new cultural institutions - the Irish Film Archive, the Gallery of Photography, the Gaiety School of Acting and The Arc children's theatre.

PKA's designs for the square incorporated paving, lighting, sculpture, seating and landscaping, as well as the infrastructure required for concerts, events and film screenings; it was the venue for the ceremonial launch of Ireland's EU presidency that launched the euro single currency in 1996.

PKA also prepared the Parliament Street traffic calming scheme, as well as a number of specific design proposals for building uses, planning strategies, traffic management, pedestrianisation and landscaping throughout the area.

The Temple Bar Framework Plan has been aclaimed as an urban design project of international significance, and for setting a new agenda for urban regeneration and architecture in Dublin. Among the numerous awards it received was the Union of International Architects' Abercrombie Medal - one of international architecture's most prestigious prizes for urban design.

Client: Temple Bar Properties
 Ltd.
Value: n/a
Size: 12 acres

Reference: Ms. Laura Maghey, CEO, Temple Bar Properties
Design: 1991
Completion: 1995