Irish Landscape Institute – Street Design in Ireland – A Renewed Approach

logo_iliThe next public talk in the ILI Autumn/Winter Lecture Series: Street Design in Ireland – A Renewed Approach will be held on Thursday 18th November in the Conference Room, Pearse St. Library, Dublin 2. The speakers will be Sarah Rock – Urban Designer ( www.placemakers.ie ) and Jason Taylor – Urban Designer, South Dublin County Council.

Over the last few decades, road and street design has been driven by a philosophy that sees pedestrians and vehicles as fundamentally incompatible. This has lead to the dominance of segregation policies and to the creation of disconnected communities with increased car dependency, and road systems that are perceived as unsafe and lacking in variety, character and sense of place.

Whilst there has been a considerable effort over the last number of years to question the above, leading to changes in Irish and international policy in favour of more integrated approaches to street design, little has changed on the ground in Ireland. Integrated street design recognises that streets are social spaces in which people live and interact. The approach creates safer streets that inform drivers of the appropriate speed at which to drive, through the use of the built form, landscape and street geometry. This integrated approach is informing the new Irish “˜Manual for Streets’ which is currently under development by the Department of Transport.

Sarah Rock, PG. Dip. Urban Design, Master of Urban Design & Development, Prof. Cert. in Urban Engineering

Sarah is an Urban Designer and the principal of PlaceMakers, an organisation aimed at improving education, research and practice in urban design in Ireland. Sarah’s experience encompasses urban design, planning, heritage, research, education and continuing professional development, and has worked with Local Government, State Government, Professional Bodies and the private sector in Ireland, England and Australia. Sarah has recently commenced a doctorate in Transport Planning & Urban Design through an Innovation Bursary with UCD. She also runs the RIAI multi-disciplinary Urban Design CPD Series. Her primary areas of interest and expertise are in movement and street design, and urban design education.

Jason Taylor, Bachelor of Town Planning; Master of Urban Design & Development

Jason Taylor has worked as a Planner and Urban Designer in Sydney (Australia) and Dublin, in both the private and public sectors. Jason is currently employed by South Dublin County Council and primarily involved in the development of the Adamstown and Clonburris Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) lands. Jason recently completed the Adamstown Street Design Guide and is part of a working group that is preparing new street design guidelines for Ireland. The aim of the project is to produce a document, similar to the UK Manual for Streets, which balances the needs of all street users and promotes the development of more contextual “˜place based’ or urban design led approach to street design.