Chocolate Park, Dublin, IRL
New Park In Dublin´s Silicon Dock
Chocolate Park is designed on a former brownfield site, as a multifunctional green space in the heart of Dublin’s new silicon dock. A rectilinear green lawn forms a backdrop to a unique play feature, the crane: which is suspended above the park. The crane is an oblique reference to dockland’s past and straddles the southern end of the park to form a fully enclosed adventure space for children. The north side of the park receives full sun and is finished in polished concrete paving, to create a multifunctional area for seating, walking and gathering. A flower garden intersected with paths and seating is planted for all year-round interest and colour.
The park is highly flexible and can be adapted for different future uses to be agreed on by stakeholders and the city council. The newly deisgned crane is to house play equipment for the park. The large lawn can be freely used for any number of activities that won’t ruin the quality of the grass; lounging, sitting, picking, kicking about a ball with younger children. The terraced area can be used to organise temporary events such as a small market or concert. The crane can also serve as the focus for events such as an outdoor cinema, market or exhibition. The colourful planting areas between the terrace and the lawn can also be adapted for urban farming or as a school garden for local children.
The innovative solution for stacking functions to make the most of the small footprint of the park emerged from discussions with the residents. Leading the process with interactive workshops, the residents and stakeholders, developed a programme for a multifunctional green space with an interesting mix of activities.
REDscape was selected by to design the Chocolate Park in Dublin’s Grand Canal district, also dubbed “Silicon Dock” a popular location for high-tech multinationals such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and Airbnb. Adjacent to Benson street, the site formally housed a storage facility for Butler’s chocolate, and has since adopted the name, Chocolate Park. Surrounded by offices and residential apartment blocks, the area will be cleared to make way for the new urban park.
REDscape managed and organised the development of the masterplan and design of the park. REDscape form the primary mangers of the project for the design team and has overall responsibility for the design of the park.
Client: Dublin City Council
Team: Patrick Mc Cabe, David Habets, Antoine Fourrier
Status: Completed