Architecture and Habitat

Housebuilding is an activity which during the second half of the twentieth century consisted of building housing estates and little else, This left residents dependent on their cars or inadequate public transport.

Over the past fifteen years in Ireland there has been a significant increase in output in housing. In 2004 a total of 76,000 dwellings were constructed. Economists predict that the country will require at least 50,000 new units per annum for the next decade to meet demand.

Housing Design Issues
The design of grouped housing has undergone significant transformations in the course of the twentieth century. The modern movement advocated a radical change in the conception of the habits of life and in the design of residential architecture producing new proposals for collective housing.

At the beginning of the 21st century, it cannot be said that the objectives of this ambitious enterprise have been delivered. The economic growth that took place in a large part of the world in the postman period led to the creation of mass housing programmes which not only made our cities ugly but contributed greatly to the degradation of the life of their inhabitants.

Many of the avant garde experiments that pursued a reorganisation of society and the city through architecture have in most cases proven to be failures.

Atrium Building, Mount St Anne’s, Milltown, Dublin	Housing: Borreo Sporenburg, Amsterdam, Netherlands	Clarion Quay, North Wall, Dublin

In Ireland tax incentives have encouraged investments in derelict parts of our towns and cities. While the early phases of the tax incentive schemes produced much mediocre work the quality has significantly improved in recent years. However in our suburban areas the challenge remains to produce sustainable communities which incorporate high quality architecture and urban design.

It is a reality that the majority of architects maintain disenchantment with the suburbs and with the task that remains to be done to improve them. Numerous factors affect the form of residential typologies and urban form.

Factors such as local authority regulations, services, budget and market demands are only some of the limitations that force the small group of architects who practice in the sector to work in a narrow margin of action and make it difficult to offer more appropriate solutions to the changing needs that have arisen in Irish society in recent years.

With significant projected demand in the Irish housing market in the next decade resulting, not just from population growth but also migration, changes in occupation with a higher population of single person homes there is a sense that the residential standards are out of date and do not meet the requirements of residents.

In order to tackle this situation the RIAI has recently recommended to the Department of the Environment Heritage and Local Government that new National Residential Guidelines be adopted to deal with this situation.

The Creative Economy
In the era of the knowledge or creative economy the quality of our urban environment becomes very important. The success of the Irish Economy over the past fifteen years has seen over 30% of Ireland’s workforce enter the ‘creative class’.

These include a broad group in business, finance, law and health care together with scientists, computer professionals and programmers, architects, engineers, graphic and product designers, entrepreneurs, educators, artists and musicians. It is this key sector of our workforce that will provide the energy and talent to power the next generation of economic growth.

The members of the new creative class are drawn to places that offer a range of economic opportunities, a stimulating environment and amenities for people with diverse lifestyles. In Europe, Dublin, London, Paris and Copenhagen provide the stimulation diversity and richness of experience desired by these creative people.

Traditional suburbia, bland at best, alienating at worse, cannot meet these requirements. Creative professional prefer communities that have a distinctive character, diversity, are accepting of difference and offer lifestyle options. Such attributes are nurtured by the quality and attractiveness of physical places a lively street scene, an arts district, a thriving music scene and neighbourhood with interesting and unique buildings.

The relationship of this theory of the ‘creative class’ to urban forum is amplified by the research of Ray Oldenberg, whose book ‘A Great Good Place’ documents the role of ‘third places’ in modern society.

Home and work are the first two places and the third comprises venues like bookstores, cafes and coffee shops which support a community’s social vitality. Those informal gathering spaces amplify and extend the communal space of the street and provide a setting for group gatherings.

Such places work best as part of a wallable neighbourhood, containing the traditional public spaces of street and square, park and boulevard.

Wozcos, Amsterdam Odorp, Netherlands

Joel Garreau, the author of the seminal work ‘Edge City’ has noted that cities are changing faster today than at any time for 150 years, and that computers are reshaping our urban world to favour places that provide and nourish face to face contact.

Garreau believes that the primary purpose of future cities will be to provide optimum conditions for face to face contact. In this context good urban design is crucial to providing the appropriate environment for these human activities.

If we are to take action to increase the economic competitiveness of our cities in the global marketplace, then the creation of new urban spaces and public places where people can connect with each other and thus spawn the creation of ideas is a priority.

The greater the density of occupation and the more eclectic the mixture of uses in the neighbourhoods around the public space, the higher will be the energy quotient and the greater the potential for economic development.

I believe strongly that such mixed use wallable neighbourhoods really can become the inclusive crucibles of creativity sustainability and economic development in an increasingly uncertain global environment.

In an attempt to think globally we need to design towns and cities locally, street by street and block by block.

The Challenge
The design of housing produced by RIAI members has significantly improved in recent years. Recent award winning Irish projects including Clarion Quay, North Wall, by Urban Projects, The Wooden Building, Temple Bar West by De Blacam and Meagher and Mount St. Anne’s, Milltown by OMP are all indicative of this trend.

However, a high proportion of the housing which is currently being constructed at the edges of our cities and towns has minimal, if any, architectural or urban design aspirations.

The quality of the new housing that will be constructed on the fringes of our towns and cities in the next decade represents a real challenge not just to the built environment professionals but, to our entire society.

The RIAI and the IPI have encouraged the use of Local Area Plans by local authorities to set highest aspirations for the urban design and architectural quality of such extensions. Projects such as Adamstown, Newcastle, Saggart and Kilkenny Western Environs promise much potential in achieving these aspirations.

The RIAI in conjunction with the Department of the Environment Heritage and Local Government, continues to disseminate information to the built environment professions on the subject of housing and sustainable neighbourhoods through seminars and conferences, in particular the recent National Housing Conference.

It is hoped that these initiatives will improve the quality of our new residential developments in the future, achieving sustainable communities which provide a mixture of uses, homes, workplaces, commercial, leisure and social l facilities.

It is to be hoped that this should assist in making quality places and good public spaces, which contribute to a vibrant and successful society. It is a prerequisite that these social objectives be achieved in all new and expanded communities if Ireland is to maintain its position as a successful creative economy.

This presents a real challenge to architects. We all find the dwelling and the neighbourhood to be fascinating subjects. The possibility of designing high quality habitable spaces, of creating an environment in which a group of people can live and interact, is a challenge that few architects can resist.

Housing: Newcastle Village, Co. Dublin

Whether it is a residential complex or an apartment building, a public or private initiative, a building aimed at the general public or a community with specialist needs (students, workers, the elderly etc.) each scheme must ensure that its inhabitants can create their own safe and comfortable space: a home.

The quality of that home will be greatly improved if the architect has also created a sustainable neighbourhood. The success of the built environment professions in responding to this challenge over the next decade will be an important criterion in assessing its achievement in this era of major change in Irish society.