IRISH NATIONAL WAR MEMORIAL GARDENS BRIDGE

Design Competition

Client: The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) and the Office of Public Works (OPW)

Dates: December 2018 – February 2019

Category: Public Space / Bridge

In collaboration with Felix Xylander Swannell Architects, Daniel Coyne and Noel Moran.

This project for a new pedestrian bridge across the river Liffey in Dublin, Ireland was developed in response to a competition brief set by the Royal Institute of Irish Architects together with the OPW in December 2018.

In essence, the new bridge is a constructed datum line, a building as axis connecting Lutyens’ National War Memorial Gardens with the Phoenix Park on the other side of the river. This new, physical site line begins at the existing waterside pavilion, at ground level, before rising up slowly over the Liffey. On crossing the threshold between the river and the northern bank, the user begins their descent into the new Garden of Remembrance; the line of the bridge however continues on its original trajectory, extending onwards, over the new entrance space and outer walls until finally terminating as a cantilevered roof, announcing the new entrance to the gardens and providing cover for those who use it. Across the Chapelizod Road, a discreet new gateway in the old park walls leads up a series of steps to a viewing platform, again aligning the landscape and its user within the symmetries and geometries of Lutyens’ original design.

INWMG BRIDGE Axo.jpg

under canopy.jpg

aerial model shot-v2.jpg

Site diagram.jpg

In terms of structure, the bridge is essentially made up of two timber and steel trusses, embedded in the landscape of the southern riverbank and extending continuously in one line until reaching the supports of the new entrance walls. The slope of the bridge surface mirrors that of the existing slope between the domed temple and the main plateau of the gardens, and at its apex, the trajected site-line aligns with that of the new viewing platform. In its form, the body of the bridge takes inspiration from the delicate, intricate constructions of canoes, currachs and other traditional Irish watercraft to weave a structure from timber and steel. On reaching land, this structure flips; it is no longer below the user like a boat but above them as a roof, its structure clad with semi-translucent panels to allow light to filter through. Cast concrete piers hold the bridge trusses in place and provide storage space for the racing kayaks of the neighbouring boat club.