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Dublin Space Invaders Final Designs Presented To Judges @ Wood Quay

2013 Dublin Space Invaders Final Event @ Wood Quay Venue, Dublin 1, Friday November 15th 2013

The Dublin Space Invaders folks held a presentation of the final designs from their teams of planning students, last Friday, at the Dublin County Council (DCC) Wood Quay Venue. And it was a very interesting, informative and educational event indeed! The teams done a great job presenting their designs (to develop a vacant plot on Thomas Street, owned by The Digital Hub), and Caroline and Sybil – the duo behind the Dublin Space Invaders concept – created a very functional format for the event that showcased those designs in an innovative way.

It began with an open room, where everybody could mingle and find their way around the designs on show, and that was followed up by a presentation which introduced the judges. Finally the teams of planning students were all asked to stand beside their designs for the Thomas Street site, and the judges played a game of speed dating, making their way around all of the designs on show, and spending an allotted time with each of them.

I took this opportunity to listen to the judges questioning the students about their designs and concepts, and that was a fantastic learning experience. I mostly shadowed Mary Crowley, the president of The Irish Planning Institute (IPI) and Dr Peter Geraghty, an Irish native now based in the UK who is the president of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI).

At that point the event had carried on for well over two hours, so sadly I had to leave, as we at FRG are taking part in a drug prevention expo next weekend, run by the South Inner City Local Drugs Task Force (SICLDTF), and I had to design a stand for that event. It was a deadline I had to make. So, regrettably, as I was leaving, the judges were only heading off to confer, therefore I didn’t get to hear the presentation which revealed the winners in person.

Related Stories:
Dublin Space Invaders – Redeveloping Vacant Thomas Street Plot
Dublin Space Invaders To Unveil Entrants + Winners On Friday

The Space Invaders did however release the following statement on Facebook the next morning…

Congratulations to Seamus and Tomás of the Crayon Set for winning the first edition of Space Invaders! We also want to congratulate all the teams for entering and producing such great designs. Space Invaders was an amazing experience for us and this could not have been done without the help and support of our sponsors, Dublin City Council, Royal Town Planning Institute, The Irish Planning Institute, The Digital Hub, Dublin , Diageo, Downey Planning, Masterplan Associates, BMA Planning, McGill Planning and MacCabe Durney Barnes. We also want to say a massive thank you to Jennie and Wagner of the Luncheonette for preparing such delicious food. Last but no least, thank you to Thomas Street itself and the the community, Thomas Street Business Association and the Fountain Resource Group for letting us invade your space! This is only the start! Sybil & Caroline, The Space Invaders

Dublin Space Invaders 2013 Winners

All of the designs were too detailed to surmise after spending just 10-20 minutes viewing them, so its best not to comment too much at this point. Personally, I feel that I really do need to read/look over them thoroughly, at my own pace, before making any solid judgments, and to give them the respect they deserve.

But in short, the winning design by Seamus Donohoe and Tomás Bradley (former UCD students) looked like it used the space quite well by fitting a decent amount of property into it, alongside some impressive looking public spaces. It had an enormous interactive multimedia wall – which locals/tourists could write/draw on, and which was digitally wiped and stored every day – and it also gave some of the nearby residents an extra piece of land to be added onto their back gardens. The lads themselves – the tallest team there! – were also very good at vocalising their concept. It’s just a shame I couldn’t have spent some more time with each team.

All Designs Will Be Presented Online

As I made my way around all of the teams who presented designs at the Wood Quay Venue event last Friday afternoon, they all assured me that they would send me all of the text and images which made up their packages. Many had extensive additional information which was not presented on their presentation stands, and some of that looked quite interesting.

The idea is then to present each of the teams designs individually here on FRG.ie, so that local residents, organisations and businesses can view them. There is certainly lots within the designs to inspire us, but there is also tons of text, images and other multimedia formats, so please bear with us while we get all of that together, and work out how to present it all.

Well Done To All Involved!

The next generation of Irish town planners have really done themselves proud, and laid down a significant marker in each of their respective fledgling careers. The Digital Hub must be commended for allowing their land to be used for the competition (access and plans had to be furnished to entrants), and the planning companies and the IPI/RTPI must also be complimented for getting involved in this competition.

But the biggest shout out must go to the organisers, Sybil and Caroline, who have come up with an ingenious plan. It doesn’t cost a lot, it gives young planners an opportunity to do something truly realistic, and on a decent scale. But the most important aspect of the Space Invaders idea, is the way in which it has the potential to stimulate Urban Regeneration, and amongst those who are only beginning a career in planning for our towns and cities. That can certainly do no harm.

View The 2013 Space Invaders Dublin Designs

Better quality images of the event, and of the designs themselves, will be presented very soon here on FRG.ie, plus the six final designs will be available for the public to view in the Dublin City Council (DCC) offices on Wood Quay from Monday coming, until Friday the 22nd of November. No need to book, just pop down to The Atrium and take a peek!

If you would like to write a review of the final designs, or if you have any opinions of the Space Invaders designs which you would like to share, we could publish them in our Your Say! section. You can email your opinions about any Dublin 8-related issue, or any general issue which may effect people in our area, to info@frg.ie.

2013 Dublin Space Invaders Map


IMAGE @ TOP OF PAGE: Each of the teams lines up beside their designs, as the judges make their way around.

IMAGE BELOW: Sybil (left) and Caroline (right) welcoming attendees and presenting the judges to the teams.

Dublin Space Invaders Final Event @ DCC Wood Quay Venue, Friday November 15th 2013

IMAGES: 2013 Dublin Space Invaders Final – image credit: Damien Hughes/FRG.ie

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