Tolka Estuary Greenway at Dublin Port

Located on Dublin Port lands along the southern edge of the Tolka Estuary, the 2.2km greenway forms a part of Dublin Port's "Distributed Museum" Programme and choreographs a series of three distinct character spaces composed of board-marked concrete walls. A minimal, yet refined palette of materials, relate to the industrial context and include Dublin Port salvage such as dockside moorings, granite blocks (from Alexandra Basin redevelopment), a wrecking ball and cobble setts. A layer of interpretation celebrates the port’s industrial heritage, daily activities and the local biodiversity.

The three distinct character spaces, Discovery Points 1, 2 and 3, were conceived as robust waterside fort-like spaces, allowing visitors to absorb the heritage of the port and Dublin Bay, an EU-designated Special Protection Area, Special Area of Conservation and a UNESCO biosphere. Discovery Point 1 offers the big reveal, situated at the end of a woodland, a long wall forming a relationship with the horizon beyond. The Sea Wall pivots towards Dublin Bay, and bounds a sunken area, allowing unobstructed views from the main route above. Discovery Point 2 is an orthogonal free plan with four walls extending out from a central space in a pinwheel configuration. The curved sea wall was thickened to protect the bird sanctuary below. Discovery Point 3 is a radial design strategy, used to emphasize the outward expanse of Dublin Bay. A steel wall sits at right angles to the central Radial Wall, which screens views to the main space beyond. A freestanding wall frames the Poolbeg Chimneys beyond. The Sea Wall was built inside an existing ring beam at the top of the revetment.

In addition to the 400mm thick board-marked concrete walls, matching the industrial scale of the setting, there is a series of black metalwork feature gates, balustrades and screens controlling access, safety and desired sightlines. All surface water run-off has been dealt with sustainably, with weep holes to all the base of all sea walls and run off also to planted verges. In addition to using salvaged material for paving and seating the sea wall at DP3 was built within an existing revetment ring beam. The route of the greenway was also carefully aligned to retain exiting mature trees. The scheme respected, conserved and enhanced the natural environment of Dublin’s greatest amenity, Dublin Bay, while opening it up to the local community and visitors. It was delivered in a fully sustainable manner; incorporating innovative design features to mitigate against adverse impacts on the environment. A total of 473No. new semi-mature trees, primarily pines, were planted with wild flower ground cover.