UCD Science South

As part of the ongoing development programme at UCD Belfield, Mitchell + Associates and the project team have completed the Science South Circulation Project. The existing pedestrian spine within the Science District was a confined space separating the Science faculty buildings and the Agriculture faculty block. The new façade of the physics building and the New Science Centre designed by RKD Architects allowed the opportunity for Mitchell + Associates to upgrade the spine by redesigning the ground plane and planting, decluttering the walkway and creating a new space that addresses both the faculty buildings, as well as providing a more open, light and enjoyable pedestrian experience with new ramps and step alignments allowing improved access. For further information please see UCD website where details of the project and photographs are published under the landscape initiatives programme as part of the Forbairt Champas UCD http://www.ucd.ie/campusdevelopment/announcements/newlandscapeinitiativesatbelfield

Giant's Causeway Visitor Facilities wins ILI award

Mitchell + Associates are delighted that we have won the ‘Landscape Heritage and Conservation’ Award 2012 for the Giant’s Causeway Visitor Facilities. This award highlights the technical capability of landscape architects working in an environment where challenges arise from the maritime exposure and from the likely levels of use.  The description of trial plots [and failures] emphasizes the ability of the profession to innovate in response to site conditions. This emphasizes how landscape architecture differs so radically from other disciplines on a design team who find themselves increasingly forced to  rely on prefabricated or standardised design solutions. The contractual, technical and programming skills required to deliver the ‘green roof’ for opening day is particularly impressive in such an exposed site.  The solutions demonstrate a high degree of expertise in ecology, horticulture and civil engineering which are all marshalled into striking and attractive forms. In so doing this project is a showcase for the potential for the landscape architect’s contribution to be a ‘game changer’ on complex and challenging projects.

UCD Campus Development Works

University College Dublin have published their campus development works landscape update illustrating the projects that Mitchell + Associates have designed and are overseeing on site. Projects that are under way on the UCD Campus include; Sutherland School of Law, Science Centre Phase 1 and Phase 2 with the Science North and South Circulation works, Health Sciences Precinct, Student Centre Precinct Plaza, and the New Wildlife Lake at Sutherland School. Mitchell + Associates are also currently involved in designing a number of other exciting Belfield campus projects that will be coming on site later in the year.

Jackie Clarke Collection

In late summer 2010 Mayo County Council began the refurbishment of the building formally known as the Provincial Bank, on Pearse Street, Ballina for the purposes of housing an important historic collection known as the ‘Jackie Clarke Collection’. In January 2011 Mayo County Council was successful in securing Fáilte Ireland grant assistance for the fit-out and furnishing the above building and also for the restoration and re-design the Walled Garden Area associated with the property.

Waterford Nature Park Kilbarry Opens

Poppintree Park has won the 2012 LAMA Award for Best Public Park

Poppintree Park is a regional park of approximately 45 acres in Ballymun, Dublin. The design of the park is the result of extensive public consultations and workshops formed part of the process to inform the design proposal for the park.

The Park provides an amenity resource for the area in the form of an open green space and playground in a park setting while also attenuating the surface water from the adjacent housing and roads. Universal design is key to the Park’s concept allowing accessibility for people with various capabilities and disabilities. The attenuation features of Poppintree Park provide an opportunity to showcase wildlife and biodiversity aspects.

 You can also keep up to date with Mitchell+Associates news and projects on our facebook page.  For more click here 

Mitchell + Associates and ICBC Jianxi Province

 Feargus McGarvey and Ni Baixiang, Head of the Party Committee and Head of ICBC (Industrial and Commercial Bank of China) Jianxi Province, following a successful presentation on the landscape designs for their new business hotel and training centre. The project is set in the beautiful mountain landscape of the region, and creates a series of terraced settings for the hotel, spa and private villas, merging with the natural landscape.

 You can also keep up to date with Mitchell+Associates news and projects on our facebook page.  For more click here 

M+A meet with Mr. Guo, President of Shanghai Yaoshun Architectural Co.Ltd

Further to our recent office opening in Shanghai, M+A’s Sheila and Feargus McGarvey met with Mr. Guo, President, and Martina, Marketing Manager, of Shanghai Yaoshun Architectural Co.Ltd to discuss opportunities arising from both parties’ Strategic Co-Operation Agreement. Shanghai Yaoshun Architectural Co.Ltd is a multi-business and cross-regional company mainly engaged in planning, architectural designing, real estate developing and hotel investment management, and M+A very much looks forward to working closely with them in the future.

 You can also keep up to date with Mitchell+Associates news and projects on our facebook page.  For more click here 

Mitchell+Associates on the winning team for the Spike Island Masterplan

Mitchell + Associates are the landscape strategists on the winning team for the Spike Island Masterplan headed up by Scott Tallon Walker Architects www.stwarchitects.com  commissioned by Cork County Council www.corkcoco.ie. We envisage Cork Harbour as a key amenity with Spike at it’s heart: ‘Spike Island has the potential to form a significant attraction in the greater Cork Harbour Regional Park.

DAHG Advice Series. Access: Improving Accessibility of Historic Buildings and Places

Feargus McGarvey of Mitchell + Associates was on the editorial team advising on external accessibility to historic places for a new book ‘Access – Improving Accessibility of Historic Buildings and Places’. This has been published by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht www.pobail.ie with the support of the National Disability Authority www.nda.ie . This is the latest publication in the ‘Advice Series’ commissioned by the Department. The book was written by Shaffrey Associates www.shaffrey.ie and Fionnuala Rogerson Architects. fionnuala.rogerson@rogerson.ie . The book discusses principles of universal design and conservation, legislation, and preparation for improving accessibility. It describes how to improve accessibility in diverse historic places and buildings, and how to provide accessible information relating to those places. The book should prove a useful resource for owners, managers and designers involved with historic places.

Mitchell+Associates Shanghai office opens

Mitchell + Associates are delighted to announce the recent opening of our office in Shanghai. This is in response to the growth of a number of partnerships that have led to Mitchell + Associates being able to present its concepts and design approach to Chinese government bodies and private developers over the past 18 months. In that period, we have worked on a variety of competitions and projects, including rural leisure resorts, heritage parks, railway station plazas, and a mixed use town centre incorporating hotels, museums and retail.

Mitchell+Associates Cork Office Relocating

Mitchell + Associates are relocating from the 1^st of October to our new river front office in Cork Docklands.  Our new office forms part of the creative reuse of the former Ford Factory.  Our relocation marks the completion of our Docklands Masterplan Plan for Cork City Council

Members of Shanghai's Municipal People's Government visit the offices of Mitchell+Associates

Members of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government; Zhang Zuyan (left), Lv Ming and Liu Ning (right) who were in Ireland for a temporary internship with Cork City Council toured some of the work of M+A in Dublin and visited the Dublin office recently. The three, who were in Ireland as representatives of the Shanghai Foreign Affairs Office, are exploring economic and cultural links between Ireland and the city of Shanghai.

Mitchell+Associates placed 2nd in Dongshan International Tourist Island Design Competition

Mitchell + Associates, in association with MHD Design Associates (UK) Ltd, have finished second place in the Dongshan International Tourist Island Design Competition. Dongshan Island is an unspoiled sub tropical island located in the South West of Xiamen, in Fujian Province, China. In response to the competition brief, our masterplan for the 30km x 20km island, identified a strategy, structure and phasing for tourist development.   We also considered the typology of the necessary roads and infrastructure, and its insertion into the sensitive natural receiving environment.

For more information on the competition entry click here

 You can also keep up to date with Mitchell+Associates news and projects on our facebook page.  For more click here 

Kilkenny Signage Improvements Tender

Mitchell and Associates has won the tender for the Kilkenny Signage Improvements project with Artisan Solutions www.artisansolutions.net. The project involves wayfinding and signage for the city centre. The wayfinding strategy will assist the many visitors to find their way around and encourage them to explore more of the city. The detailed design elements, such as forms, colours and materials reflect the important cultural and historic qualities of the city

Feargus McGarvey invited to be Guest Judge at Bloom 2011

Mitchell and Associates is delighted that our colleague Feargus McGarvey has been invited to be Guest Judge for the show gardens at this year’s Bloom, Ireland's largest gardening, food and family event. It takes place in the Phoenix Park Dublin during the June bank holiday weekend for 5 days (Thursday 2nd - Monday 6th June 2011).

  You can also keep up to date with Mitchell+Associates news and projects on our facebook page.  For more click here 

See www.bloominthepark.com for more information

Contracts signed for Kilbarry Landfill Project

Kilbarry Landfill Park forms part of the Waterford Nature Park which encompasses a wide area including the proposed renovated old railway line to Tramore and the adjacent proposed NHA of Kilbarry Bog. The key element of the landfill remediation works is to create a country park with an ecological focus for passive recreation. The planted structure is designed to create different experiences of containment/protected microclimates through the use of; stands of trees, woodlands, meadows and open grass areas for active recreation. Educational and Art opportunities abound in the park exploring themes of the importance of bogland habitat protection, waste generation and its impact on our environment, habitat diversity, protected species and invasive species control.  Works commenced on site in March 2011.

Mitchell+Associates short listed for Dongshan International Tourist Island Competition

Mitchell+Associates, in association with MHD Design Associates (UK) Ltd, have been short listed as one of three successful applicants for the Dongshan International Tourist Island Design Competition, in south eastern China. The final designs were submitted in late January and the results will be known in June/July 2011.

 You can also keep up to date with Mitchell+Associates news and projects on our facebook page.  For more click here 

Montevetro Roof Garden Completed

The Montevetro Development, on Barrow Street, Dublin 4, recently hit the national news headlines when Google agreed to take ownership of the 15 storey landmark office building. Mitchell+Associates were responsible for design and implementation of the roof gardens of the newly completed project. This high quality, robust scheme features scented Mediterranean planting in bespoke planters with sunny seating areas and open terraces which maximise the panoramic views over the city from the Docklands to the Dublin Mountains.

 You can also keep up to date with Mitchell+Associates news and projects on our facebook page.  For more click here 

Mitchell+Associates awarded 3rd place in Hangzhou Competition - China

Mitchell + Associates, in association with MHD Design Associates (UK) Ltd,  have been awarded 3^rd place for the design of a plaza for the Hangzhou East Railway Station.  Focus on the journey, not the destination, joy is not found in finishing an activity but in doing it.  Every city plaza changes character at different times of the day. For a station plaza the time of day has a profound influence on the space. The design celebrates the rush to work, and the meandering home. Reaching the destination is part of the journey, but the design encourages people to experience the space, take time to enjoy different activities and socialise.

Agreement reached on working with Chinese company

Chinese architectural practice Hoken Architecture have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with MHD Design Associates (UK) Ltd, regarding working together in China.  Professor Chen Jian, of Hoken, was in London and Dublin recently and reached agreement with MHD's Gerry Mitchell and Dave Kirkwood on developing the relationship between the two companies.  A strong bond had already emerged through work on two design competitions in the city of Hangzhou and a current urban design competition for Dongshan Island in Fujian province.  MHD is a Mitchell+Associates vehicle for winning and delivering projects in China.

For more on the Hangzhou project click here

 You can also keep up to date with Mitchell+Associates news and projects on our facebook page.  For more click here 

Willow Park Junior School Blackrock opens

Completed in the Spring of 2010, this project consisted of a new extension and refurbishment works to the existing junior school designed by Coady Partnership architects. The aim of landscape design was to create a playful and interesting environment for the students, teaching staff and visitors to the school. The planting scheme was key to establishing a clear distinction between the sports pitches and the school’s immediate environs and providing a more intimate, useable and safer space for the younger students to use. Bold bands of planting create a strong visual entrance to the arrival area, while in contrast the junior play space is flanked with a diverse mix of edible and visually striking plant species. Street furniture is subtly integrated into the layout.

For more images of this project click here

 You can also keep up to date with Mitchell+Associates news and projects on our facebook page.  For more click here 

The Gregory Centre Ballybough officially opened

The Mitchell+ Associates designed, Ballybough Community Centre was officially opened on 18^th May by the Lord Mayor of Dublin Emer Costello. The Centre was officially named the Gregory Centre after the late TD Tony Gregory in recognition of his valuable community work and contribution to Irish politics.

For more information and images for this project please click here to go to our projects page.

Mitchell + Associates appointed to undertake Cork Docklands Public Realm Design

Cork City Council view the regeneration of Cork Docklands as; 'a key part of the strategy for growth in the wider region in order to meet the objectives of social, economic and environmental sustainability'. The Docklands comprises an area of approximately 162 ha. The long term strategic vision for the Docklands is a new urban quarter in Cork that will revitalise the city through high quality, contemporary design and a vibrant mix of uses. Mitchell + Associates have been appointed to prepare a detailed strategy and vision, and to prepare an implementable scheme to detailed design stage
 

For more on the Cork Docklands click here
 

Ballybough Community Resource Centre Short Listed for Brick Award 2009

Ballybough Community Resource Centre, in Dublin, has been short listed in the Best International Project Category, at the Brick Development Association Awards, which took place in London on the 4th November 2009. The annual Brick Awards is one of the longest established and most widely respected design awards in the UK. The Awards recognise excellence in design and construction using brick. Each year hundreds of entries are submitted and 15 prestigious trophies and more than 50 certificates are issued to the successful projects.
 

For more on the Brick Awards click here or to see more images of the Ballybough Community Resource Centre click here
 

Mitchell+Associates appointed to undertake Wicklow Mountains National Park Accessibility Audit

This pilot project for National Parks and Wildlife Service focuses on the surfaced tracks and footpaths within the Wicklow Mountains National Park. Accessibility is measured against a set of criteria that includes the context of the landscape: from tamed and tempered landscapes through to the wild mountain tops. The challenge of the landscape and the protection of the sensitive habitats of the area remain fundamental to the assessment. The goal is to enable more diverse use of diverse areas of the National Park. The project was won in collaboration with O’Herlihy Access Consultants (lead consultant) and Fionnuala Rogerson Architects, giving an all-encompassing review of services, buildings, car parks and wild landscapes.

Mitchell+Associates on design team for Arab Satellite Organisation Headquarters, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

The landscape for the new HQ for Arabsat, in the Diplomatic Quarter of Riyadh consists of three key gardens in an arid landscape framed by the distinctive ‘four walls’ of the architectural development by Heneghan Peng Architects. Linear extrapolation of the circulation within the building is used to pattern the landscape and make a framework for the insertion of the gardens and their elements.  The focus is on both the visual quality, and the usability of the spaces. Dealing with microclimate, irrigation, and roof deck loading, the spaces achieve a high potential for adaptive use that can develop with the culture of the organisation.

Image courtesy of Heneghan Peng Architects

Opening of Kilsaran Marketing Pavillion

Mitchell + Associates Landscape Architecture and Architecture departments were approached by the Kilsaran Group initially, to discuss conceptual approaches for displaying paving products that would be coming on line with the construction of a new paving production plant in 2008. The principal design intention behind the building was to create a contemporary structure which will act as an identifiable emblem of the Kilsaran Concrete Company. The landscape takes the concept of a Garden Festival approach whereby a destination display garden would be created. The display garden was divided into two zones to reflect the wide market applications of the paving products. Products of a commercial nature were incorporated into the site infrastructure such as entrance walling, retaining walls, approach road, visitor and car parking facilities and approach to the building. Paving products suited to the domestic market were incorporated into flexible, modular garden pods to display the wide range of paving products in scaled garden settings.

For more see our projects page

Mitchell+Associates on winning team for the Giants Causeway Visitors Centre

The architectural competition for new Visitors’ Centre on the North Antrim Coast was won by Heneghan Peng Architects.  Mitchell + Associates were commissioned to provide landscape services for the project.  The world renowned UNESCO site is iconic and environmentally sensitive so the architectural structure is built into the landscape, restoring the cliff ridge line.  Indigenous planting is used which creates amenable microclimates at the exposed site.  A large grass roof is accessed as part of the progression towards the causeway for which local seed has been collected from the surrounds of the site in order to achieve the visual and ecological context of the local landscape.  Image courtesy of Heneghan Peng Architects

For more images click here http://www.mitchell.ie/projects and then select the Giants Causeway Antrim project

Cork City Landscape Strategy Published

Mitchell+Associates on winning team for Rhine Bridge, Germany

Mitchell + Associates, landscape architects, are part of the team that has won the competition for a new bridge over the Rhine. The lead consultants, Heneghan Peng Architects collaborated with ARUP and Mitchell and Associates to design the winning scheme. The proposed Mittelrheinbruege, crosses the Rhine within the world heritage site of the Rhine Valley. The design approach is to minimize the total visual impact along the river corridor. Though the central span of the bridge, which crosses the river, is important in the context of an UNESCO World Heritage Site, the ramps that negotiate the level difference between the required ship clearance and the road levels, potentially have equal if not greater impact for the river valley. In order to blend with the landscape, the crossing picks up on these gentle valley curves to bend the bridge into a smooth yet efficient structural solution that flows with the valley; so gentle that the total length of the crossing is only 5% longer when compared to a straight bridge counterpart in the same location.                                                                                                                                                     Image courtesy of Heneghan Peng Architects

Ballybough Community Resource Centre Gets a Special Mention at the Civic Trust Awards

The recently completed Community Resource Centre at Ballybough Dublin will be recognised in this year’s 50th anniversary Civic Trust Awards ceremony at the Emirates Stadium in London on 18th March 2009. The Civic Trust Awards were established in 1959 to celebrate architecture and built environment design which is both outstanding, and which brings a real benefit to the local community. The Awards are organised by the Civic Trust, a UK charity which champions and campaigns for better places for people

To see more photos of Ballybough Community Resource Centre click here