Tuesday 12 August 2008

Floating gardens planned for Dublin Docklands

PLANS for a public park which would allow families and workers in the Dublin Docklands to sun themselves on patches of lawn moored in the middle of the Royal Canal have been unveiled.

The Dublin Docklands Development Authority is to build a €15m Linear Park on a 1km stretch of ground from North Strand Road to Spencer Dock which will feature floating gardens, playgrounds, pavilions, new bridges and sporting facilities.

Designed by Paris-based architects Agence Ter, the park will span a six-hectare (15 acres) site in the North Lotts area of the Docklands and will include a range of different types of garden for a variety of native and exotic species. A skate park, children's playground and kayak centre will also be built.

But the main features will be the floating gardens, which while moored to the canal banks can also be moved around during the seasons.

"The Royal Canal Linear Park will be a major asset in the North Lotts area of Docklands," DDDA Director of Architecture John McLaughlin said yesterday.

Construction of phase one of the park is expected to begin at the end of the year and be completed by mid-2010.

Paul Melia
Irish Independent

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