DUBLIN SQUARES CONFERENCE 2013 Maximising the city’s Georgian heritage DUBLIN CIVIC TRUST is pleased to announce a major one-day conference assessing the role and significance, past, present and future, of the historic squares of Dublin. Placing a special emphasis on the north Georgian area of the city in association with The Mountjoy Square Society, this major symposium will be hosted in the magnificent environment of the former ballroom of the Assembly Rooms of the Rotunda Hospital on Parnell Square. Please find details about the conference and a full programme overleaf. Hosted in association with The Mountjoy Square Society and the support of Dublin City Council Dublin Civic Trust, 4 Castle Street, Dublin 2 | 01 475 6911 | [email protected] Speakers and Topics This major conference will feature a host of expert national and international speakers highlighting the architectural, cultural, social and economic significance of the five major historic squares of Dublin and their hinterlands. It will showcase their historic evolution through estate planning and management, building speculation and development, public landscape design, and the various international influences that helped shape the now familiar landscape of the city. It must also recognised that the role of the squares in Dublin is much greater than as an isolated cultural asset, as they serve as a key social and economic resource for the city at a time of growing environmental awareness and international competition between major urban centres. For the first time in a public forum, this conference aims to stimulate public discussion about the conservation of the built and natural environments of Dublin’s squares through exploring new uses for buildings, reinventing the public realm and promoting new perspectives on the role and design of their public gardens and parks. It also seeks to explore how the economic and social vitality of the city can be enhanced through changing perceptions about the squares and their attendant streets, reshaping predominately commercial uses on the south side and widespread inadequate residential standards on the north side, into world-class community and commercial centres that innovatively embrace this unique heritage asset. Conference speakers will assess international best practice of managing streetscape, presenting historic planted landscapes, and financing building and landscape conservation through public and private funding and incentivisation. BOOK ONLINE: www.dublincivictrust.ie | ADMIT ONE: €65 | ADMIT ONE + CPD Certificate: €80 Admission includes lunch and light refreshments in the morning and afternoon Ink and watercolour view of Mountjoy Square from the spire of St. George’s Church, by James Mahony, 1854 Courtesy of the National Gallery of Ireland DUBLIN SQUARES CONFERENCE PROGRAMME Maximising the city’s Georgian heritage Friday 13th September 2013 - The Pillar Room, Assembly Rooms, Parnell Square Programme 08.30 - 09.10 Registration 09.10 Doors close (sharp) 09.10 Welcome & Introduction Geraldine Walsh, Chief Executive Officer, Dublin Civic Trust 09.20 Opening Address Phil Hogan T.D., Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government Chaired by 09.30 Changing the Rules: The Social Construction of the European City Square, 1500-1900 Elizabeth Morgan Dr. Desmond McCabe, Historian and Author Landscape Conservation Architect 10.00 Grand Ambitions - Development of the Gardiner Estate Office of Public Works Merlo Kelly, Architect and Conservation Consultant 10.25 The Square in the Town Plan Dr. Todd Longstaffe-Gowan, Landscape Architect and Historian 10.50 Discussion 11.00 Tea/Coffee Break 11.30 The Design and Redesign of Urban Squares – A Scottish Perspective Christopher Dingwall, Landscape Historian and Heritage Consultant, Scotland 11.55 Dublin’s Forgotten Pleasure Grounds - Parnell Square Chaired by James Kelly, Conservation Architect and Chairman, Dublin Civic Trust Ciarán O’Connor State Architect 12.15 Can the Past Serve the Present? Artists as a Source for Depicting Dublin’s Squares Office of Public Works Adrian Le Harivel, Senior Curator, National Gallery of Ireland 12.40 Discussion 12.50 Lunch 13.50 An Outsider’s Perspective - Appraising Dublin’s Squares Chris Sumner, Chair of Planning and Conservation, London Parks & Gardens Trust 14.10 Challenges and Opportunities - The Squares as an Urban Resource Nicki Matthews, Conservation Officer & Conservation Architect, Dublin City Council 14.30 Maximising the North Georgian Core Chaired by Karin O’Flanagan, Mountjoy Square Society and Resident Ali Grehan City Architect 14.50 The Future of the South Georgian Core Dublin City Council Paul Kearns, Senior Planner, Dublin City Council 15.10 Strategic Policy in Urban Landscaping Leslie Moore, City Parks Superintendent, Dublin City Council 15.30 Discussion 15.40 Tea/Coffee Break 16.00 Financing Regeneration - The Economic Case for Renewal Garrett Fennell, Mountjoy Square Society 16.20 The Campaign for London’s Squares: A Tale of Two Funders Drew Bennelick, Head of Landscape and Natural Heritage, Heritage Lottery Fund Chaired by 16.40 The Lanes and Approaching Streets of Mountjoy Square: A Contemporary View Aidan Pender Mary Laheen, Architect and Lecturer, School of Architecture and Landscape, UCD Director of Strategic Development 17.00 Debate & Discussion Fáilte Ireland Chaired by Aidan Pender, Director of Strategic Development, Fáilte Ireland 17.15 Concluding Address Frank McDonald, Author, Journalist and Environment Editor of The Irish Times Decorative plasterwork of The Pillar Room, Assembly Rooms, c.1784 .