Hassell to lead five-year study measuring the impact of placemaking in Dublin’s Wilton Park
Hassell has been appointed by Ireland’s leading property company IPUT Real Estate Dublin to lead a five-year research study titled Making Impact, which will quantify the long-term effects and social value of placemaking on a city neighbourhood.
IPUT Real Estate Dublin, Ireland’s leading property company and the largest owner of offices and logistics assets in Dublin, has launched Making Impact, a study which will quantify the long-term effects of social, economic, environmental and cultural investments in the new Wilton Park mixed-use neighbourhood in Dublin’s central business district.
It is expected the study will inform an important global debate on the future of cities.
IPUT has appointed a multidisciplinary team of three international placemaking and design experts — Hassell, PRD and Gehl — who will collaborate to assess the impact of placemaking in IPUT’s Wilton Park, a 600,000 sq ft landmark mixed use development.
Set for completion by the end of 2023, Wilton Park incorporates 580,000 sq ft of offices and 20,000 sq ft of food and beverage space surrounding a one-acre city park and a new streetscape.
“Bringing together a multi-disciplinary team with a shared passion for making places that people love, we are excited to work with IPUT to capture and share insights about the holistic impact of a wide range of placemaking initiatives at Wilton Park over the next five-years,” says Camilla Siggaard Andersen, Research Lead, Hassell.
“While there is a growing body of evidence that speaks to the value of placemaking, few studies have been undertaken at this scale or with such strong roots in a living case study, which may itself be impacted by our findings over time.”
— Camilla Siggaard Andersen, Research Lead, Hassell
“With that in mind, we feel that this project has the potential to set a new benchmark for placemaking quality, excellence, and accountability in the commercial real estate sector at a global scale, and the opportunity to become a source of knowledge and inspiration for developers and city architects world-wide,” says Camilla.
“Wilton Park is an opportunity to create an inclusive, vibrant, and sustainable neighbourhood that will engage with the wider community,” says Niall Gaffney, CEO IPUT Real Estate Dublin. “As custodians and stewards of this historic part of Dublin city, we are passionate about understanding the impact of our investment in placemaking on Wilton Park and our neighbours. This research will have potential application for other cities and places over the long-term.”
“We have assembled a group of market leading design and placemaking experts in Hassell, PRD and Gehl. They bring together the breadth and depth of experience required to create a leading evaluation framework for placemaking and help define the future development of our cities.”
— Niall Gaffney, CEO IPUT Real Estate Dublin
“We want the quality of the regeneration at Wilton Park to be an exemplar for successful public and private sector collaboration on a global scale,” says Marie Hunt, Head of Research, IPUT Real Estate Dublin. “We are aiming to create a meaningful place for the community and to attract additional footfall to this part of Dublin city by showcasing the best characteristics of successful placemaking. We have appointed a world-renowned team to lead a ground-breaking piece of research that will have global application. At the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, social value was identified as being key to unlocking successful urban transformation and collaboration between the public and private sector.”
“Making Impact will be one of the world’s first studies to measure social impact in the built environment over a five-year period.”
— Marie Hunt, Head of Research, IPUT Real Estate Dublin
Read more about Wilton Park