The Newcastle-based practice’s new Sport Ireland Campus masterplan, which will include Ireland’s first indoor velodrome upon completion, will be created through a range of building projects over a 15 to 20-year period in phases, as well as infrastructure improvements.
Eventually, the site will become home to sports bodies such as the Olympic Federation of Ireland, Paralympics Ireland, and Sport Ireland, which already have a presence at the location in the suburb of Blanchardstown.
Plans for an indoor velodrome and national badminton centre have already been submitted for approval and a decision by Fingal County Council is expected in the coming weeks.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said at the launch of the masterplan last week: ‘The Sport Ireland Campus is already an invaluable asset as part of the sporting infrastructure of the country and the developments as laid out in this document will enhance what are already world-class facilities.’
FaulknerBrowns’ masterplan includes new athletes’ accommodation, workspaces and cultural buildings which will sit alongside the sporting venues and headquarters for sports bodies. Among the proposed cultural spaces will be a Museum of Irish Sport and a new public plaza at the centre of the site.
Irish-based practice McCullough Mulvin Architects will work-up plans to renovate a 19th century building on the site.
FaulknerBrowns Architects are behind the masterplan for the Sport Ireland Campus in Dublin
Source:FaulknerBrowns
Niall Durney, a partner at FaulknerBrowns, said the Irish government-backed scheme would establish a new ‘home of Irish sport’ that would benefit local residents, who will have access to the campus.
The practice says the scheme’s public transport improvements, sustainable drainage systems, and proposed use of renewable energy will help Sport Ireland meet its goal of net zero emissions by 2050 – a target set out by the Irish government.
Durney said: ‘The project brings together our passion for both placemaking and elite sport to create a new kind of campus, with collaborative workplaces and new cultural buildings alongside major sporting venues.’
Work on the velodrome and badminton centre, as well as athletes’ accommodation, are part of the first phase of the Sport Ireland Campus masterplan.
FaulknerBrowns has a history of sports commissions, including having previously worked on the Zuiderpark sports campus in The Hague, The Netherlands, and the Derby Arena, a 5,000-seat velodrome and badminton centre.
