The re-imagined Parnell Square North and new plaza |
The new complex will be linked to the houses on either side of the existing Hugh Lane Gallery, but will be hidden from plaza level view. At the back of the terrace, the new Central Library building – three times larger than its existing home on the third floor of the Ilac shopping centre – will feature a dramatic great hall (see below). It is scheduled, perhaps rather optimistically, to open in 2023.
Other new-build and refurbishment elements of the project will see the creation of a 200-seat conference centre, a music centre, education facilities, a cafe and exhibition space.
In the immediate vicinity of the square is an existing cluster of cultural venues, including the Irish Writer's Centre, Dublin Writers' Museum, the Gate Theatre, Poetry Ireland and the Garden of Remembrance.
Dublin City Council will fund €45 million of the new quarter's development, with the balance being sought from philanthropic donations.
For more details and images of the planned development, see http://www.parnellsquare.ie.
Design of the new Dublin Central Library, Parnell Square. |
UPDATE: 25 July 2019. See DCC's 'most disappointing and unwelcome' news