Dublin City Council has announced the appointment of Dixon Jones / Paul Keogh Architects as design team leaders for the city’s College Green Civic Plaza project. The proposal to remodel College Green as a pedestrian – priority plaza is a Dublin City Council and National Transport Authority initiative. The development aims to contribute to improving the quality of the city’s public realm, thereby increasing Dublin’s attractiveness both as a place to do business and as a place to live. Subject to planning permission from An Bord Pleanála, construction of the College Green Plaza is scheduled to commence in January 2018, to coincide with the start of operations on the LUAS cross-city line in December 2017. A flagship project in the implementation of the City Council's public realm strategy, the College Green development will remove through traffic from the area. The appointment of Dixon Jones / Paul Keogh Architects is the result of a two-stage EU procurement competition which attracted submissions from Ireland, the UK and mainland Europe. To be led by a joint venture between the London and Dublin-based architects, the multi-disciplinary College Green team will include Roughan & O'Donovan Consulting Engineers, Cathal Crimmins Conservation Architects, Paul Martin Landscape Designs and Rogerson Reddan Quantity Surveyors. Commenting on behalf of both practices, Paul Keogh, Senior Architect, said: “We are aiming to create ‘Dublin’s living room’ – a place that is safe, adaptable and friendly for people of all ages, both for everyday social interaction and for major public events, comparable with world-class spaces of similar scale internationally". Dixon Jones is one of the UK’s most highly regarded architecture practices. Its portfolio of work includes major cultural projects such as the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the National Portrait Gallery and the National Gallery. Previous public realm projects include Somerset House, Exhibition Road, and Glasshouse Street, Soho. The practice is currently at design stage for the remodelling of Olympic Way, the ceremonial avenue to Wembley Stadium. Paul Keogh Architects' award-winning work in housing, education, conservation, interiors and urban design, includes Temple Bar's Meeting House Square, Navan's Kennedy Road Civic Plaza, Phibsorough – Mountjoy Local Area Plan, Heuston Gate Redevelopment and a number of regeneration projects in Dublin's north inner city. Current work includes the Moyross Renewal Masterplan and the Dublin Mountains Flagship Tourism Project. Dublin City Architect Ali Grehan said: “The project at College Green offers the opportunity for Dublin to regain an urban space of prime civic importance and for that space to be of national and international significance. Dixon Jones and Paul Keogh Architects are highly regarded architects with extensive experience in the public realm and we are delighted to have appointed them as leads on this project.” Dublin City Councillor Ciarán Cuffe, said: "I am delighted to hear that Paul Keogh Architects and Dixon Jones have been selected to design the public realm at College Green. I look forward to seeing their proposals for a pedestrian-friendly College Green that will make our city more attractive for residents, businesses and visitors."Dick Brady, Assistant Chief Executive, Dublin City Council, welcoming the appointment, confirmed that the College Green project is a major public realm project for the City and reflects the Council’s desire to continuously improve the City’s attractiveness for citizens, support its economic vibrancy and maintain its place as a top destination for visitors. Previous projects of a similar scale undertaken by the two architect practices can be seen on the respective websites: Paul Keogh Architects http://www.pka.ie/work/ Dixon Jones Architects http://www.dixonjones.co.uk/projects/Page Last Updated: 10th February 2017