DUBLIN
MEETING HOUSE SQUARE
WHETER DAY OR NIGHT – THE MEETING HOUSE SQUARE IN DUBLIN IS ALWAYS BUSY. LOCATED IN THE HISTORICAL DISCTRICT OF TEMPLE BAR, WITH ITS CENTURIES – OLD STREETS AND ALLEYS, THIS PLACE ATTRACTS MAINLY TOURISTS. BUT THEY ARE NOT ONLY VISITING DUBLIN FOR ITS HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE.
NEED OF CANOPY
The Meeting House Square is Dublin's main public meeting space. For this purpose, a plurality of events are organized by Temple Bar Cultural Trust (TBCT). Until a few weeks ago, several film and theater performances, as well as concerts had to be canceled rapidly, due to the changing Irish weather. Now, visitors are protected by a unique umbrella installation, which has a total roof area of nearly 700 square meters.
- PTFE material from own manufacturing
- special engineering: kinked mast and asymmetric bars
- plug-in solution (assembly within a day)
- special size: 11 x 14 m
USE OF UMBRELLAS
The surface is now spanned by four 21-m-high umbrellas that slightly bend towards the centre of the place. This trick causes that the center of each 11 x 14m membrane to overlap as flower blossoms thus creating a more usable space. By adjusting heights MDT was able to create a more open air aspect. The umbrellas close and open themselves within seven minutes so during event-free times local residents and tourists can still enjoy the unobstructed views. When closed the umbrellas seem like sculpture columns which reach to the sky. At evening events the umbrellas are illuminated from above. Different colors can be created to enhance the artistic flow.
The installation on the meeting House Square took place by crane in order to manuever around the long-stnading homes– and all in only one day. The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies have just awarded The International Architecture Award for 2013 to the Rainscreen umbrella project in Meeting House Square, designed by Dublin firm Sean Harrington Architects, and engineered and manufactured by German/Swiss firm MDT-tex, for Temple Bar Cultural Trust in Dublin.