Swords Masterplan - Fingal County Council

7.6 Heights and Massing
Building heights and massing around the Metro Quarter will be controlled within a
strategy which responds to the size of the adjoining space (Metro Plaza or R132) and
will provide a modulated building profile to help mitigate any potential overshadowing.
Buildings around the Metro Plaza will be 35-40 metres high to reflect the scale
of connectivity. This is in keeping with the desire to locate higher density land
uses around public transport nodes. The heights will reduce as one moves north
and south along the R132.
Shadow studies will be conducted to ensure that the height and mass of the
buildings are appropriate and do not have a negative impact within the site or on
the surrounding areas.
LANDMARK BUILDINGS
There are opportunities to create landmark buildings on both sides of Metro
Plaza. These buildings will complement each other and form gateway entrances
to the Pavilions and Barrysparks sites as well as Swords Town Centre.
S W O R D S M A S T E R P L A N
7.7 Landscape Strategy
The landscape strategy for the area is prescribed by several essential factors.
● Site context:
Proximity to the adjacent development sites of Barrysparks and Pavilions
and associated new routes and access points.
● Parkway experience and arrival
Visual appearance and arrival sequence by metro and car along the R132.
This strong tree lined approach is part of the defining landscape for the town.
● Strategic Transport Corridor (R132) and Metro North
Response to engineering requirements such as the development and
realignment of the R132, Metro North, Metro Box* and its associated slip
roads.
● Pedestrian comfort and usability
Where the road network comes in contact with the pedestrian realm, it is
essential that the landscape treatment responds in such a way that the
public space is adapted or treated in a manner that protects the users of the
development, while avoiding an unnecessary interruption to the vehicular flow.
The general landscape strategy in relation to the Metro Quarter area comprises
the following elements:
● Building on the inherent strengths of the existing landscape of Swords is a
core aim of the Masterplan for the town. The Metro alignment along the
R132 parkway corridor offers an opportunity to use the landscape setting as
a signature for the town. This is driven by both the need to replant the
existing tree belts and the redefinition of the route as a series of
arrival/departure points rather than a bypass condition.
● The current R132 planting is a highly effective green screen, successfully
addressing the potentially adverse impact of the road and creating a strong
and distinctive character to the main transport corridor through Swords. The
construction of Metro North will mean the loss of a number of existing trees
along the R132 and landscape analysis has identified that the long term
retention of these qualities requires a planned replacement of trees with
more durable species. The replacement trees will be planted in a landscape
strip of at least 5 metres wide (not including 1.5 metre footpath along each
side) to protect the residential amenity as well as reinforcing the identity of
Swords. Tree planting in the Metro Quarter will be more formal in nature
reflecting the area’s importance.
● The planned mitigation measures associated with the integration of the
metro alignment within the R132 corridor include the re-provision of the
existing planting along the entire southbound road boundary. The
opportunity therefore exists to address the whole parkway condition by
considering an appropriate replanting scheme that unifies all landscape
elements into a single vision reflecting the varying significance of the
location. There are 3 levels of response proposed within the Metro Quarter:
A. General Approach areas along R132
– Semi naturalistic planting replicating a woodland setting.
B. Swords Metro Quarter
– Semi mature tree planting in formalised landscape design, lighting
and artwork.
C. Metro Plaza
– Planting on Metro Plaza will express the continuity of the parkway
condition to the north and south.
8 4
ELEMENTS, MATERIALS AND EXPRESSION
Artwork – elements such as sculpture, art and paving patterns will be used at
appropriate locations throughout the Metro Quarter.
Lighting – Lighting will be used as an integral design element while also acting
as a functional safety feature. There will be several distinct types of lighting
employed throughout the Metro Quarter which will form part of the holistic
lighting strategy for Swords Town Centre. These are as follows:
● R132 – column mounted lanterns to illuminate vehicle routes
● Pedestrian areas – mix of column mounted lanterns and building mounted
lanterns. Mounting heights will be fully integrated with the form of the
architecture and provide human scale.
● Amenity – additional lighting around public spaces such as Metro Plaza and
platform.
● Architectural – Illuminating building forms can help reinforce the identity of
a place. This form of lighting may be internal or external.
● Bespoke illuminated signage pillars with way-finding maps and local
information, including Metro and bus timetables and active display screens
for actual arrival times. These should be co-ordinated with other such
elements installed throughout the Town Centre.
● Landscaping – The lighting of both hard and soft landscaping will be
carefully integrated into the whole landscaping proposal.
● Event and art – temporary and permanent use of light, particularly in a
dynamic and creative way, will be employed in the Metro Quarter.
● Security and safety – Any specific lighting for security will be carefully
controlled. Safety lighting will be considered wherever hazards may occur.
Vista and termination – Particular attention will be paid to the vistas from Metro
Plaza. It is envisaged that tree nodes and green areas will form the terminations
of views looking up and down the R132 as well as looking down the streets
linking into adjacent development sites.
Material continuity – The continuation of a uniform quality paving material shall
provide an apparent extension and integration of the Metro Quarter into the future
development. The Metro Plaza itself will have a distinguished surface treatment
to highlight its importance as the major transport interchange in the town.