The Irish Architecture Foundation facilitated an innovative and collaborative design process and an international design competition – the result – a new place to play, to skate, to run and to BMX! 

Ballyfermot Youth Services, the Irish Architecture Foundation and Dublin City Council initiated collaboration 4 years ago, which resulted in a BMX park to beat all BMX parks.  Driven by a community-centred design process, the park was the vision of the local young bikers. Here they tell their story with pride. They guided this project for years, presenting to the council and advising the designers (a London design team called Relational Urbanism). An incredible journey of passion, design and community.

Site Specific is a special commission of ten short documentaries by the Irish Architecture Foundation for Open House Dublin 2020.  Dyehouse Films reveal the personalities, processes, complexity, creativity and transformative impact that surround the act of designed space. The protagonists: the site, the architect, the historian, the user, speak directly to the camera, they speak directly to us. Site Specific crosses the city, scales and building types from play parks, social housing, places of worship to a building not yet built. Taken individually, each 5-minute video has something of the condensed power of a short story. As with the best short stories, it is through the intense focus on the particular qualities of a particular space at a particular time, that much larger social and cultural themes are illuminated. Site Specific makes evident architecture’s great central responsibility – the shaping of the spaces that in turn shape society.

Director Bonnie Dempsey, Camera Tom Comerford, Drone Paul Magee, Rerecording Mixer Nikki Moss, Producer Aimie Gavin, Editor Mike Foott, Executive Producer David O’Sullivan 

Special thanks to all the members, youth leaders and volunteers of Ballyfermot Youth Service, everyone who participated in the LeFanu Playpark Public Consultation Process, Relational Urbanism Architects, Dublin City Council, Ger O’Reilly, Gerry Mc Carthy, Craig Madden, Richie Carolan, Lee Corcoran, Luke Costello, James Donnelly, Callum O’Shea, Abbie Gibbons, Scott Barnwell, Bradley Dodrell, Amy Berry and Ste Murray Photographer.

Produced by Dyehouse Films 2020

Opinions expressed are the contributors alone and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the Irish Architecture Foundation or Dyehouse Films.