46. Market of Many Shops

It is convenient to want a market where all the different foods and household goods you need can be bought under the one roof. But when the market has a single management, it lacks variety and dehumanises the experience of the marketplace. The only way to bring variety and human contact back is to create a market with individual shop owners selling different goods, from tiny stalls, under a common roof. Within the structure different shops should have the ability to create their own environment, according to taste and needs. (Alexander 1977)

Irish Pavilion

Venice Biennale

The morphology and form of the Irish market town 

Pat Dargan looks at the historic morphology of the formal market square. These open civic spaces acted as the core of towns and continues to act as a significant urban feature into present time. 

​
​1. Market Square in Portarlington, Country Laois, with its central market and four approach roads
​
2. Market Square in Moy, Country Tyrone, with its rectangular form, axis and cross-axis. It is a successful and attractive of 18th century, town planning. 

Redesigned public spaces in Clonakilty provide vital lessons in collaborative place-making

Giulia Vallone - Squares dominated by parking, empty buildings and anti-social behaviour called for an objective that focused on providing new ‘living rooms’ for civic and social events. The development of a bottom-up public participation approach to public spaces allowed for place making, promotion of visual awareness, quality design, sense of ownership, civic stewardship and economic development.

​Giulia Vallone states that “safety, accessibility and place-making were crucial points to further establish pedestrian priority”. This invites people to stop and use the street. This idea of ‘vitality, vibrancy and viability impacts the overall socio-economic, environmental and cultural growth and development, and quality of life for citizens and visitors.
​

RIAI Town Toolkit: Making places for people

Philip Jackson - Provides tools and methodologies for people to assess the quality of their towns and help make decisions that would improve them. They explore six themes that aim to benefit our physical health and well-being, our economic health, and creating a sustainable relationship with our environment.
-          Health and happiness
-          Accessibility and movement
-          Variety and Viability
-          Urban Structure, Form and Character (Genius Loci – A sense of a place)
-          Living Sustainably
-          Governance, Management and Stewardship

Back to the future for town squares

​Rosie Webb is concerned of vehicular movement and parking taking precedence over all historical functions of town squares, limiting community interaction.
​
“Good urban architecture distinguishes itself from merely building as a human social art. It is a force for repairing the fabric of human community and the natural world. As a social art, urban design must reflect the values and needs of society.”