IPUT appoints three international design and placemaking firms to lead long-term research study, Making Impact

• Collaboration of Hassell, PRD and Gehl will lead ground-breaking study over five-year period
• Making Impact will value the long-term impact of placemaking investments on a city neighbourhood
• Wilton Park, Dublin will form the basis of a five-year study with global application, and which will inform the debate on the future of cities

IPUT Real Estate (‘IPUT’), Ireland’s leading property company and the largest owner of offices and logistics assets in Dublin, announces the launch of Making Impact; one of the world’s first ever studies to value the impact of placemaking on a city neighbourhood on a longitudinal basis.

IPUT has appointed three international placemaking and design agencies – Hassell, PRD and Gehl – who will collaborate to assess the social, economic, environmental, and cultural impact of placemaking at its Wilton Park development in Dublin 2.

Wilton Park is a 600,000 sq. ft. mixed used scheme scheduled to be completed by the end of 2023. The estate incorporates 580,000 sq. ft. of offices and 20,000 sq. ft. of food & beverage space surrounding a one-acre city park and a new streetscape.

Making Place

IPUT issued a detailed research report, Making Place, in 2020, which it subsequently updated in 2022, to consider the impact of placemaking on the workplace and wider neighbourhood. That report highlighted the key considerations for asset owners, developers, occupiers, and city planners in thinking about the next generation of workplaces and the future of our cities. IPUT Real Estate, in partnership with Hassell, PRD and Gehl, will now build on that initial research to understand the positive wider impact of placemaking through a follow-on study: Making Impact.

Making Impact

IPUT believes that placemaking plays a central role in attracting best-in-class occupiers to its buildings; driving long term shareholder value and positively contributing to the neighbourhoods and communities where IPUT invests for the long-term. In partnership with Hassell, PRD and Gehl, IPUT will measure and value the impact of its Wilton Park development on the local neighbourhood over a period of five years. Making Impact is believed to be one of the first ever studies to quantify the long-term impacts of various social, economic, environmental, and cultural investments on a longitudinal basis. It is expected that the study will have application for a myriad of different stakeholders particularly those who are focussed on reinvigorating and reimagining cities.

Niall Gaffney, CEO IPUT Real Estate, said:

Wilton Park is an opportunity to create an inclusive, vibrant, and sustainable neighbourhood that will engage with the wider community. As custodians and stewards of this historic part of Dublin city, we are passionate about understanding the impact of our investment in placemaking on Wilton Park and our neighbours. This research will value our impact with potential application for other cities and places over the long-term. We have assembled a group of market leading design and placemaking experts in Hassell, PRD and Gehl. They bring together the breadth and depth of experience required to create a leading evaluation framework for placemaking and help define the future development of our cities.

Marie Hunt, Head of Research, IPUT Real Estate, said:

We want the quality of the regeneration at Wilton Park to be an exemplar for successful public and private sector collaboration on a global scale. We are aiming to create a meaningful place for the community and to attract additional footfall to this part of Dublin city by showcasing the best characteristics of successful placemaking. We have appointed a world-renowned team to lead a ground-breaking piece of research that will have global application. At the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, social value was identified as being key to unlocking successful urban transformation and collaboration between the public and private sector. Making Impact will be one of the world’s first studies to measure social impact in the built environment over a five-year period.

Camilla Siggaard Andersen, Research Lead, Hassell, said:

Bringing together a multi-disciplinary team with a shared passion for making places that people love, we are excited to work with IPUT to capture and share insights about the holistic impact of a wide range of placemaking initiatives at Wilton Park over the next five-years. While there is a growing body of evidence that speaks to the value of placemaking, few studies have been undertaken at this scale or with such strong roots in a living case study, which may itself be impacted by our findings over time. With that in mind, we feel that this project has the potential to set a new benchmark for placemaking quality, excellence, and accountability in the commercial real estate sector at a global scale, and the opportunity to become a source of knowledge and inspiration for developers and city architects world-wide.