DLR Lexicon, branded as dlr LexIcon, is a building in

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built following the 1816 legislation that allowed the building of a major port to serve Dubli ...

, Ireland, housing the main

public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants. There are ...

and

cultural centre A cultural center or cultural centre is an organization, building or complex that promotes culture and arts. Cultural centers can be neighborhood community arts organizations, private facilities, government-sponsored, or activist-run. Asia * Ce ...

Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Dhún Laoghaire–Ráth an Dúin) is the authority responsible for local government in the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. It is one of three local authorities that s ...

(DLR CC). It has attracted controversy, with opponents critical of its massive façade and its €36.6m cost at a time of austerity in Ireland, and supporters praising its interior, usability, and environmentally responsible construction.

Construction

The 2004-10 DLR CC

development plan A development plan sets out a local authority's policies and proposals for land use in their area. The term is usually used in the United Kingdom. A Local Plan is one type of development plan. The development plan guides and shapes day-to-day de ...

included a new library and cultural centre as part of its

urban regeneration Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...

scheme. It stated: :The need for specialised and centralised services in a

Europe of the Regions The European Union created a Committee of the Regions to represent Regions of Europe as the layer of EU government administration directly below the nation-state level. The committee has its headquarters in Brussels. Reasons given for this incl ...

setting will be promoted through the development of a Europe of the Regions Centre of Literature and Culture, which will be both a local and European focal point for literature, culture, and related co-operative activity. The site chosen was Moran Park, a partially derelict

public park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to res ...

with

bowling green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

, running perpendicular to the coastline down an

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''esca ...

. The site was chosen because it was already owned by DLR CC and would link The Metals (Queens Road) on the busy seafront to the north with George's Street, Dún Laoghaire's main shopping street, to the south. Carr Cotter & Naessens, with a design by David Naessens, won the architecture competition in November 2007. In May 2009 DLR CC launched the

public consultation Public consultation (Commonwealth countries and European Union), public comment (US), or simply consultation, is a regulatory process by which the public's input on matters affecting them is sought. Its main goals are in improving the efficiency, ...

required under Part 8 of the Planning & Development Regulations; a special development review meeting in November 2009 approved the plan by 22 votes to 3, rejecting Richard Boyd Barrett's proposal to locate the library on Carlisle Pier.

Sisk Group Sisk Group is a construction and property company founded in Cork, Ireland in 1859 with operations in Ireland, United Kingdom, Belgium, Poland, Sweden and the Middle East. History After an apprenticeship as a plasterer and at the age of 22, Jo ...

won the

request for tender An invitation to tender (ITT, otherwise known as a call for bids or a request for tenders) is a formal, structured procedure for generating competing offers from different potential suppliers or contractors looking to obtain an award of business ...

and began construction in April 2012. Thirteen 40-tonne concrete rafters constructed in

County Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hon ...

were each brought on site in a single night. The building was opened to the public for preview on Culture Night (19 September 2014) and Open House Dublin (19 October 2014) and opened for general use on 8 December 2014. The building won the 2014

Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland ( ga, Institiúid Ríoga Ailtirí na hÉireann) founded in 1839, is the "competent authority for architects and professional body for Architecture in the Republic of Ireland." The RIAI's purpose ...

award categories Best Culture and Best Public Building.

Facilities

DLR Lexicon is structured in vertical layers, from a staff basement to a peak 29 metres above street level. It includes adult, children's, and audiovisual lending libraries with 24-hour automated teller machines for returns; general and local history reference libraries; archives, and library administration offices. There are large open spaces, smaller reading rooms, meeting rooms, an art gallery and workshop, and a performance space and auditorium. A Brambles Café concession on the lower level opens onto a terrace in Moran Park.

References

External links

{{commons category, DLR Lexicon
dlr LexIcon
DLR CC Libraries website
DLR LexIcon
Carr Cotter Naessens Architects website Dún Laoghaire Buildings and structures in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown Library buildings completed in 2014 2014 establishments in Ireland