At 120,000m², the development is one of the country’s largest mixed-use schemes, bringing together residential, cultural, commercial, and civic uses in a landmark masterplan. Anchored by Smithfield Square and the newly created Museum Square, the project provides 500 apartments, a 93-bed hotel, retail, leisure, offices, and community facilities, all layered within a carefully considered urban grain. More than a single development, Smithfield Market redefined the identity of a historic district, catalysing the wider HARP (Historic Area Rejuvenation Project) and restoring vitality to a long-neglected part of Dublin. A key innovation lay in HKR’s pioneering use of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), with offsite elements such as prefabricated bathroom pods and clip-on balconies, delivering efficiencies in time, cost, safety, and quality, a first of its scale in Ireland.

Urban Regeneration

Smithfield Market was conceived as a cornerstone of the HARP initiative, establishing a new urban quarter that stitched together fragmented plots of car parks, warehouses, and redundant industrial buildings. The masterplan balanced scale and sensitivity, creating an appropriate urban massing along the historic square while opening new pedestrian routes that reconnect the area to the wider city. Museum Square and roof gardens provided layered public, semi-public, and private spaces, encouraging community life and complementing the scale of Smithfield’s historic marketplace.

Mixed-Use Vitality

A deliberate mix of uses ensured that the development avoided the monotony of single-function schemes. Apartments, including a proportion of social and affordable housing delivered to the same high standards, were complemented by retail, leisure, offices, a cultural centre, cinema, medical facilities, and the “Old Soldiers Home.” This integration established a true 24-hour neighbourhood, enhancing diversity and supporting long-term resilience.

Innovation in MMC

Smithfield Market was HKR’s first major use of Modern Methods of Construction. Offsite fabrication introduced measurable benefits, from time and cost savings to improved health and safety. The most visible innovation was the prefabricated balcony system: lightweight units with integrated precast panels and glass disk floor lights, designed for rapid installationand improved daylighting into apartments below. Together with bathroom pods and other prefabricated elements, these innovations set new benchmarks for Irish construction.

Completed in 2005, Smithfield Market transformed a decayed district into a thriving, mixed-use community, and established a model for regeneration and construction innovation across Dublin and beyond.