Newmarket

The Newmarket project envisions the regeneration of a prominent brownfield site in the Liberties into a contemporary mixed-use urban quarter. Working as part of a multidisciplinary team, MOLA Architecture (with Reddy Architecture & Urbanism) prepared a coordinated masterplan that reconnects the lands to the surrounding street network and reinstates Newmarket Square as a focal civic space within the district. The masterplan is structured across three principal development plots and accommodates a balanced mix of residential, office, retail and hotel uses. Approximately 16,000sqm of office space, 2,000sqm of retail, 7,000sqm of residential accommodation and 10,000sqm of hotel space are envisaged, supporting activity throughout the day and evening and contributing to an active neighbourhood. The strategy aligns with the Liberties Local Area Plan and draws on the established character of Dublin 8, introducing new streets, lanes and public realm elements that strengthen permeability, local identity and the everyday use of Newmarket Square.

Within this wider framework, MOLA developed the M8 mixed-use office building through to tender stage. Occupying a narrow plot between Newmarket Square and Mill Street, the six-storey building accommodates four upper levels of workspace above a ground floor bar–restaurant and a lower ground micro-brewery visible from the street. The sloping topography enables level access and creates two distinct civic frontages: a café opening onto Newmarket Square and a double-height office lobby addressing Mill Street.