Ballycullen Gate
Oldcourt, Ballycullen, Dublin 24 · 523 Homes
Ballycullen Gate is a major new residential neighbourhood proposed on the Oldcourt lands in Ballycullen, Dublin 24. Brought forward as a Large-scale Residential Development (LRD) for Capami Ltd, the scheme delivers 523 homes across a 12.48-hectare developable site, set within a connected network of parks, pocket spaces and retained natural features.
The design responds directly to a complex, sloping site crossed by an existing pylon corridor and rich in hedgerows and biodiversity. Rather than flatten that character, the layout works with the topography and landscape, organising the development into four distinct neighbourhoods linked by a central east–west avenue.
Design Approach
A single east–west link avenue forms the backbone of the development, designed to DMURS principles and capable of carrying a bus route through the heart of the new community. From this spine, secondary streets lead to quieter groupings of houses, each arranged to overlook and define the public realm. Pedestrian and cycle permeability is prioritised throughout, with routes connecting the neighbourhoods to one another, to the surrounding area, and out to Dodderbrook.
A connected network of open spaces is structured beyond the 15% requirement, anchored by a large central park and supported by a series of pocket parks within each neighbourhood. Existing hedgerows, dry ditches and streams are retained as biodiversity corridors and woven into the landscape design, while sustainable urban drainage (SUDS) is integrated throughout.
Homes & Character
The scheme offers a broad mix of homes — low-rise apartments, duplexes, and a range of deep-plan and wide-frontage houses — to suit a diversity of households. Building heights are handled with care on the sloping ground: the development is predominantly two-storey, rising to three storeys at key urban junctions and along the link avenue, and stepping down to single-storey split-level bungalows along the elevated southern boundary.
Four character areas each carry their own identity, distinguished by typology, layout and a tailored material palette — yellow brick, red brick, black brick with white detailing, white render and metal/zinc cladding used in complementary combinations to give every neighbourhood a clear sense of place.
Open Space & Community
Public open space is conceived as a connected system rather than a leftover. A central parkland space sits at the heart of the scheme, linked along the avenue to smaller urban spaces and pocket parks that act as focal points for each neighbourhood. The arrangement maximises passive surveillance, with homes fronting and overlooking the green spaces they sit beside
Apartments & Built Form
Low-rise apartment buildings are placed at key locations to lift density while keeping a residential scale, their massing graduated from three storeys down to two where they meet adjoining housing terraces. Duplex typologies with set-back upper floors perform a similar role, defining corners and street frontages without overshadowing neighbouring homes.
Client
Location
Site Area
Total Units
Typology Mix
Height
Density
Landscape
Services Provided
Status
Capami Ltd
Oldcourt, Ballycullen, Dublin 24
12.48 hectares (developable area)
523 homes
Low-rise apartments, duplexes, and 2/3/4-bed houses incl. split-level bungalows
Predominantly 2-storey, rising to 3 storeys at key junctions; single-storey to southern boundary
42 units per hectare
Central park, pocket parks, retained hedgerows & biodiversity corridors, SUDS
Concept, Planning, Design, Assigned Certifier, Construction-Stage Architecture
Planning granted; construction underway
