Community Led Open Innovation

The Community Led Open Innovation will identify and support the first Urban Prototypes to be tested in the Georgian Neighbourhood and focus on developing solutions for Laneways and Citizen Sensing supports. Five local community groups, supported by designers and makers to design, will create and test solutions to common issues in the Georgian Neighbourhood area and help transition to a Limerick Georgian Neighbourhood Positive Energy District.

"We are really looking forward to realising the Griffith Row, Green Urban Museum. The designs of LSAD's Haris Makedonopoulou are very visionary, incorporating 3D ceramic printed versions of Hunt Museum objects from LSAD students under the guidance of Michael McLaughlin and some gorgeous green vertical gardens. We are already very grateful for the community support from the local residents and businesses, not least the cooperation of Canteen and the Mens' Sheds, but would be very happy to hear from anyone else wishing to volunteer." Jill Cousins

The Green Urban Museum proposes the creation of a wider network of public spaces in the heart of Georgian Limerick, including laneways, public squares and parks, that would be used as open public platforms allowing for community engagement, community interaction and exchange, community learning about history, art and culture, as well as re-connecting the community with nature.

The Green Urban Museum, will transform a laneway using 3D printed Hunt Museum artefacts in a permaculture garden as the start of a trail that leads from the Hunt Museum to the Georgian heart of Limerick, connecting and inspiring people as they walk or cycle it. 

• Project Lead: Rosemarie Noone 
• Collaborators: Hunt Museum, Enable Ireland, Urban Designer Harris, LIT
• Location: Griffith Row or Theatre Lane (to be confirmed)

"Streetseek is a pilot program by Deepseek AI and The University of Limerick, to measure the heart beat of Limerick City. We have developed innovative technology to gather deeper insights into how people engage with public spaces in our city. Topically, one of these unique insights is a social distancing measurement to gauge how well pedestrians can implement the 2 meter rule in the city. Our platform is developed with personal privacy as a priority. We use thermal cameras which are based on temperature readings, in contrast to conventional visual cameras. The goal of Streetseek is to provide a platform for extracting knowledge as to how cities are used, to facilitate smart planning and decision making into the future." Ciarán O'Mara

This new understanding of our city will provide key insights to a number of stakeholders including city planners, businesses and positive change for the people who use it. Crucially it will also allow businesses to react in real-time to their energy needs, removing wasted use of electricity and moving us towards an energy positive city.

Limerick has been newly christened the Atlantic Edge and we believe that it is crucial that we link one edge of our city to the other; the Georgian Laneways are essentially the arteries that allow people to flow throughout the city.m Our proposal involves the installation of an unobtrusive camera system, backed up by cutting edge automated vision analysis technology that will allow us to sense the heartbeat of the city every second of every day.

• Project Lead: Ciarán O'Mara, DeepSeek AI  
• Location: Little Catherine Street, Griffith Row, tbc

"Limerick Mental Health Association and the Hunt Museum are delighted that our Green Urban Museum ideas for Jesuit Lane were selected for this very exciting pilot project. This will be a truly community collaboration between LMHA Mens' Shed & Womens Group, The Friends of Hunt Museum, residents and business owners in the area, and Limerick City and County Council. We believe that all of the pilot projects selected will enhance the laneways of Limerick and contribute to the beauty of our city centre." Claire Flynn

Using images from the Hunt Museum Collection and the Limerick City Museum, Makers from LMHA Women's and Community Groups will hold workshops with a professional designer to create recycled metal repoussé trellises to hang in Jesuit Lane. These trellises, interwoven with plants that diminish C02, are aesthetically pleasing and of benefit to the environment. The lane will be maintained by the community, which should reduce anti-social behaviour while encouraging locals and tourists to make use of  the lane.

• Project Lead: Claire Flynn, Limerick Mental Health Association  
• Collaborators: Hunt Museum, Enable Ireland,  LIT – Harris Makedonopulou and Michael Mc Laughlin,  Midwest Makers
• Location: Griffith Row 

This project aims to transform a largely forgotten laneway into an Art Gallery with an InstaWall similar to that in Paris (Wings of Europe Mural) and to also make the Mews laneway a more important thoroughfare for those living there or on either side of the block. This more inviting laneway will help to connect tourist attractions such as the People’s Park, No. 2 Pery Square, Limerick City Gallery of Art and the Georgian Crescent all together while adding to the appeal of this part of town.The project opens up the possibility for some of the buildings in the block to use the laneway for new community or retail offerings or quality residential mews dwellings once the quality and safety of the laneway is improved.  

Project Lead: Ross Griffin
Collaborators: Liveable Limerick, LSAD, Peoples Museum, Limerick Civic Trust
Location: Pery Square, School House Lane, Hartstonge Mews

An incredible edible garden on a Limerick A lane, where the public could pick and enjoy the produce. A sustainable garden maintained by volunteers, it will include espalier pear trees, apple trees, hanging fruits such as strawberries, peppers and tomatoes. Planters containing root vegetables, chard, herbs and edible flowers. The plants would be planted in wooden planters and we would like to explore the possibility of growing willow to weave above low planters. Having planted a wild flower garden at the Hunt Museum last year we would like to contribute more to the air quality and biodiversity of our city. We would use the water from down pipes on the lane, re directing it through repurposed gutters, explore the possibility of water butts on other down pipes. This project would link with Limerick City Engage prior to and during all festivals. Monitoring of air quality will take place before and during the project. We will participate in all workshops and link to sustainable development goals and city policies.

Project Lead: Helen O'Donnell, Limerick Tidy Towns
Collaborators: Bedford Row Family Project, Dave Ryan Landscape Architect
Location: Daly’s Lane (to be confirmed)