Roches Stores, Henry Street, Dublin

[Rory W]

Interesting view from the restaurant

[Rory W]

Interior in the atrium

[Rory W]

view from the basement up

[GrahamH]

Your man on the escalator seems equally bedazzled

[what?]

so what do people think of roches since theyve had a chance to walk around the place?

its seems to have done the trick from a commercial point of view its always packed to the rafters. pretty snazzy glass sheet tvs hanging from the roof. the restaurant projecting is a relly nice idea but i think its ruined by being a little mean in the width department. good view from the top. theres two redundant spaces above each of the corner entrances, or a re these going to be used for displaying later?

all in all its growing on me, especially at an oblique angle down the street. still think the facade is a little inarticulated but hey..

[what?]

so what do people think of roches since theyve had a chance to walk around the place?

its seems to have done the trick from a commercial point of view its always packed to the rafters. pretty snazzy glass sheet tvs hanging from the roof. the restaurant projecting is a relly nice idea but i think its ruined by being a little mean in the width department. good view from the top. theres two redundant spaces above each of the corner entrances, or a re these going to be used for displaying later?

all in all its growing on me, especially at an oblique angle down the street. still think the facade is a little inarticulated but hey..

[what?]

so what do people think of roches since theyve had a chance to walk around the place?

its seems to have done the trick from a commercial point of view its always packed to the rafters. pretty snazzy glass sheet tvs hanging from the roof. the restaurant projecting is a relly nice idea but i think its ruined by being a little mean in the width department. good view from the top. theres two redundant spaces above each of the corner entrances, or a re these going to be used for displaying later?

all in all its growing on me, especially at an oblique angle down the street. still think the facade is a little inarticulated but hey..

[d_d_dallas]

I like it and it has defintely set the pace for what ILAC has to live up to.

[PVC King]

A year on what do you all think about it?

[d_d_dallas]

Having Zara definitely helps, as their window displays are flawless and really improve the ground floor aspect at the Liffey St end. Overall I still like it esp with the spire in place and my comment above re: ILAC still stands

[Rory W]

Although since they shut the food store they have filled this section with the crappy old stuff they used to sell (Ilac end) hopefully this is not a sign of things to come!

[PVC King]

That is a really interesting point you make about Zara's window and it is something that architects should never lose sight of when designing retail.

It is something that has really improved in recent years, one scheme that I noticed recently is the new Jurys in Parnell St and the marketing of the retail at ground floor is really interesting in so much as you are only aware that the building is to let and not open retail within about 20 metres of it.

All in all it is hard to disagree that Roches MUST form the basic standard architecturally for all developments between Parnell St and the Quays from now on.

I agree with Rory that the rere stock being carried by Roches is a worrying development and wouldn't compare favourably to your average retail warehouse. But Zara

I hope they open a second outlet somewhere within the City Centre they are the anchor that everyone would want.

[GrahamH]

The window settings are fantastic, esp the current one. The lighting is equally impressive.

Overall, I'm still not a fan of the scale of the building in relation to the street - ok a building that size is always going to have an impact, but if you compare it to the original building you can really appreciate how the new design has swelled it into an overbearing structure. I still think there's too much faceless concrete as well.
Saying that, the corner glazing is lovely, esp contrasted with the equally dashing black granite which is one of the best features of the building. Secret fire escapes have been impressively hidden in the stone too.
I was walking along Henry St recently with someone and the collapse of Charles De Gaulle Airport came up for some reason - but we were just saying how much we take for granted the stability of buildings, putting complete trust in engineers and regualtions - just as we were walking beneath Roches cantilevered restaurant! Suffice to say we inched our way to the other side of the street pretty smartish

[Jack White]

I've always this building has a strange sense of being on its side i.e. it looks like a conventional enough building but merely the elevation has been turned 90 degrees. This angle is particularly accentuated when viewed from the O'Connell St side of Henry St. The feature window on the second floor is fantastic in this context.

[GregF]

Anyone kinda regret initially slagging off Roches Stores makeover, yet now they kinda appreciate it?

[Rory W]

Maybe it's because the CGI looked cack

I like it lots now - was worried about the facade being bald but it works and works well. Now if Arnotts could just sort out their main facade and do away with the prefab look...

[StephenC]

Hear hear!

What is happening with the Ilac centre. Is there a master plan for the development (it seems to have three seperate entities) and has anyone seen waht we can expect once the redevelopment is complete?

[Devin]

Originally posted by Rory W
Now if Arnotts could just sort out their main facade and do away with the prefab look...

I presume you're talking about the loony '60s curtain wall bit to the west of the main facade with its blue & cyan panels - I think it's good & should be kept. Dublin was full of these facades not too long ago, but soon there'll be very few left, so many have been or will be refaced/replaced; Guardian Insurance on Stephen's Green (refaced in granite with a big copper roof), O'Connell Bridge House (made worse), Pelican House (demolished) - and now the Bank of Ireland on Suffolk St (has current planning app for glass facade by Donnelly Turpin), the Department of Justice (recently sold) and Hawkins House (revamp or demolition awaiting).

Most of them were awful of course, but when you see it used here in-scale in a street context it's a harmless bit of 'sixties interest - & the fact that it sits there amidst the main 1894 Arnotts building and the 21st century Roches across the street. I'd be sorry to see it go (which it probably will sooner or later).

Adjoining the '60s bit of Arnotts on the other side is the newly-opened 'Office' shoeshop, which has a marvellously simple white shopfront (though will probably get filthy soon & have to be re-painted a darker colour). The building above is a delicious circa 1900 red brick & yellow terracotta gabled affair, like a minature version of Hodges Figgis on Dawson Street (it's probably by the same architect).

[Devin]

The '80s brown brick yoke on the Henry St/Liffey St. corner is truly awful! In fact both corners of this junction are awful.

[phil]

Originally posted by Devin


I presume you're talking about the loony '60s curtain wall bit to the west of the main facade with its blue & cyan panels - I think it's good & should be kept. Dublin was full of these facades not too long ago, but soon there'll be very few left, so many have been or will be refaced/replaced; Guardian Insurance on Stephen's Green (refaced in granite with a big copper roof), O'Connell Bridge House (made worse), Pelican House (demolished) - and now the Bank of Ireland on Suffolk St (has current planning app for glass facade by Donnelly Turpin), the Department of Justice (recently sold) and Hawkins House (revamp or demolition awaiting).

I must agree with you on this one Devin. I must say though, I am not familiar with what was done with O'Connell Bridge House, can you tell me more about it. I like the one with the Carrolls Gift Shop on Suffolk Street. The Science Block in UCD has gradually been altered over the last few years to being predominantly dark blue in colour compared to its old green colour. I must say that I think makes the building look much better. I am looking forward to seeing the finished Dublin Bus building on O'Connell Street when the side pieces are replaced. The new shop front works well.

[Andrew Duffy]

I won't hear a bad word said about O'Connell Bridge House! The first post in this thread has two pictures for comparison:

http://www.archiseek.com/content/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1734

[PVC King]

O'Connell Bridge House is a dreadful building, it has now been up for letting for over 4 years, the market is seldom wrong.

[wexfordplanner]

Any truth in the rumers that H&M are moving into Easons old shop in the Ilac Center?