Convention centre

[reddy]

I think any perceived reference to context is coincidental, and highly dubious. Your reading too much into it now. The NCC was designed long before the Scots yoke, and I dare say entirely oblivioius to anything within a 100 mile radius, and while I'm not a Scots fan, riverside 1 is infinitely more sophisticated. I know I sound like a broken record now, and a few people are probably getting a little bit pissed off now, but this thing really is awful...

I completely respect your opinion as to not liking it but you can't seriously suggest that an architect of the calibre of Kevin Roche is entirely ignorant of context, both local and from an architectural history standpoint.

Gunter put it better than I could:

http://www.archiseek.com/content/showpost.php?p=85757&postcount=89

[spoil_sport]

Yes, I noted gunter's argumnet, but I think gunter did me a favour by posting those, if you look at it next to the others it is the poor relation, the version of one or the other of the previous that was left on the model shelf never to see the light of day again, the runt of the litter, the one that dosen't work...
Making such a "reference" is not enough, it lacks the elegance, refinement or sophistication, which the others all have in abundance, the curves on the side elevations, pattern of opes (or lack of pattern), the angle of the drum, the lack of articulation of the drum as notjim pointed out, mean it is not pure enough to be beautiful in a brutalist sense but at the same time, the attempts at refinement, fall flat, and while I no interest in categorisation as "art-deco", "po-mo" or "modernist", the overall composition is confused and simply... dumb.
And Kevin Roche despite his "calibre", after a quick flick through his website, dosen't really do context, unless you call green field business parks and more corporate america mirror glass facades context; and has done nothing of any real interest since the Ford Foundation HQ in NY...1968, (which I like quiet a lot.). The NCC does not break the trend.

[Peter Fitz]

And Kevin Roche despite his "calibre", after a quick flick through his website, dosen't really do context

ok ok, i know you hate it, but surely key dockland sites such as this, surrounded by little else at the time, represented an opportunity to set a context for the area ? Given that this design has been around for donkeys at this stage, i presume 'setting the tone' formed part of his intention.

[spoil_sport]

"key dockland sites such as this, surrounded by little else at the time"

well no, that's a very narrow view of "context", the context is Dublin, and Dublin is amongst the richest and most challenging contexts to work with... Roche failed to do this.

[reddy]

Well if you're taking all of Dublin as a wider context then surely a precedent for major, monumental public buildings strung along the river does exist.

[alonso]

Well if you're taking all of Dublin as a wider context then surely a precedent for major, monumental public buildings strung along the river does exist.

Custom House? Probably too epic but i'm in a contrary mood

[spoil_sport]

That's all well and good... if it was of the same standard, but it really dosen't measure up.

[GregF]

But Greg the NCC design has been kicking around for ages now... when was the oral hearing? 2000?

yep indeed, I meant that the glass cylinder atop of the building across the river is a reference to the glass cylinder of the NCC now finally being buit.

[Paul Clerkin]

item from fridays news - some views from inside including the new luas bridge
http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0123/6news_av.html?2480345,null,230

[spoil_sport]

Interesting to note that architectural quality was never mentioned in that report. (That's equally a comment on the convention centre itself, RTE's interest in architecture and RTE's perception of what people want to hear) Sad that no one involoved seems to care as long as you can move a 40ft container up to the exhibition space.

[Contraband]

I noticed at the end of the segment they mentioned that they still wanted to build a 35 story high hotel behind the centre - I thought that this had been killed off completely, or is it still up for debate?

[rob mc]

I noticed at the end of the segment they mentioned that they still wanted to build a 35 story high hotel behind the centre - I thought that this had been killed off completely, or is it still up for debate?

Yea well you know what up for debate means in Ireland."Sure we will have a talk about it,approve it, get everyones hopes up, wait 5 years until either the economy collapses or everyone in the area demands it be stopped and lower the height to 6 stories or just don't build it at all.":D

In other words, i wouldn't hold your breath

[ihateawake]

They've added shiny lights.


I went walkies:D

[alonso]

yeh were you on a pub crawl last night? this is like 3 threads updated. good work

Go on. Upload the pics of you n yer mates plastered

[rob mc]

ohhhhhh fancy, i can just imagine you being awe struck looking at them while being stoned off your head, haha:D:D:D

[ihateawake]

:d

[PaulC]

Thank you for the photo ihateawake. I did not realise the project was far advanced. Does anyone know of the completion date for the centre?

[cgcsb]

think it's 2010 with the first event taking place in 2011, but by the looks of things, it may finish before that.

[alonso]

think it's 2010 with the first event taking place in 2011, but by the looks of things, it may finish before that.

wouldn't necessarily say that although it is motoring along nicely - the fit out of the interiors for a venue like this will be enormous in scale and intricate in detail.

[murrmurr]

According to the website ww.theccd.ie, it's due to open Sep 2010.
They've gotten some big conferences already lined up.

http://www.finfacts.com/irelandbusinessnews/publish/article_10009784.shtml

[ctesiphon]

When I'm cleaning windows...

[GregF]

It's dominating when ye stand in front of it. They'll have to get rid of that street lamp.

[dermot_trellis]

Are there any plans for this building online? I'm curious to know what's going on behind those huge expanses of blank stonework.. and will the interiors have to be artificially lit 24 hours a day?..

[poukai]

Well, I'm guessing that being a conference center there will be at least one if not several auditoriums, therefore no windows in those areas, and there are big chunks of windows on the sides as well as the massive glass drum, so I don't think it would be all that dark and gloomy inside
I think there was a link to a video of the place in one of the threads about it that showed a bit more inside detail? Will try to locate it...

[Peter Fitz]

Are there any plans for this building online? I'm curious to know what's going on behind those huge expanses of blank stonework.. and will the interiors have to be artificially lit 24 hours a day?..

Plans on theccd.ie (why they bothered to include 'the' as part of a major domain name i'll never know).