Libeskind - Grand Canal Theatre

[Cathal Dunne]

I wonder how much of a boost the new Point, the Conference Centre and this new theatre will have on Dublin tourism? They all should boost visitor numbers by a good few percent since they add much-needed amenities to the city of Dublin.

[wearnicehats]

I wonder how much of a boost the new Point, the Conference Centre and this new theatre will have on Dublin tourism? They all should boost visitor numbers by a good few percent since they add much-needed amenities to the city of Dublin.

well the conference centre is going to send any tourist away with a serious case of visual botulism

[Cathal Dunne]

well the conference centre is going to send any tourist away with a serious case of visual botulism

I take it you're not a fan of the new Conference centre, then?

The place is due to host Derren Brown'which, AFAIK, has never toured Ireland before. Perhaps this is an indication of the range of new events to which, with the new theatre, we can look forward.

[murrmurr]

sweet

[johnglas]

All the views of the new theatre make it look good and (internally) rather trad, but the finishes to the balcony and some box fronts look very plain and mean. Is this the contemporary fetish for exposed concrete? Perhaps it's just plain plasterwork. Either way, is this appropriate? What is the point of plainness and greyness in interiors? I just don't get it.

[tomredwest]

aren't theatre interiors supposed to be plain? so as not to distract. this one looks quite busy actually.haha

[johnglas]

Are they?

[Bago]

The Americans and the germans went in two different directions on this in 1930s movie theatres, escapist palace of dreams vs non distracting suave venue.

[dermot_trellis]

The lights are all on the stage during a performance though, right?.. You don't really see the interior of the auditorium all that much until the main lights come back up, surely it can't be too distracting to performers.

[Overworked]

The box fronts are actually finished with a gold coloured aluminium mesh that is back lit with colour chnage LED's. The picture above does not do it justice, as it has all house lights on white up full. In typical show or pre show mode these lights would not be white and may only operate at 20% power.
Believe me, it is spectacular and needs to be seen.

[GrahamH]

And yet it still suffers the same affliction as an illuminated ceiling cove in Penneys.



Gah!

[gunter]

I do like that the interior is so opposite to the angular machine coldness of the exterior, and I don't mind that, in some ways, it seems to be a return to the brash opulence of the Victorian music hall.

I'm not going to lie to you, gunter wouldn't be a big theatre goer [mostly because if you're going to fork out thirty or forty quid to hear two blokes talking to each other, you might as well stay in and click on archiseek], but theatre design has always fascinated me.

Architecturally, I have always liked 60's Brutalism, even the mild Brutalism of Denys Lasdun, but the theatre as a segment of a shuttered concrete stadium, with plush seats and carpet, never worked for me. It always seemed to me that the architecture of theatres like Lasdun's National Theatre in London strove too hard to emulate the forms, and possibly the longevity, of classical Greek/Roman models, when there was absolutely nothing wrong with the tiered and galleried box.



Concrete instead of stone, but the half circle layout of the Olivier Theatre in the South Bank complex hints at the classical inspiration for much late-20th-century theatre design, with an emphasis on Ephesus.



If the Grand Canal Theatre is some kind of fusion of Libeskind's angular metallic house style and something like traditional theatre design, this could be a bit special.

On a related topic, did anyone hear that radio interview during the week [can't remember channel] with the director of the Globe Threatre [can't remember name], . . . . very interesting stuff.

Apparently the literati are inclined to sneer at the Globe for being a reconstructed Elizabethan tourist trap, but yer man had answers. What's the difference between being the director of the Globe and being the director of a regular [subsidized] theatre, he was asked. Answer: 'Well the Globe is always full, and everyone always leaves happy'.

So apparently you don't actually need carpet . . . or seats

[Paul Clerkin]

Libeskind at centre stage
Shane O'Toole - RIBA Journal

As the opening production at the Grand Canal Square Theatre takes to the stage on St Patrick’s Day, the curtain falls on efforts to rejuvenate Dublin’s post-industrial docklands. As Bolshoi ballerinas glide gracefully through the Russian State Ballet’s production of Swan Lake, officials from the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA) will be looking on, aware that their years of paddling furiously below the surface to stimulate and keep pace with a rapidly transforming city have drawn to a premature close.

In fact, had Daniel Libeskind’s theatre been even six months later getting out of the ground, it is unlikely it would ever have seen the light of day, instead joining the growing list of projects that have been euphemistically ‘pushed out’, or cancelled, during the past year. Buildings we won’t be seeing for some time, if ever, include Foster + Partners’ U2 Tower, West 8’s ‘island’ urban blocks in the Liffey, Agence Ter’s Royal Canal linear park, JDS Architects’ Dublin harbour bath, Heneghan Peng’s Custom House plaza and Antony Gormley’s 48m-high sculpture of a figure standing in the Liffey.

http://www.ribajournal.com/index.php/feature/article/libeskind_at_centre_stage_MAR10/

[onq]

Some things we have been spared too, like the graph paper design of the O2 Tower.
I would be more of the "less is a bore" school of design and that tower just left me feeling cold.
Still, the principle is what counts and having "Twin Towers" at the Liffey Estuary could have been fantastic.

ONQ.

[dermot_trellis]

Arch Daily entry with photos and drawings:
http://www.archdaily.com/52814/grand-canal-theatre-daniel-libeskind/

[Devin]

RTE Nationwide special on the Docklands here, from Feb 22. Harry Crosbie talkin about the new theatre etc.:

http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0222/nationwide_av.html?2705878,null,228

[shanediffily]

A video of the atrium and main auditorium, showing the orchestra pit and balconies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yk9q4YM_IM0

[reddy]

The theatre seems to have gone down a treat with young and old alike over the weekend - only complaints seem to be the outrageous price of food and drink and a distinct shortage of toilets.

Still, overall a victory for quality contemporary architecture I think.

[trace]

Daniel Libeskind in the Dragon's Den
Tom Dyckhoff - The Times

I hear Daniel Libeskind long before I see him, his machinegun Jewish New York voice rising excitedly above the soft accents of Dublin civic dignitaries. There he is, moving like a whirlwind through a cloud of groupies and TV crews, all bear hugs and that Cheshire cat smile. Welcome to the Daniel Libeskind roadshow. He’s in Dublin to promote his latest building, the Grand Canal Theatre, the city’s first venue large enough to pack in the punters for the crowdpleasers — Swan Lake tonight, then Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and even Gilbert O’ Sullivan.

The building is another Libeskind showstopper, Ireland’s first and — with its national economy in tatters — only piece of “starchitecture”. It’s avant-garde, with Libeskind’s trademark sharp, dynamic angles poking up over Dublin’s low skyline, and a huge façade of splintered glass sheets, but garnished with theatrical razzmatazz.

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/visual_arts/architecture_and_design/article7072966.ece