IMMA / RHK Dublin

[gunter]

Some people say that the Arty world is élitist, that it's not interested in reaching ordinary people. Now it appears that the Arty world is also gratuitously cruel.

Look what they've done now with the entrance to IMMA.



They've made three, dull, ordinary looking, oil drums stand outside and look on at the three bulky, shiny, more self-important, polished drums, previously elevated to positions of great importance over the entrance gates.

This is patently élitism and it's wrong!

I may have to take direct action.

[gunter]

You're all taking these IMMA drums too lightly.



I'll admit I was wrong to dismiss them as just arty toilet roll holders when, on closer inspection, they reveal themselves to be the latest in sophisticated solar security!

Their concave south facing side panels focus intense rays of sunlight across the duel entrances in a fiendishly clever and eco-friendly laser beam designed to take out the eye-sight of riff-raff attempting to the gain entry to the museum precinct on the upper deck of open top tour buses.

Are these guys one step ahead or what?

[Paul Clerkin]

Actually they're a very clever 21st century Newgrange - on the Winter Solstice, they point to where all the money from the Celtic Tiger era has gone...

[hutton]

Actually they're a very clever 21st century Newgrange - on the Winter Solstice, they point to where all the money from the Celtic Tiger era has gone...

What, you mean they're brash, shiny, and pointless - just like much of the Celtic Tiger values

[ac1976]

It is a modern art museum, there is absolutely no need for them to make a point!
The very fact you are talking about them makes them a great success

You should check out what is inside the building sometime!

[gunter]

You should check out what is inside the building sometime!

Out of boredom ac1976, I attempted to do just that a couple of weeks ago, only to discover that, like Philadelphia, the place was shut.



The blunt sign made no attempt to communicate any reason for this, such as:

[INDENT]Museum closed while we await the delivery of some art, or
Museum closed because we've run out of money, or
Museum closed due to the discovery of a damp patch in the ceiling, or
Museum closed for staff re-training (to get them not to scowl when asked, 'which way was it again to the art?')[/INDENT]

No such attempt at communication was offered, instead there was just a general F*%K OFF, MUSEUM CLOSED.

*Incidentally the little paper sign on the door just says 'Please shut the door'*

[missarchi]

It looks more like an army barracks with road block drums and surveillance antennas

[GrahamH]

Yes developments in Kilmainham appear to be particularly prone to morketing defacement. Clearly home to an imaginative community.

I like this fun but sophisticated scheme at the entrance to the Royal Hospital. Who's it by?



The poor gate lodge by contrast remains forlorn, in spite of a plan for its restoration having been drafted about ten years ago now.


First impressions of the Royal Hospital itself are similarly discouraging. Inside the front gate.



And in spite of the grim and pragmatic Johnstonian spirit of the new pebble-dashed walls flanking the approach road, I still cannot come around to the view that something more mellowed was not in order here. Ideally, well-crafted soft red brick walls in acknowlegement of the original appearance of the Hospital would be employed, but admit they may have upstaged the compromised appearance of their superior. Either way, a more subtle hand was unquestionably required. And the same extends to the furnishings.

The ranges look magnificent in the sun, but alas countless windows and fascias are peeling and badly in need of repainting. Considering the Custom House has only just been treated after years of neglect, one suspects the RHK might be waiting a little while longer in this climate (weatherwise and financial).




A fabulous place to visit on a crisp winter's day.








The contrast with the emerging new development is striking.



I appear to have missed out on a whole chunk of this thread, offering a strange insight on the experience of Rip Van Winkle, but broadly agreed that the hard edge of the buildings (those built thus far at least), do lend a dignity to the setting of the formal garden, insofar as acres of steel and glass sheeting can. I'd be less assured about the latest proposed stack of Rover biscuit tins - what colour is the aluminium proposed to be? - to tie the entire development into a coherent, planned whole. At least that scheme is more original than the cringe-inducing emerging mini Abu Dubai. We live in hope.

The locals are having none of it however.








That expression can at best be described as a grimmace.

[gunter]

First impressions of the Royal Hospital itself are similarly discouraging. Inside the front gate.

Did you notice that the left hand drum has taken another hit?



I make that three dislodgements of the same drum since they went up four / months ago . . . . fortunately I have an alibi for every occasion.

[Devin]

I don't like the new entrance to the Royal Hospital. It's grandiose & OTT. The old one was perfectly nice. It was charming. The new one is rubbish. Some pictures of the old one:

[gunter]

What is this supposed to be?

. . . and why is it playing to an empty courtyard?



Ok, forget the second question, I know why it's playing to an empty courtyard, but what is it supposed to be??

You go to the RHK with very low expectations, but then to have your senses assaulted by this cackling trollop on a big screen, what is the purpose of this?

This has been running for weeks now, the same dodgy act, the same scratchy sound, What's the plan, are they going to keep showing this until the viewing figures reach twenty?

[marmajam]

What is this supposed to be?

. . . and why is it playing to an empty courtyard?



Ok, forget the second question, I know why it's playing to an empty courtyard, but what is it supposed to be??

You go to the RHK with very low expectations, but then to have your senses assaulted by this cackling trollop on a big screen, what is the purpose of this?

This has been running for weeks now, the same dodgy act, the same scratchy sound, What's the plan, are they going to keep showing this until the viewing figures reach twenty?

it's very good.

[gunter]

Just an update on the IMMA gate saga, the oil drums are gone (I'm missing them already), and now we've got some narrow bollards and some stone balls.

You couldn't make this stuff up!

They've managed to create the visually impaired equivalent of the perfect storm:
[INDENT]shiny high level distraction, and semi-invisible low level obstacle.[/INDENT]

I don't want to be cruel, but how are these people holding down a job?

[GrahamH]

Mother of... This is so crazed that it must be an installation of some kind, surely? Please? Someone?

I thought only the drum was going back up - in hindsight, I should have looked through the mesh.




While we're picking holes, the crass display board mounted on the entrance wall is hardly the model of arty discretion is it? It's like, sooo 90s.




While inside, the level of similar nasty clutter drives me crazy every time I visit. Can you honesty imagine the principal entrance to Hampton Court or similar decked out in such all-singing muck? I'm surprised there aren't signs with directional arrows pointing to OTHER SIGN ------>



Not only is the placing and the amount of the signage unnecessary, it is crudely designed, with nasty colours, rude fonts and randomly placed text.

Meanwhile, the clutter continues in patchy road surfaces, services, planters and access restrictions.







A distinguished first impression it certainly ain't. You're never even sure if you're allowed on the roadway here.

Saying all that, the driveway surface has finally been finished in an elegant fawn colour.







Very nice. It just about distracts from the white plastic expansion strips sticking out from the flanking walls.

As Devin pictured the old entrance piers earlier, the former statues are now hosted in the basement of the Master's Quarters.







Multiple layers of paint were stripped to reveal "their original level of detailing".

[magwea]

This would have been around ten years ago. Definitely, not an installation, the Imma is far to tame to do anything like that.

[ac1976]

This would have been around ten years ago. Definitely, not an installation, the Imma is far to tame to do anything like that.

It would make a great installation, the Tate has their crack in the floor, we could have a big traveller camp along the side of the road. That would be worth seeing.

The do have Fossetts Circus there every Christmas, I guess thats close enough
Is that what you saw there?

[marmajam]

This would have been around ten years ago. Definitely, not an installation, the Imma is far to tame to do anything like that.

cheap shot

IMMA not tame

certainly not by Irish standards

[gunter]

You couldn't make this stuff up!


Photographs of the main front door of the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham, original on the left, and new aluminium version with stuck on timber mouldings on the right.


Same story on the courtyard elevation.

[StephenC]

What the f***!

[Peter Fitz]

what the hell was wrong with the originals !!! ?

[tommyt]

Most controversial installation there in years. It works on so many levels, a challenging and truly GUBU work. Hopefully the artist will get down to the national gallery quicksmart and put an IKEA frame on the Caravaggio

[Paul Clerkin]

what the hell was wrong with the originals !!! ?

they were original, probably

[gunter]

It looks like a misguided and ham-fisted attempt at a perceived fire safety improvement . . . . . to make the doors open outwards! . . . making the actual width of the opening about a foot and a half narrower in the process!

The whole area of Fire Safety in Historic Buildings is a specialized field and there are copious amounts of technical advice and best-practice guides available on how the fire safety performance of a historic building can be improved without compromising the integrity of the historic building, but unfortunately most of this information is in book form and the people responsible for this butchery have clearly never read a book.

The main north range of the RHK was designed as a place of mass assembly and has been a place of mass assembly for the last three hundred and twenty years, unless they're intending some radical intensification of the use of the building (for which I've haven't seen any planning application) there's absolutely no reason they should be mucking around with the doors in the first place.

[ac1976]

It looks like a misguided and ham-fisted attempt at a perceived fire safety improvement . . . . . to make the doors open outwards! . . . making the actual width of the opening about a foot and a half narrower in the process!

The whole area of Fire Safety in Historic Buildings is a specialized field and there are copious amounts of technical advice and best-practice guides available on how the fire safety performance of a historic building can be improved without compromising the integrity of the historic building, but unfortunately most of this information is in book form and the people responsible for this butchery have clearly never read a book.

The main north range of the RHK was designed as a place of mass assembly and has been a place of mass assembly for the last three hundred and twenty years, unless they're intending some radical intensification of the use of the building (for which I've haven't seen any planning application) there's absolutely no reason they should be mucking around with the doors in the first place.

Hmmm, I have often seen these doors closed during the day.
The museum has gotten a lot of stick as they have no account of how many visitors they get each year. The only measure they have is the count of people entering and leaving the 3 different courtyard entrances. This means that anybody walking through the courtyard is counted as a visitor (and a lot of ppl use this handy route).

As a ‘solution’ these doors are often left closed to stop people walking through the courtyard unless they are visiting the museum, providing more accurate patronage counts.

So my guess is that these doors are required to meet full Fire Safety standards (opening outwards and being flame retardant) only because the museum wish to leave them closed while the museum is open.

This is a poor solution to a simple problem.
The original doors could be kept in place, as long as they are used for their original purpose i.e. to open for access, and not to be used as an emergency fire exit.

Could they not just buy some more infra red people counters and place at all entrances to the actual building?
Somebody please speak to these people.

And for reference, it was gunter who originally advised on the visitor calculation problem. I really do hope that they have not thrown the 'enhanced linkage' element of the Heuston Framework Plan to one side to close off this courtyard to pedestrians when there are clearly better alternatives.
http://www.archiseek.com/content/showthread.php?t=6746&page=2

[foremanjoe]

I wish you people would lay off IMMA.

And I wish IMMA would stop giving you people more ammo.

I'm in a horrible position here.

I was hoping that you IMMA-haters would have stopped visiting there by now, but you seem to love going back there just to pick holes in it. I wish I could record a video of some of you walking around the place scoffing to yourselves, and that's without even looking at the art!