Dublin Castle - Who is in Charge?

[StephenC]

Has anyone had a walk about Dublin Castle recently. I was there earlier in the week.

There appears to have been a big push to interpret the history of the Castle in the past few months.. The result is a whole rake of panels and freestanding plaques telling the history of various elements in the Castle. They are everywhere. Add to this is the new 'heritage-style' finger post signage within the Castle. Then comes the various 'tenants' of the Castle - Gardai, Revenue, gift shop, all advertising their presence in a variety of different styles. Its all makes for visual chaos. Surely the Castle deserves a high quality, distinctive suit of signage etc, that is understated but which informs and guides the visitor.

I must take some images.

[StephenC]

Some images following on from my post above:





This one needs stripes in case one of the carpar...sorry Lower Yard's users accidentally hits it. Note the smart finish to the base.



Very classy this spot...lots of vision applied here





Into the Upper Yard now





Nice bins



Stamping Building been given a makeover ahead of the EU Presidency in 2013. [Cue: Car parking to remain unharmed - collective sigh of public sector relief].

[StephenC]

Frenzied activity in Dublin Castle at the moment as they race to get the complex ready for the upcoming EU Presidency. Quite why things have been left to the last minute is beyond me. The Presidency roadshow arrives on 1st Jan although its likely that meetings wont be held for a few weeks yet. Still why all this wasn't done months ago is beyond me.

Miriam Lord laments the passing of the Tribunal Chamber in today's Irish Times http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ire ... 43912.html

The former Tribunal Offices in the Stamping Building have been refurbished to provide a new conference venue for the various EU meetings. Too miserable of a day in Dublin today to make photos...perhaps Graham will treat us to some nice images once its all complete. The most disappointing aspect of the refurb is the outside where acres and acres of lovely white shiny Chinese granite appears to have been laid. Surely - it this spot of all spots - Leinster granite could have been used!

While at the moment the Lower Yard is emptier than usual of cars...thee haven't gone away you know. The works appear to be facilitating car parking spaces (i.e. business as usual) rather than radically redefining the Lower Yard and creating a more fitting entrance to one of the State's most eminent buildings. All will be revealled next week perhaps...once the workmen have gone.

[StephenC]

My apologies....closer examination reveals that it is not acres of white Chinese granite. Thats only for trimming. The rest is pour concrete.

[StephenC]

Meanwhile on Cork Hill...







The humble bollard marches ever on in Dublin...

[StephenC]

The Printworks Building/Stamping Building refurbishment is descending into farce...as is the general presentation of the Castle in advance of presidency events. I shall try and get some image later, although the opportunities to access the Castle are much reduced due to security.

The plastic green banner placed everywhere on entrances look awful! The painted green panels within the Stamping Building itself are woeful. Work still ongoing to dig-up and...do something...to the Lower Castle Yard. A terribly misguided scheme. The Castle continues to accumulate cheap junk at an alarming rate..much like its surrounding city environs. The cause of the quality city centre is lost.

[hutton]

Great work there, lads

It really is heart breaking to see such a piss poor job done at the most important state-owned buildings in the capital, which are to be the focus of the EU presidency.

Dublin Castle is "Dublin's Louvre", containing numerous museums, state apartments, etc.

If they can't get it right here, what chance elsewhere?

The quality of the work is simply shockingly bad, an must be obvious to even the most casual observer. The ghastly plastic bollards round off a bloody awful job perfectly - cheap, garish, and nasty - right beside Thomas Cooley's City Hall, arguably the capital\s finest building. Awful.

The government has apparently placed enormous emphasis on tourism, with both "The Gathering" and the Tourism Recovery Task Force.

What is the purpose of these initiatives for if they allow such shoddy, sloppy, unhelpful work at the State's main historic venue of the EU Presidency?

They would have much been better to leave alone. I won't even bother mentioning removing the central feature continuing to be a surface car park.

The only good side to this is that should NGO put in a complaint to Europe regarding Irish authorities' general dereliction of architectural heritage protection, at least some of the EU officials will have seen the standards with their own eyes.

Really, shame on them. Shame on them completely.

[StephenC]

Re the bollards on Cork Hill - the desired traffic calming and pedestrian improvement could have juts as easily been facilitated by placing three smart planter boxes along the same stretch of streetway. Vastly cheaper and much more attractive that this traffic engineer's mess.

Cant really understand how to affect change in this city anymore. How to even explain to 'the powers that be' why the above is so utterly awful.

Dame Street, which was substantially repaved last year is now lined with just under 200 bollards between College Green and Cork Hill...I started counting ( I know!) and gave up at about 170. Say each costs €100 each - thats 20k...and that's not including the costs of installing them. And that's only one street. Of course, we also have bollards beside signage poles beside litter bins...beside (a couple of random) lamp stands beside flag poles...watch out for the sandwich boards. The City Council's objectives in the development plan to de-clutter remains ignored (one imagines everyone in DCC thinks they are adding attractive elements to the street) while the Public Realm Strategy....that's a good one.

Back to the Castle...vile branding everywhere. All that crap 'interpretive signage' everywhere (as details above), forest of flag poles in Upper Yard. Cant wait for the Woodies planters to arrive in a few weeks once the workmen are gone.

[StephenC]

Some images of the ongoing Aer Lingus backoffice being developed off Dame Street in "the heart of historic Dublin..."









Brought to us now doubt by the people who look after this other big beast of Dublin's built heritage.

[missarchi]

And soon we will be enjoying yet another Washington melodrama, the sequel to last year’s smash hit, the “debt ceiling crisis”. In some ways, this is even more misleading than the fiscal cliff – ceilings that are traditionally raised a few feet on an annual basis to accommodate more storage space and the like are a rare architectural feature.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/wee ... 45976.html

[StephenC]

Well at last some sense being brought to the 'longstanding practice' of parking in the Lower Yard and one can imagine the consternation and chatter being generated around the collective water coolers of the OPW, Revenue, Gardai etc who all share the Castle complex.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ire ... 47301.html

The removal of parking has been long sought and its to be welcomed. The recent works to the Printworks building have really shown how spacious the yard area is and how pleasant the Castle environs are to explore without dodging cars.

I also note that some of the dodgy elements highlighted in photos above...broken signage at the former shop, the woodies planters etc, have been removed and a modicum of consistency has bee applied to signage, lighting etc.

Its not possible to get in to the Castle now of course. Public will have to wait until July to experience the Castle again.

[StephenC]

Members of a bemused and puzzled citizenry are currently asking (on Twitter) what this bizzare construction is on Corke Hill....

[StephenC]

Aah bollox....this photobucket melarky is getting to be a pain. I shall forward said tweet to Mr Clerkin.

[Paul Clerkin]

A large permanent bollard? the second coming of "The Tomb of the Unknown Gurrier"?

[Punchbowl]

Saw them build something similar on the same spot before Christmas, but it disappeared underground (foundations maybe?) - best guess on Twitter is a base for flag poles, however extravegant it may seem

[StephenC]

Yes, it is a 1m high podium for three flagpoles. To be faced with 'plaques'. The mind boggles...
One assumes of course that the previously installed bollards and signs above stay in place.

[gunter]

A stag party pissoire in other words!

[missarchi]

It looks like something to stop a ram raid maybe they should take the more subtle crown casino approach... Now they are charging for water...

[StephenC]

Its really rather depressing to witness that hulk being erected on Cork Hill but few people seem to mind and so I suppose I must accept the the wishes of my betters in the City Council and get used to it. It certainly didn't merit the need for planning permission or any views other than those of the Roads Department (one hopes that guys in City Architects and the supposed Public Realm Team) had nothing to do with this).

Elsewhere, the pedestrian gate to the Castle, which was festooned with tacky but temporary plaques to "celebrate" the Eu Presidency has also got a new lighting scheme...blue uplighters (to match the gaudy show in St Patrick's Hall). Very cool and contemporary.

[StephenC]

An Taisce have now made an objection to Dublin City Council regarding the 'temporary' hulking Lump that has been erected at Cork Hill.

http://www.antaisce.ie/Press/AnTaisceRe ... -Hall.aspx

I cant imagine but that this project cost in the region of €10k...including bollards, signs, and whatever is intended to clad The Lump. What a scandalous waste of money.

A recent FOI request by an Archiseek regular uncovered that works to erect a row of bollards along the western part of Parnell Square viewtopic.php?f=49&t=3777&start=125 in 2011 cost in the region of €20k and that the average bollard costs €150-€200.

Nerdy me counted the number on Dame Street after the recent street improvements/ reinforcement of status quo late last year and I counted approx 250....thats 50k worth of bollards alone. No money for seats on the street for the elderly, no money for improved and attractive street lighting, no money for trees, no money for planting, no money to make an effort to rein in the vomit of signage and unauthorised crap that is accumulating on the street these past few months....but €50k to waste on bollards and another €10k (I assume) to waste on this rubbish.

Your City: Your Space be damned... perhaps Your Space: Our Waste is more apt

[Smithfield Resi]

Dear Councillor
In relation to your query about the works adjacent to City Hall these are temporary works that were carried out for the purpose of traffic management aimed at increasing pedestrian safety at this location. The matter had become more urgent due to the increased volumes of traffic arising from the use of Dublin Castle during EU Presidency. The extent of the works and there purpose deemed them to be exempt from requring planning consent. These temporary works will include a plaque which will offset the hard concrete finish. It is intended to address the issue of pedestrian safety in a more permanent manner through the design process which will also go through a formal statutory planning procedure. I hope this clarifies the matter for you and dont hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions.
Regards
Jim

Jim Keogan | Executive Manager | Planning and Economic Development

Why not pedestrianise the street and allow official vehicles only? A rising single bollard could take care of that.

[Punchbowl]

Deckhands wanted: Apply within

[StephenC]

Its due to have a plaque or stone facing saying "Dublin Castle" attached.

It looks nice doesnt it. It really adds to what is a very dingy part of town with, lets face it, very few flagpoles.

[GrahamH]

It is an indicator of just how low standards have fallen in the city that one becomes immune to tragic developments of this kind. The bunker fits in seamlessly with the primitive approach to public realm 'improvement' in this district over the past year, and the general tumbling of presentation and shop use standards on Dame Street over the same period.

This farce of a mammoth dig has been going on since before Christmas (where the shuttering collapsed so much concrete went into it), yet only now that it has emerged from the ground that it is causing ripples amongst the public, and - from my understanding of matters from the past week - shock waves of paper-pushing and frantic measures of obfuscation on the part of multiple officials. What an outrageous waste of public funds, of damage to a hyper-sensitive urban ensemble, and a shocking environmental impact to boot - pouring lorry loads of concrete into a temporary structure.

Apparently this yoke, supporting ghastly flagpoles topped out with Kelly Green finials, located in the midst of one of the few internationally significant street scenes left in the capital, has not only come from the same authority, but the very office of the authors of our Public Realm Streategy. So frightening that it's GUBU stuff.

[Peter Fitz]

It is so ridiculous, I can't construct a coherent response, and I am trying.