Bridges & Boardwalks

[johnglas]

Perhaps the bin has turned up in tie and tails at the mod party - so embarrassing!

[GrahamH]

Oh don't you just hate when that happens. Cringe.

[StephenC]

A very smart revamp unveiled earlier in the year on Wood Quay.



The groovy cyan fenestration is new...really lifts an otherwise dull frontage.



Back down on Wellington Quay, this refronted building is nearing completion - a vast improvement on the ugly concrete 1970s job that went before.

[Paul Clerkin]

really not sure if the cyan in an improvement , and the other frontage is pretty devoid of any sort of imagination too.

[PVC King]

That blue is ill considered; it looks like the wrapping Munster Joinery use on pvc windows to protect them whilst they are being fitted; can somebody peel it off please.

I think the replacement of the former DCC building on Welly Quay is a lot better; excluding the set back pent house; in terms of the basic fenestration grain and windows excluding the unnecessary section of architectural glazing; it reminds me of some of the better infill done in London in the 1980's only with a warmer brick colour; I think it will age reasonably well; but a deco plaque with images of the city where the architectural glazing is would have made it a far more attractive and civic project.

[thebig C]

Thanks for the pics StephenC:)

As for the Wellington Quay construction, I too am dissappointed. I think PVC King expressed the correct sentiments in comparing it to 1980s infill.

I was in town before Christmas and first glimpsed its facade as I was walking down Jervis St. Given that it closes the vista, I thought it could have gone marginally (1-3 floors) taller to add some sort of focal point to the view. Also, on the Quay frontage I felt they could have curved it slightly to meet Fitzsimmons gable wall, or if there were legal issues involved at least been more immaginative in the treatment of how the frontage steps back. Visually, it did remind me also of the kind of depression led unambitious pastiche being built in the late 1980s/early 1990s when the planners were still harping on mock georgian facades and redbricks... and architects were still scared to extensively use glass or steel. Overall, its better then its predecessor but not great in its own regard.

C

[StephenC]

I stand by my comments on the cyan fenestration - I like it and I am not usually a fan of coloured uPVC, the awful dark blue stuff in particular. I think the splash of colour works well for the building. The big problem for this building is the narrowness of the quays at this point and the huge amount of dirt swept onto its facade from lorries, buses etc whizzing by.

Mount Prospect House, as the new infill is to be called, is certainly not particularly remarkable but it is an improvement in the concrete slab it replaces. Its best feature in my view is that its restores a degree of rhythm to the quays with its fenestration and use of brick. The set back (arghh!!! again!) top floor is conspicuous I agree and creates a featureless bob on top. A straightforward flush facade would have been preferable. I don't like the window detailing either - the steel gantry frames.

The facade to the rear on Essex Street is also being remodeled in a similar fashion. Again it has the same effect on Temple Bar. Perhaps its the warm tones of the brick.