New Developments in Galway City

[Jammyd]

I just thought it would be interesting to start a Thread dedicated to all the new deveploments that are currently planned or being built around galway city.. and what's peoples views on getting a dedicated city architect and the prospects for high rise in one of Irelands biggest urban centres.

[alpha]

there was some talk a few years ago about a highrise building being built in salthill, galway. i think that proposal is dead now though. check out http://www.salthillpark.com/tower.htm to see. i haven't heard anybody mention it in quite some time.

[lunasa]

It looks like a biscuit tin! Were they serious?

[alpha]

i don't know too much about it. i just heard it mentioned on this website roughly 2-3 years ago. it does look very odd mind. surely they can come up with something better. i don't know whether that project is dead or not.

[PDLL]

Here is a classic example of where not to build a high rise building - it would stick out like a sore thumb and would have not context - it would be tied to none of the surrounding architecture. Now put this in Dublin's docklands and we might be making a little progress. Again, this is an example - if it is for real - of the type of proposal that raises people's heckles about high rises in Ireland.

[PDLL]

Obviously the issue of coastal erosion and rising sea levels in the next 50 years have not been given too much consideration.

[Mob79]

Doesn't seem to be to much going on in galway. The new building beside the Spanish arch is looking good though. If one had the unfortunately totalitarian right to vacate the houses on the other side of the river from spanish arch and round towards salthill, some interesting things could be done. Walked along the road to salthill yesterday, some of the landscaping is abysmal and so unfortunate to have the road fronted with bland housing estates. That stretch, also the stretch bordering lough Atallia? could be fantastic, bland housing estates and bad landscaping all round though.

[alpha]

perhaps they did use a biscuit tin in the photo. lol.

[Jammyd]

well what about all the new developments that have been green lighted over in knocknacarra including a district centre and large dunnes stores and B&Q also across the road tesco's are being mooted as new anchor tenants for a second shopping centre.

[phatman]

Here is a classic example of where not to build a high rise building - it would stick out like a sore thumb and would have not context - it would be tied to none of the surrounding architecture. Now put this in Dublin's docklands and we might be making a little progress. Again, this is an example - if it is for real - of the type of proposal that raises people's heckles about high rises in Ireland.

I agree with you in that the particular building proposed would not have context, given it's utter ugliness, but i do not agree with your opening statement, i would consider this as a prime location for a stand-alone landmark tower, given it's iconic status, and if tastefully done could really define and complement the surrounds.
Anyway, im afraid my knowledge of new galway developments is limited so i'll let ye guys at it..

[paul lite]

That won't be built anyway. It seems to be impossible to build anything tall in this country. There are far too many proposals that are approved yet where are they?

[BTH]

Time to resurrect this thread I think...

Heres a couple of pics of the nearly complete Galway City Museum by the OPW.






I'll have to get more photos of it as it's quite an interesting building and quite nicely detailed as you'd expect from OPW. I pass the site almost every day and I must admit that having hated the building at first it's now beginning to grow on me.



I really wish however that they had handled the service enclosure on the roof of the building a bit more sensitively. It literally looks like a portacabin dumped up there and it definitely did not appear on the renderings or the scheme model... Even if they had clad the whole thing in metal louvres or something it would be an improvement...

[BTH]

I'll try and get some more photos up here ASAP. There is lots going on in Galway and unfortunately most of it isn't even close to the standard of the City Museum. A few notable examples are the hideous apartments going up at Ravens Terrace which are completely changing the character of the Claddagh Basin, the bizarre sheathing of the Bon Secours hospital on the dublin road with shiny golden panels - really vulgar although the rest of the redevelopment looks promising - and the Las Vegas-esque Bailey Point in Salthill - a towering wedding cake which has been plagued by construction problems.

I'd like to say I have some nice stuff to post as well but I can't really think of any just now...

[Jammyd]

has anyine heard anything new about the cie development of ceannt station. There are some really nice developments popping up around the radisson hotel and train station like the city gate and soon to be started new bus station unfortunately i cant find any pics so if anyone can find any it would be much appreciated.

[BTH]

As promised heres a few of Galway's recent developments...





First is one that's been completed for a while now - Fairgreen House by OKM Architects, Galway. Habitat's shop is great but the rest of the building isn't so easy on the eye! What you don't see here are the other two facades, one of which is plain rendered and the other a bizarre tartan grid of red and black terracotta tiles... The Site in the foreground is to be redeveloped into a new coach station, offices and some sort of High - tech business centre according to the approved plans.
Its by OKM also. And diagonally across the road from Fairgreen House is yet another OKM development in a similar glassy, curvey style...



Again apologies for the tiny tiny pictures!

Is it just me or is it really worrying that a whole quarter of Galway is being developed in this way - One architect, one overriding style that could be categorized as being blandly commercial at best. Maybe it'll look great when all the buildings are finished but it's not looking great at the moment!

[BTH]

Here is the Bailey Point building in Salthill by Douglas Wallace (designed many many years ago I believe!). It should have opened about 3 years ago but has been beset by problems from the start. It will eventually accommodate a multi screen cinema in the basement, bar, restaurant, nightclub and lots and lots of apartments. I'd say the view from those penthouses is pretty amazing!

[PDLL]

and the old Burren Mount hotel beside it is looking a little worn - whoever owns it is sitting on a fortune but obviously prefers to maintain this old relic of seaside holidays in the 50s.

[BTH]

Here is the redevelopment of the Atlanta Hotel by Roddy mannion & Associates. Owing to the incredibly poor quality of the construction and detailing I can only assume (hope) that the architect was dropped by the developer after the planning permission was granted.


View from Claddagh


View From WolfeTone Bridge (Quay St)


And the award for "Most Tokenistic Use Of Copper Cladding" goes to...

There was real potential on this site for a high quality landmark building addressing the river, the Claddagh Basin and the approach from Salthill. I don't think that this meets that challenge. The detailing is unbelievable - There's a dark grey felt roof folding over onto black PVC vertical cladding which meets the white aluminium windows, theres the copper clad lift shaft topped off with a black PVC fascia and gutter, theres countless poorly resolved junctions of render/cladding/timber and to top it all off the token timber cladding on one elevation swops from vertical joints to horizontal from one bay to another... Nasty...





I know these photos show the building under construction and it's a bit of a mess of scaffolding etc, but I'm really worried about the end result from what can be seen emerging underneath.

[FIN]

bth..the image for the bus station you have is wrong. i don't know where you got that but kindly stop using it. in fact i don't know where you got any of your images. please tell

[anto]

Here is the Bailey Point building in Salthill by Douglas Wallace (designed many many years ago I believe!). It should have opened about 3 years ago but has been beset by problems from the start. It will eventually accommodate a multi screen cinema in the basement, bar, restaurant, nightclub and lots and lots of apartments. I'd say the view from those penthouses is pretty amazing!

God that's hideous. Most of what get's built in Galway is pure shlock!

[BTH]

Apologies for the Bus Station pic - it was actually used to illustrate the proposal a couple of years ago in the City Tribune or one of the local papers - I just noticed last week that the image is actually of a recently completed development in the Liosban Industrial Estate...
And as for where I get my pictures, why, I take them myself - except for the images that I find on Google! Is there a problem with that??

[justnotbothered]

TBH it looks good in those photo's. It's like a minor Eastern European dictator's retreat house, All it needs is the large bronze statute out front. Pity, becuase the complex itself sounds great.

[Jammyd]

Anyone know if kenny developments have started consruction on the new city west retail park with dunnes and b&q?

[Craig Davis]

From what I can see in the photos the new OPW-designed Galway City Museum seems like a well-considered addition, appears a bit busy though, however it’s scale & massing seem appropriately to its context. Reminds me of a Richard Meier beach house; neither an insult nor compliment, just an observation.

On the other hand the Fairgreen House development is shocking, it’s one of the worst looking schemes I’ve seen in recent years. By comparison it makes the new heap o’ crap on Dublin’s Capel Street look decent (well maybe not, but you see where I’m going with this).

What’s going on in Galway? It was once a decent-looking city. Dublin by-and-large, disregarding a lot of what was thrown up in the 60’s, 70’s & 80’s, has put most of it’s recent vomit-inducing monstrosities outside of the city-proper, however in Galway they’re plonked right in the city centre, and there are so many of them. Also Dublin because of it’s size can absorb more crappy developments and remain relatively unscathed, however Galway, being a small city, developments like this are having an immense impact on it’s general perception from a built environment point of view.

Are cities such as Galway & Limerick making the same mistakes now that were committed a generation ago & subsequently learned from in Dublin? Is there an attitude of any development is good development?

[lexington]

Are cities such as Galway & Limerick making the same mistakes now that were committed a generation ago & subsequently learned from in Dublin? Is there an attitude of any development is good development?

I think Limerick has put in a relatively good show along its southern bank quaysides. Bishops Quay and Steamboat Quay spring to mind. Approaching along the northern quays from Shannon, the docklands area looks so much better than the once did not so long ago.