1982 – Former Educational Building Society, Westmoreland Street, Dublin

Built in several stages, by completion it incorporated the Lafayette Building / Paradiso Restaurant facade in its centre and reused the structural elements from Hyams men’s outfitters. The original commission, in the early 1970s, was the portion to the corner of Fleet and Westmoreland Street, the architects stripped the terracotta cladding from the building and clad it in reflective glass. A substantial portal of travertine marble was inserted as an entrance to the public office – the contrast between it and the glass is striking. The marble was also used inside as counter and flooring material. A large neon sign was installed over the doorway inside the glass.

The building society later acquired the three adjacent buildings including the Lafayette Building. The architects proposed to continue the reflective glass wall on the other side of it. According to Plan magazine, “the Victorian Society and An Taisce supported the proposal, but the Dublin Civic Group objected on historical, aesthetic and planning grounds”. None of the buildings were listed.

After the first stage was completed, the reaction to it was fairly negative, and so public opinion forced the Dublin Corporation planners to insist on “solid elements” being inserted into the subsequent stage. The architects, by now Stephenson Associates, used the same glazing pattern but replaced some panels with polished granite. This is generally considered to be to the building’s detriment.

And so, the Lafayette building became the central element of the scheme. The new interior included a five-storey atrium with galleries on all levels behind the preserved façade. Vacated by the EBS in October 2003. A redesign of the exterior envelope was proposed in 2004 which thankfully was not carried out.