ballymun demolitions
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There is an entertainingly anodyne interview with Dave Henshaw, demolition man for Ballymun, on the brl website:
the highlight being
Q: Is this just another job for you?
A: No! Every job is different. I’ve been looking forward to the Ballymun job for two years, especially the implosion of Pearse Tower.The big question is, are they going to demolish the towers in the same order as the excutions. My history isn’t good enough to tell, was McDonagh shot first?
Disappointing that we’ll only get the spectacle of seeing one tower ‘imploded’, with the rest being taken down piece by piece.
Explains why the new civic building is able to be so close to one of the towers though!
Incidentally, with the project now taking shape, I have to say I think most of the new housing looks relly poor.I was watching a repeat of a programme about the transformation of Ballymun on TG4 of all places last night (you have no idea how difficult it is to read subtitles and look at architecture at the same time!)
And some of the houses being built are truly beautiful.
Whereas the twee happy happy pasteley houses leave a lot to be desired, I was hugely impresses by the three storey houses being built.
They are very closely modelled on the tall 3 storey Edwardian townhouses that you see in the likes of Glasnevin, and indeed around the country – with the top floor having the gable facing the street.Unlike the appalling design of private housing going up across the land, with their multitude of clashing facing materials and ludicrous architectural features that are hugely under-scaled and inappropriate like oriel windows and big porches, these houses in Ballymun are so perfectly understated, reserved and most importantly of all – well-proportioned.
They are built of a muted dark red/rust colour brick, with perfectly sized bay windows and instead of having nasty strawberries and cream pebble-dashing on the part that joins the ground floor bay with the bay upstairs, they are plastered in a sophisticated beige plaster (exactly the colour of almond icing!)
And above all, there’s not a speck of PVC in sight! All have beautiful solid wood double glazed windows in a light shade.
And instead of the little porches over the front doors being over-burdened with over-sized tiles which is so typical, they appear to be lined in lead instead which is so streamlined and modern.
The houses are a perfect blend of traditional design and contemporary styling whilst still achieving a decent density with 3 storeys.
And no land is wasted with unnecessary large front gardens, just a small dignified space is offered for individualism, like the space outside Victorian artisan villas.I was genuinely surprised at the design of these houses, and I would aspire to live in one of these homes any day over the tat being thrown up around the country in ‘exclusive’ private schemes.
Well done to BRL, the City Council and everyone who was involved in their design – which is truly refreshing.
from the brl website:
Q: When will Pearse Tower be imploded?
A: It will take place on a Sunday at 12 noon towards the end of August. We will be confirming an exact date within the next few weeks. We always do implosions at this time because 90% of residents are at home and therefore easier to account for.I think the only demolition of this kind in Ireland was the ‘blowing up’ of the nurses home of St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin about a year ago, only it did’nt quite collapse, rather fall lop-sided and had to be knocked by wrecking ball or some similar method as I recall.
Incidently that was on a Sunday afternoon too.
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