Trinity Due for Demolition in 2005
- This topic has 36 replies, 9 voices, and was last updated 22 years, 7 months ago by
.
- Posts
Quote “Oringinally built as the set for the film Educating Rita. Due for demolition in 2005.”
Is Trinity past it?
Is the site too constrained?
Diaspora, I am confused by the circular referencing of the online posts here. ie: your post brought me to your original source only for the original source to bring me straight back here!
Can you also explain what your issue with Trinity is?
Thanks
Phil
Trinity College is of course Dublin University’s only college. Why weren’t more colleges built as happened over the centuries at Oxford and Cambridge Universities? In any case were there ever any plans to expand Dublin University in this way?
Originally posted by phil
Diaspora, I am confused by the circular referencing of the online posts here. ie: your post brought me to your original source only for the original source to bring me straight back here!Well it just seemed like a quote that would provoke more reaction on this site than the that. I referenced this post so that anyone who was interested in TCD might look at this.
The idea of this thread wasn’t really serious, and I don’t have any issues with trinity.
But like many who have observed it’s development I am getting a little concerned about the constant additions.
The quality of the amenity is going down a little as each additional building takes away a little more open space.
Most are familiar with the historic section and the newer arts block and library. But it is to the back and Pearse St side that I am concerned about.
It may be time fore TCD to acquire a site off the campus and transfer a few faculties before the entire site ends up built upon. :rolleyes:
Originally posted by Diaspora
It may be time fore TCD to acquire a site off the campus and transfer a few faculties before the entire site ends up built upon.
I’m sure the British Embassy could give them some space. After all, TCD still acts like it part of the Empire.
Ah, now I am with you Diaspora!
I would be very suprised if anymore of the various squares within the campus were built upon. The only area which might get targeted could be the liear car park which runs along Naussau Street/South Leinster Street (Unlikely though). Are you referring to the way it presents a blank face on the Pearse Street side and is in some ways responsible for the fact that this area of Pearse Street is quite dead?!It seems as though it is starting to buy up a few properties off campus: for example the department of Sociology and the Politics department is in that Office Building on the corner of Fosters Place and College Green, whilst the old Gas Building on D’Olier Street is presently being converted into its Nursing School.
It isn’t just Trinity, the whole education thing here in Ireland is still carrying a huge amount of baggage and excess weight on all fronts.
Anyone who would try to put forward any aspect of Irish higher level education as a perfect solution, would be very foolish.
By criticising Trinity in isolation, are we somehow trying to imply that other institutions are without fault altogether?
Thread here:
https://archiseek.com/content/showthread.php?threadid=2761
Dealing with an idea, bit daft, but still an idea to ‘write a brief’ for a new improved faculty to do with the built environment.
Originally posted by garethace
It
By criticising Trinity in isolation, are we somehow trying to imply that other institutions are without fault altogether?
[Being honest Brian if Kevin St, most of Aungier St and Bolton St, Cathal Brugha St and Mounjoy Square minus the facade got nuked it would be no great loss. (As Buildings)
No-one really believes that Grange G will ever happen I think. It is little more than Goldsmiths pipedream, and as lengths of wavin they don’t get much bigger.Trinity is also right in the centre of the City. The way it has operated its holdings onto Pearse St have been nothing short of a disgrace.
That entire end of Pearse St is virtually dead to pedestrians and is in marked contrast to the way it was before they started their acquisition strategy. 😡
You don’t need to look at Trinity even to see disgrace of pedestrian usage/sympathetic design.
I remember doing a site over beside that old Casey building Georgian building at the end of Essex Street. The site beside the old church which is the Viking centre now. That street is absolutely dead, that area has nothing to draw people to it, and Dublin cco have insisted on using the pedestrian route through their building now as a place to put skips and park cars!
That Essex Street route, coming through Wood Quay civic offices continues right over to Pearse street as you have described has no activity either. That whole axis is terrible in comparison to the south/north axis from the Green to Parnell Square. It is amazing what cardinal points can mean isn’t it? I mean, in peoples’ mental perception of their environment, in terms of Kevin Lynch and his book called ‘Image of a City’.
I think people in Dublin see Trinity college as a useful way to define where ‘South of the river ends and the North really begins’. Unfortunately Wood Quay seems to have done just about the same thing, as has Guinnesses brewery too.
I mean Temple Bar is really the only only place along the whole length of the river currently where North and South seem to be joined somewhat – and even there they made a mess of things with the footbridge!
https://archiseek.com/content/showthread.php?s=&postid=21596#post21596
I love the way in which Ringsend and the area around the point are connected in some small way by the bridge down there. I welcome the arrival of a new bridge though, between west link and buck bridge.
as a acedemic research scientist let me comment that the city centre location and prestegious buildings is a huge asset to trinity. in a research career, one important thing is status, you try and move up, and status is linked partly to prestegious buildings and city centre locations. this help alot when recruiting researchers from abroad and any move from the current site would be stupid. tcd has a huge advantage over ucd when it comes to international perception and hiring, whatever about the domestic situation.
the way pearse street has been treated is terrible, also the lincoln corner. the college is trying to improve, it promises to renovate the pearse street fronts at a rate of two a year, it is reopening the lincoln inn and is going to build student accomadation between luas hall and the street, though there is no money for much at the moment. there are plans to build behind the pearse street buildings, but not to encroach on the existing green space. there are no plans to build between nassau street and the park, nor is it likely any development that intruded on the view from nassau street would ever be allowed.
as for the colleges ability to expand beyond the island site, there is still the an post site behind pearse station, the innovation centre on pearse street where the craft tower is, the new space on foster place and the move to the bord gais building.
Originally posted by notjim
the way pearse street has been treated is terrible, also the lincoln corner. the college is trying to improve, it promises to renovate the pearse street fronts at a rate of two a year,
Trinity has submitted a planning application to demolish most of the college’s buildings on Pearse St including the Listed Nuzum Bros shop fronts. To be replaced by a large modern block that would be heavily glazed.
Obviously they are saying one thing and doing another in the West Chapel these days. 😡
i am shocked if that’s true, i thought retention of the pearse street facades was part of the strategic plan. when was the application submitted?
Originally posted by notjim
i am shocked if that’s true, i thought retention of the pearse street facades was part of the strategic plan. when was the application submitted?It was submitted before Christmas according to Devin who was not pleased at all.
The deal was that a new structure would be built and in return new access from Pearse St to the main campus would be provided.
Correct me if I’m wrong but hasn’t Trinity acquired some buildings on Dame St next to Foster Place. They’re going to knock them into each other to create a larger space and construction is on going at the moment.
The plan is to rent out the retail units and have lecture rooms etc on the upper floors. Think Little Ceasers is moving in!
what you said is true blue, but with administration office rather than lecture theatres.
would hate to see nuzum bros go, also the old bicycle factory, and indeed the terrace as a whole. there is easily a better way to reintroduce access from pearse street and to build behind these buildings.
On campus space and architecture.
Has anyone ever visited campuses on the continent, where buildings tend to get as large as this:
http://www.cgarchitect.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=4;t=000497
This image is very rough I know:
http://www.cgarchitect.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=next_topic;f=5;t=000435;go=newer
But captures more or less the scale of buildings/spaces prevalent in many campuses around the globe.
Then in campuses you get these odd kinds of stadia and things thrown into the mix, like in UCD, Trinity or UL where sports feature as part of the ‘scene’.
http://www.cgarchitect.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=next_topic;f=5;t=000452;go=newer
Making for a very interesting juxtaposition of scales and structures of various periods, designers and styles. I often laugh when someone describes a certain ‘architect’ being the master planner of a campus.
But on the point about Trinity.
I have noticed in UCD the attempt to do this kind of ‘undercroft’ treatment like in many foot ball stadia, and also the Leopardstown Race Course, where public activities etc happen at different levels to other functions.
http://www.cgarchitect.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=next_topic;f=4;t=000514;go=older
Garethace, have you had a look at the two new buildings in UCD? I personally think that the new Virus Reference lab is a gem! (the big black building which is located close to the front entrance)
Thanks
Phil
Well to be perfectly honest with you I am more into how the external spaces are treated in university planning/architecture. Because that is where the students spend a larger portion of their time. Louis Kahn believed that these corridors and so forth, would be like class rooms in themselves where students would learn from no teachers – but from each other – rather than long narrow sneak passages as he called them – normally what is called for in educational budgets.
Notice that nice new space created in front of the new MOLA student centre building – grey brick one, horizontal building. That new space works well I think and ties in the old existing sports hall, pub or whatever, which was quite isolated before now.
MOLA have done a nice little DIT student residence building up at Broadstone, which should also be nice. I have seen the new buildings you are describing, the new Lab is indeed a good effort and commands the space around it nicely – but as you are possibly familiar with in Trinity college campus, new developments always seem to be a mixed bag – with some excellent examples like Arts block in Trinity and some trully awful attempts – owing to lack of budget etc, etc.
It is as if they break the bank on one development, and then build a couple of cheap-o’s following that one great building.
I am not really a big fan of the O’Reilly hall in UCD – not because of the building itself as such, but rather the lack of an attempt to deal with and create exterior spaces, like the new student centre does. The main boulevard type of space in DCU isn’t at all bad either I don’t think. To be honest, I find the UL campus a bit all over the place and lacks any clearly defined grand central space or avenue. Despite all kinds of buildings and investments down through the years, and attempts at making it better. Plus the campus at Plassey doesn’t seem to suffer from any problems of vandalism or other difficulties like Trinity college would be exposed to.
What UL campus definitely lacked is a good architect with a vision.
Similarly with the former RTC’s, Institutes of Technology around the country. But I think that main ‘mall’ type space in DCU is alright. In Bolton Street, there was no opportunity to make a good external space, so they opted instead for a grand atrium idea, which is worth visiting. In Angier Street there is a grand central courtyard, which isn’t even used, and very little other gesture towards public open space. In Kevin Street, nearby, they have tied together a mess of buildings quite favorably with a nice new hard landscaped courtyard now. Worth taking a look. You should try the little entrance on the side street, which is the one most used by the students now I think. Making the front entrance a bit underused now I think.
I have not been to Cathal Brugha Street in ages now, but I wouldn’t expect much out of it really. MOLA seem to have a fine portfolio of educational projects at this stage, have a look here:
http://www.murrayolaoire.com/education/projects/projectsindex2.html
No attempt there is made to sell the UCD student centre project though – but other projects are a little bit better featured.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
