Re: Re: A city constrained by a Frank McDonald credo would be ‘dismal and prissy’ –

i must admit – i have mixed feelings about Lavitt’s Quay. Up close, it is quite attractive and well detailed, bringing a much needed physical and active presence to the quayside- i do think, however, that the efforts to create a variation in the form and height of the building resulted in a gross over-design – basically a plethora of features and elements that are visually disruptive – i think that the design is well intentioned but is fundamentally flawed. i have to agree with F. MacDonald on the issue of the side street – the scale and height of the building on the quay and the laneway are the same – this is a narrow laneway and does not require height to articulate its presence – yes, it does need to have an active and used frontage but the excess in scale actually undermines its character and function. the laneways of cork, which define a large part of the city’s morphology are generally narrow and intimate secondary spaces that connect various districts – the most succesful are located in the Heugenot Quarter and are generally defined by buildings that relate physically and functionally to the scale of these laneway spaces – thay do not need the same treatment in terms of height and scale as buildings on Patrick st or the quays.