Reply To: National Photographic Archive
On the last point I certainly agree – indeed I get the impression here that some people are sitting in the shadows here not willing to comment either way – some more opinions would be welcome!
Sorry, but I never said this proposal related to the whole of the street – indeed from the outset I stated it involved the longer stretch from the Fleet St/Fenian St axis to the river; the College St end has an wonderful atmosphere distinguished by the collection of Victorians there (Westin aside), which (when not obscured by leaves) is very grand when combined with the area around the House of Lords entrance.
Partially the thinking behind this proposal is to contrast this ostentation with the order of the remaining WSC terrace, compounded with some replica infill.
One of the other primary reasons is to restore the magnificent apex formation of D’Olier St and Westmoreland, which would be achieved by recladding the Blood Bank building on both sides. I know someone’s going to say well why not knock the ICS building and reinstate the simple WSC join too – no, if there was any failing on the WSC’s part it was the lack of a central landmark building – although the Bank of Ireland immediately put forward plans for such a structure before buying College Green. The ICS is perfect for the site.
Again about the interiors – no not because it hurts the arguement do I dismiss the issue but because as I said, the arguement is for the reinstatement of the streetscape, the massing of individual properties into a unified terrace, i.e there is a point, a purpose to doing so; there is no such reason for rebuilding the interiors.
And on a practical level, if such a requirement were made, the proposal would never get off the ground – yes many shops have listed interiors, but the vast vast majority do not.
Just reading the IAP – a very interesting hiding behind the parapet state of affairs prevails in the tiny section relating to D’Olier St. It states that the Irish Times have done a lovely job etc – and that “this refurbishment needs to be extended northwards to extend to the ICS building”. This can only mean one thing – replica facades to be built over the Blood Bank building; it is not in a poor state of repair, and ‘quality’ materials are used in its construction – hence refurbishment can only refer to replica facades and the completion of the original streetscape – it is specifically stated the refurbishment needs to extend right up to the ICS. Can the CC not bring themselves to say the nasty r-word either, re re re re – no it’s no use – refurbishment, yes, that’ll do.
And just a correction from earlier – I said there was only one WSC left in its original condition, I think there’s actually two, with a third one having some minor window dressing, and the Ballast Office as part of its plot has a dubious replica tacked on the side – which could do with some window tweaking.
