Re: Re: Department of Finance, Merrion Row – Grafton Architects

Took some time out of my busy weekend :rolleyes: to have a look at this today. As said in earlier texts, the craftsmanship is certainly impressive. Three things jar with me however:

(a) The change in the parapet line. While it may well be true that it needed to be at that height for services to be fitted in, it was calling out to be recessed, even if only by a couple of feet, so that some consideration was given to continuiing the existing line.

(b) There is a nice interplay between the relatively sober street facade, and the almost-random abundance of glass to the side, but neither makes any attempt to interact with the rhythm of the windows in the nearby buildings. It’s almost as if it exists and interacts only with itself, oblivious to its any context.

(c) The lack of context also carries into the choice of a grey stone for the facade. Again, while there is nothing wrong with this in itself, it ends up clashing with the materials on the rest of the streetscape, both in colour and dimension.

Any one – or even two – of these items I could happily live with. The three of them make it a much harder one to call. Still, I’m going to come down on the positive side – if only for the quality of the finish and the materials used. It’s just a pity it wasn’t standing somewhere on its own….