Re: Re: Dublin skyline

I’ve never quite seen what people find so wonderful about this building: pleasant yes, but outstanding – not quite…
It seems it was the best of a bad bunch that was going up 5/6 years ago (though miles ahead by all accounts); just the fact that so much developer dross was going up seemed to have made what is quite an average building stand out as something extraordinary. But certainly it’s much more attractive than some of the stuff being proposed at the minute.

It’s always funny so see people’s opinions of the Ulster Bank/One George’s Quay. So many utterly loathe it, while others think it’s the most beautiful building in the city – a glittering crystal palace of sorts. Not sure I’d quite go along with your “there’s no modern building in Europe which surpasses it” ake :eek:, but would agree that the glazing, initially the worst aspect of the building is now the finest element – really quite striking.

Though as one commentator noted upon its completion, the contrast with the Custom House across the river is incredibly cruel. Tall buildings don’t have to be within sightlines of other buildings to have a negative impact – George’s Quay’s massing across the river is quite horrible when one stands in front of the Custom House; it boths steals attention from Gandon’s building and casts a nasty shadow over the Liffey, not to mention over the Custom House itself during the winter when the sun is lower – something that’s never been mentioned.
As for the ubiquitous pyramids…..think the seven on the Ulster Bank is quite enough without Liberty Hall being subjected to one too! 😮

I was wondering about the Custom House drum only yesterday on that very point. How much would it cost to rebuild it in Portland stone today? Why wasn’t this done in the 80s considering how expertly it was conserved that time round? Even then vast quantities of Portland were imported to reconstruct the balustrade from scratch in place of the concrete put there post-1921, so why not the drum too?
Would it be possible to do a job similar to the National Museum restoration and literally render over the limestone with a Portland stone based render?
The dark limestone totally undermines the design of the building – indeed it could be argued the drum was detached enough already from the main body of the structure without being compounded with a rebuild in a different colour…
The fact that it’s an icky, dirty brown Ardbraccan rather than a neutral grey or blue variety adds insult to injury.