Archer’s Garage
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F’ing outrageous! What is being done? They can’t be allowed to get away with this. I sent my email but I doubt that will cause them any loss of sleep. Did anyone get in touch with Marian Finucan? O’Callaghan must be prosecuted, fined and forced to re-instate the building brick by brick. Greedy tosser.
I agreee. How to bring about the prosecution notice? does anyone know the legalities around this…an article in the Times would also go some way –
At first, I was of the opinion that only prison sentences being handed down would serve as a deterrent against this sort of thing happening in the future. However, I’ve had a better idea:
The demolition was a clear-cut crime, so shouldn’t the Criminal Assets Bureau be empowered to sieze the site? The idea that the O’Callaghan Group should now be entitled to develop the site is an outrage. Of course, they should also be made to pay the full £1 million fine, and, yes, a couple of years in prison might put manners on the likes of these.
I think there’s a solution to this – but it requires political will – buildings that are deliberately demolished or end up having to be demolished through wilful neglect should return to public hands – for use as parks, social housing etc. A neglected site in Ranelagh was recently redeveloped as sheltered housing. Perhaps we could hassle our local representatives about this. .
Perhaps if a little more discretion were exercised in the choice of building listed the listings might be taken more seriously. That garage was a pile of rubbish before it was demolished. A curiosity, certainly but worthy of preservation for the admiration of furure generations? Don’t be stupid. Are the architects of today, with all of the materials at their disposal and all the history of great functional and attractive buildings to draw on, really so bankrupt of fresh ideas that so basic a solution to a practical problem should now be considered a work of serious architectural merit? Perhaps the real reason for the worry among architects of today about the fate of such a building has more to do with their ideas that their own work should also stand forever. Get with it guys. How about trying to ensure that whatever goes up on the site is really worthy of preservation at some point in the future.
Hi Jim
thanks for your opinion – it broadens the discussion a great deal. Certainly the sort of thing that Archeire should continue to foster.
I’m sure that contemporary architects ARE worried about the future of their own works and wish to nip wanton destruction in the bud. Can’t blame them for that – everybody has a little selfish interest in what they do. It seems though that many people are still genuinely pissed off and saddened by this and if it isn’t re-erected [very likely]
there SHOULD be something good put in it’s place as you say.That’s the other side to this situation: If you can’t save it or rebuild it – stop them developing anything or anything crap. We have enough of THAT already.
You know the Listed Grammar School in Droghreda which was illegally demolished in the night about ten years ago? The guilty were ordered to re-build it. Sadly it’s still just so much flattened rubble.
Well, at least they WERE found guilty and haven’t been able to carry out their plans any further.
This is in relation to Jim Smyth’s comment about Archer’s Garage being little more than a curiosity…..
Nothing wrong with being a curiosity aside, I don’t agree. I am fairly interested in the history of the more demotic element of building in Ireland, particularly 1920’s, 30’s and 40’s, and while garages and petrol ststions of the time tended to be completely standardised (in a way that they are now more akin to product design than architecture), Archer’s seemed to actually communicate a total optimism in modernity, something you don’t see too much in Irish architecture ever.
It must have been slightly inspiring to architects of the time, when much official Irish architecture was semi-classical, to see an unashamedly modern building, maybe partly because it wasn’t by Michael Scott etcetera, just a garage, not a monument. I think that might be why current Irish architects liked it so much and are in uproar over it being demolished like this….with the developers, planners etc reaching for historicism again, and after the really truly awful ‘modern’ buildings put up in Dublin in the 1960’s and ’70’s, Archers was good clean fun modernism. Seeing as architects working now seem to feel under a stranglehold to produce more pastiche schlock, they must have enjoyed seeing Archer’s.
Anyway, as posted in the argument about taste: to what degree do architects determine the look of buildings? They are always complaining, but still never design anything anyone likes (apart from group 91 mafia)
Surely the fundamental topic here is if we should or shouldn’t have listed buildings. Of course we should, and if we should people must be forced to respect that listing. This is a disgraceful incident and the developer must not be allowed to gain from it
It seems that Mr O’Callaghan is on the Board of Bord Failte…. I reckon his hotels should be picketed…… he also is a large donor to Fianna Fail…. so what odds no prosecution
Well, that just makes it even more imperative that he is punished doesn’t it.
They’ve treated the people in this country like morons for long enough. Up until the late 70’s polititians; especially one party and one figurehead I need not mention, just had the run of the place. They did what they liked and got away with it. Great men weren’t they?
Well, it’s less easy now.
J
Cheist amhain – an eol do Frank MacDonald faoin bhfeachtas ata/ i mbun againn ? Ceist bhunusach eile – an usaideann se/ an suiomh seo ar aon nos ?
Does Frank now about our campaign – and [more basically] – does he even know about archeire ? Paul ?
Frank – are you lurking out there ?
Shane
i’m from los angeles, i always found this building comforting and unusual, it reminded me of a building i’d find in los angeles. unusual for here, it had rounded features, had an arts & crafts feel. this city of dublin is on a fast track to become UGLY and utilitarian. you can not go back after buildings have been torn down. dublin, in the five years i’ve been here, is starting to feel like the san fernando valley, where i grew up. and that is not a compliment. 🙁
Perhaps instead of a simple fine there should be confiscation of the site/property which would ensure that there would be no profit from such action.
Being a regular passer-by and admirer of the strongest and most articulated corner building in Dublin, I am disgusted that such a wreckless act of demolition can be allowed happen.
Unless ther perpretrators are forced to rebuild this building, it will open the floodgates for similar demolitions. The fine will be seen as a reasonable price to pay given the value of the site. The Future of many of Dublin’s listed buildings could depend on the outcome of this case. This should be the mother of all campaigns to stamp out this corrupt behaviour.
Does it have to be Georgian to save ?
Sad, The garage building reminds me of Art Deco style buildings on North of South Beach Miami,
except there, they had cherish the badly run down buildings and then renovated them later.re there any plans for an organised boycott of his chain of hotels – at least until he sees fit to try and amend the damage done?
P.
I must say that I’ve always thought that the whole area around the Garage site is one of the most depressed and depressing parts of inner Dublin due to its generally derelict state and awfully ugly legoland-type flats. Its all the worse since it is so close to the beautiful Georgian areas also. I mean, you only have to drive northwards past Holles Street Hospital to experience the sharp contrast in Dublin’s fortunes.
But the one exonerating characteristic of the Erne St/Fenian St area was Archer’s Garage. Alas it was let go to ruin of late, and I wasn’t surprised that it was demolished. That was before I knew that it was a listed building however. Accordingly my surprise turned to anger. Even as an admirer of the building I had underestimated its importance. I had never even been in it.
This is how I think F O’C et al figured the reaction would be. People would be so used to seeing it boarded up for years that many of them would not care that it was pulled down. F O’C & Co. were wrong.
So what sort of Mickey Mouse country do we live in? A country where preservation lists are simply aspirational fancies towards architectural conservation, and have no readily inforceable powers????
Its time that some bureaucratic asses were kicked in this town, and that legitimate public opinion starts influencing the powers that be to enforce the law against such shysters as O’Callaghan who incidentially, wouldn’t know culture if it came up and spat in his face, which I wish it would.
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