Architectural Tastes

There is a world of difference between ‘anti-development’ and opposition to a particular development.

The phrase ‘anti-development’ is about as meaningful as ‘pro-development’. I would be suspicious of anyone who espouses either position.

And for the record, I think you’re wrong in your initial statement. By all means beat the straw man to within an inch of his life, as long as you acknowledge he’s a straw man.

Luxor, for what it’s worth I disagree with your impression.

I get the impression that people in here care or they wouldn’t write about matters. It also seems to me that many have great development experience based on the content of their commentary. For myself, I earn my living from building new developments and renewing older structures, some of which I’m proud of, some not so.

As to taste – each to their own, time and place being paramount. If you want a building that I like in Ireland of recent years then I’d have to say the newish building on Dawson Street, right next to the Mansion House. I have no idea who it is by but it is a perfect gem.

If many comments are supercilious then the reflect the character of the contributors but the overall picture is that important observations are being made in a forum where each has an ability to talk openly and freely.

I don’t know if I’d call most people here anti development, but I do agree that moany posts outnumber complimentary posts by about 5 to 1.

Lets have some more positivity!!!!

BTW here is a slightly related thread, started by Blisterman in fact.

https://archiseek.com/content/showthread.php?t=6573

When I first moved to England in the mid-90s I always remember that English people sometimes got the impression that we, me and other Irish people living in England where shockingly pro IRA, we weren’t of course, it was just that their conversations about IRA violence went something like “oh its so terrible, oh its shocking that people would do such terrible things” whereas when we were talking, all of that was assumed and instead, we were just very engaged in the situation in all its subtly and we would discuss how some recent event fitted into the evolving situation in the north.

I sometimes think the same thing happens here, the distinction isn’t between people who are pro-development and those who aren’t, but between people who want a longer, more thoughtful discussion, which includes criticisms and reservations, and those who just want to trumpet there support for development at any cost. For example, the OP probably would classify me as anti-development because, for example, I recently criticized the office-park-style tower proposed for the north dock and I think messing with the river vista is a terrible idea, but, in fact, for example, I am a big fan of the proposed NCC hotel tower and Sean Dunne’s tower for Ballbridge, though, of course, I have reservations about the medium-rise elements of this proposal.

@Blisterman wrote:

I don’t know if I’d call most people here anti development, but I do agree that moany posts outnumber complimentary posts by about 5 to 1.

Lets have some more positivity!!!!

5 : 1 is about right, but there’s a limited amount of time available and the bad things that need high-lighted always need immediate attention.

Also it’s the nature of a public forum, nobody goes down to Tiananmem square with a placard saying ‘Everything’s fine’.

I do agree that there are positive things to be said about a considerable number of recent developments and we should try and find the time to say them (and show the pictures).

I’ll start working on my list.

BTW, Irishtown Garda station = ‘a little beauty’, is that not a positive comment?

Irish folk are rather conservative in such matters, hence the dedication and devotion to religious statues for centuries.

Architecture and the visual arts are somewhat neglected and unappreciated here in Ireland, hence all the red brick mock Tudor homes, with plastic classical Doric columns and ballustrades! Oooh classy! ……….and what taste! And not forgetting of course a car for every member of the family, including the dog and cat!

Maybe times and attitudes are changin’ and hopefully for the better!

As for myself, I like new designs and I don’t see myself as anti development, however the problem I have is that many designs simply do not respect the soundings of the structure and it seem at times that designs deliberately stick out as much as possible.

The Robo-cop building is one classic example. Now I don’t mind the design, but to be plonked in between the beautiful AIB building and City Hall is just distasteful and totally disrespects either of the 2 buildings. If this building was in lets say the Grand Canal Docks area, it would fit in.

Talking about the Grand Canal.This area is an example of good development and design. I love the Alto Vetro building. It’s sleek, modern and fits right in. The much larger Aqua Vetro is another design I like and also fits in. But the latest Monte Vetro doesn’t work for me and actually reminds me in a way of a new Hawkins House.

Which nicely bring me to another point, simply poor design. They can range from the disgraceful to the boring. To replace the Wax Museum with that ugly hotel is just disgraceful and the person who approved that should be shot. The building at the back of Dublin Castle is another example of poor design and it also has no respect for its surroundings. And there are many other examples around. The Heuston Gate and the Watchtower designs are boring and better effort could have been made reguarding those ideal sites

My final point is one I care for the most. I am a great supporter for conservation especially keeping the character of some streets and areas. When you compare cities like Amsterdam which has its wonderful red brick buildings to the countless red brick building Dublin use to have, it makes me sad at what Dublin could have been and I wonder if the character and uniqueness of Dublin is all but destroyed. There are good example of what design can do to fit in. The Ryan W. Kennihan Architects red brick design in Henrietta Street is a wonderful example of respect. I like the other designs for this site including the concrete design, but not there. Another example of respect is the building on Ormond Quay Lwr at the Millennium Bridge where the front of the previous building was kept. If new buildings is so great, why doesn’t Amsterdam just knock down all the red brick buildings down and build them? Because they want to keep the character of the streets and area.

What some designers need is to build a brand new city from scratch somewhere else in the country, so we can have a Dubai like city which is built on a blank canvas. Maybe Shamrock City isn’t suck a bad idea after all

🙂

Gunter

Almost all of those who go down to Tiananmem square (and live to tell the tale) carry a placard saying ‘Everything’s fine’.

Most of those who post in this forum carry the opposite. Without consequences.

Somewhere in between, those who must decide do their best (and don’t have the time or inclination to read this forum).

@luxor wrote:

Hey,so browsing through the various threads on this forum it becomes progressively apparent that most people here are anti development,if you go through the threads one by one(and I did)vast majority are either vehemently opposed or have serious reservations about project in question,this I honestly fail to comprehend,afterall this is a discussion forum dedicated to architecture! I understand cases like the clarence redevelopment and the liffey stilts proposal are naturally going to stir up emotion but for me it seems to be everything,so basically i’m interested in finding out from people in here what architecture they do actually like, images would be helpful.

Well I’d say a good share of the people who post here are involved with the construction business on a day to day basis, architects, technicians, planners, etc, so it would be fairly dangerous to be anti development. The reason that people seem to be anti development is that the quality of many of the buildings being built today is frankly below par. Hence it is very easy to find faults with many of todays developments. I think that there is nothing wrong with criticising developments. It merely shows that there are people out there who want higher standards in design. The only way to change mindsets towards architecture is to encourage higher standards, and this involves scrutinising the buildings that are there.