Dundalk Bus Station
- This topic has 13 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 25 years, 9 months ago by
.
- Posts
Having recently being in Dundalk, I swung by the Bus Station for a look and I admit to being very impressed. It’s not a building you expect to see in a provincial Irish town. It has a serenity and a cleanness of line that should have it sitting in a sun drenched par tof the world. I hope it is nominated for the upcoming AAI awards because it desevres it and more importantly CIE deserve to be recognised for their vision in bulding such a building outside of Dublin.
I have to agree with you there. Seeing this incredibly clean cut and conceptually pure piece of architecture as I was swept into the station by bus a few months ago was quite a surprise. It’s also pretty impeccably detailled and sits well with the little row of houses it adjoins. It’s taken a long time for it to get any press, but hopefully it will get the appreciation it deserves from the general public.
Any images?
The building in Dundalk is just one of many interesting buildings produced by the architects of Iaranrod Eireann over the last few years. More acknowledgement is deserved for the consistantly high standard of public architecture they have produced around ireland in what will be a vital area of our development over the next years – public transportation.
I agree with Frank in that public transportation will be a big growth area. Let us hope we can carry on some great architectural traditions of these spaces and make them landmark buildings. Historically this has been the case and more recently with the Jubilee Line extension in London. Without taking anything away from Iaranrod Eireann let us hope that architecture is explored for these spaces and competition is invited.
Iarnrod Eireann Architects have done some good work recently:
Look at the renovated Heuston, makes going down the country by train a less frantic and uncomfortable experience
Look at the new Connolly…. I havent been down yet but by all accounts it’s impressive
[now if they could only improve the trains]
Kilkenny Station:
http://www.irish-architecture.com/buildings_ireland/kilkenny/kilkenny/railwaystation_new_lge.htmlAnd don’t forget the work at Dun laoghaire:
http://www.irish-architecture.com/buildings_ireland/dublin/dunlaoghaire/dunlaoghaire_dart_station.htmlIncidentally , there was a wild and very cool design concept for Dun Laoghaire station that never made it to reality involving a tensile roof structure. It would have created a great focal point when coming in from the ferryport.
It’s very positive to see these building designs even if they never go beyond concept stage as it indicates that there is a culture shift in the mindset of those comissioning.
And if our “public” architecture doesn’t move forward, there is very little hope for education of the public as property developers are unlikely to push the envelope designwise.
Interesting that public transport architecture should be getting the best design attention right across europe right now – such as the new Paris metro line, new Berlin railway interchange, the Irish examples you mention and various London projects including the new Jubilee Line and designs for the “Thameslink 2000” north-south link.
Dare we hope to believe that this means public transport is now back on the agenda in a way it hasn’t been for years? Or is that being naively over-optimistic?
It’s great to see the aformentioned Dub Laoghaire Dart Station get a Special Mention in the recent AAI awards.
This kind of publicity can only help to drive the architects of CIE to better things. It’s almost like the 1940s again when CIE built buildings such as Donnybrook Garage, Inchicore Chassis Works and Busaras.
I really enjoyed learning about this structure. I rarely see such beauty and creativity in bus stations. It’s nice that one’s day can be brightened by a piece of architecture that lets in the brightness of the sun and that is also open to the world around it. This makes sence considering that the structure is a place where people begin and end journeys.
My friend from California is living in Ireland for the next two years. I hope that he will see he Dundalk station, so that I can hear his opinion on it.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
