Eyre Square – What’s going on?
- This topic has 44 replies, 18 voices, and was last updated 20 years, 1 month ago by
.
- Posts
When Dublin City Council hosted that Landscaping lecture no too long ago, one of the strongest points I took away from the talk was of green spaces, mixed with harder wearing surfaces, so that spaces were usuable, but less prone to the damage usually associated with green squares, most of our squares in Dublin and throughout the country, being of that Georgian legacy, of green square parks etc. This picture of a scheme….
https://archiseek.com/content/attachment.php?attachmentid=882
https://archiseek.com/content/attachment.php?attachmentid=884
https://archiseek.com/content/attachment.php?attachmentid=885
…realised for the city of Manchester sums up alot of that common sense approach, to making open space, accessible to urban inhabitants, in everyday life, but still keeping greenery as a large part of the equation. That is Terry Farell’s building in the side of the picture.
This image shows how buildings can be tucked into the park landscape, but done so in a way, which still facilitates access by people, through the green space…
https://archiseek.com/content/attachment.php?attachmentid=886
I felt around the Dublin City Council Civic Office, this lesson was sorely missed, and pedestrian access to anywhere near Wood Quay offices now has all but vanished.
Which is a pity I think.
Brian O’ Hanlon.
Interesting images Brian you can almost see the Great Southern Hotel in the background if you think creatively.
Brian’s images arent a million miles away from what is currently half finished in Eyre Square- better materials and a purer concept in use but the general ratio of green to hard surface, the stepped terraces and the routes through the space are all very reminiscent of the scheme as proposed. I still think the finished product will be great, even moreso now that the kingston cowboys are gone – not only did they sneak off the job in disgrace but the general standard of workmanship on the completed parts of the square is abysmal. Some of the paving looks ready for ripping up and replacement already.
I must get some decent photos to load up here! Could anyone give me a crash course in how to display pics on the site??@BTH wrote:
I must get some decent photos to load up here! Could anyone give me a crash course in how to display pics on the site??
There was someone else asking that recently, i’ll see if I can find it.
I am not sure what the the space will feel like at nightime now in Eyre Square, because that is a forgotten aspect of urban design and open public space sometimes too – and as I made the point in that thread:
https://archiseek.com/content/showthread.php?t=3968&page=2
Sometimes you can think a bit ‘out of the box’ as to where and how you place/direct your street lighting.
Brian O’ Hanlon.
Oh dear…things just go from bad to worse in Galway:
CHINESE paving slabs may have to be removed from Galway city centre after dozens of people were injured when they slipped on them.
Fine Gael councillor Padraig Conneely said that a restaurant close to Eyre Square had become an “accident and emergency centre” in recent weeks because of the number of people slipping outside the premises.
Staff at Maxwell McNamara’s, on the corner of Williamsgate and Eglinton Street, have treated more than 20 people in the past few weeks. “In six of these cases, the injured people, mainly elderly, had to be removed to hospital to be treated for their injuries,” Cllr Conneely said.
“I have held the view from the outset that the paving slabs for the new footpaths are totally unsuitable and will lead to pedestrians being injured.
“It is just another example of the shoddy work that has been carried out in the redevelopment of Eyre Square,” Cllr Conneely said.
Work on the €6m revamp of Eyre Square ground to a halt earlier this summer when the contractors, Samuel Kingston Construction, walked off the site. Tenders are now being sought from contractors to complete the job but work is not expected to restart until at least October.
Cllr Conneely now wants the paving slabs to be replaced. “I realise it will cost a lot of money, but in the long run it will cost a lot more if people who are injured lodge claims against the city council,” he added.
John Fallon
© Irish IndependentAnd in a rerun of the BurgerKing etc. fiasco in Dublin Supermacs were finally forced to take down their sign, commenting on the state of the square. They of course had no planning permission for it.
It has been replaced by a similar illegal sign supporting the county team…
This is an interesting picture…. the same aving as O’Connell St in Dublin, a similar lampstand as those on OC St and similar stainless steel bollards…as are found on Oc St Dublin. Is there no originality anymore. Are these pieces the faux-Victorian cast iron stuff of the 1990s.
Thats one mofougly building!
This where the law is wrong – it shouldnt matter that he took down one and replaced it – it should be seen as the same ongoing offence.Funny though – pity Burger King couldn’t have written the same about the O’Connell Street Project! 😀
Fully agreed Stephen about this ubiquitous street furniture – I noted the exact same stuff going down in other town developments that’ve been posted here – especially those McDonald’s of the lighting world, the median posts on O’Connell St in Dublin – they’re everywhere, and have been for the past 7-8 years.
Is Ireland now about to be swamped by a raft of matt-finish silver posts and furniture – the heritage look of the 2000s?
Not only is it dull, unimaginative and predicatable to have this stuff everywhere, it is especially damaging in flagship areas like Eyre Square, or Grand Parade if it’s going in there, or O’Connell St in Dublin – it strips these important places of their uniqueness & identity.
At least Patrick St in Cork has been magnificently saved from it (perhaps too much with those posts ;)), but I’d hate to see Eyre Square engulfed with more content from the Acme Regeneration Kit.Work to recommence on Eyre Square
29 September 2005 12:55
Work on the controversial Eyre Square redevelopment project in Galway is to get under way again next week.It came to a standstill three months ago following a dispute between the main contractor and the city council.
The council says another construction company will begin work on the €9 million scheme on Monday and it expects it to be completed early next year.
The city centre makeover will see Eyre Square finally transformed from what was once an enclosed Georgian square into a 21st Century plaza.
However, arguments about the design still continue with opponents arguing for a return to a St Stephen’s Green-type model, rather than the development of a European-style open plaza.
But the council is now pressing ahead with the plaza option. SIAC Construction will move onto the site vacated by Samuel Kingston Construction in June, and complete the project by March or April next year.
The council has not given any indication of the additional cost caused by the delay, but it is understood to be over €500,000.
A city council spokesman dismissed suggestions that it could be as much as €2 million. He said full details would be given to councillors in the coming weeks.
City Manager Joe McGrath said the completion of the scheme would give Galway one of the country’s finest city centre plazas.
I really like what they have done to Eyre Square. It’s so much better than it was, but then that wouldn’t be too hard! 😀 I can’t wait til the new Galway museum is completed. 🙂
I totally disagree the old Eyre Square was great and was designed for the JFK visit in 1963; sure the street furniture could have been updated but there is now nothing to remind the City of that day. Only more chinese granite
Campaign to support Great Southern sell-off
May 05, 2006 17:58
A marketing campaign is to be launched later this month to support the sale of the Great Southern Hotels Group.The group’s eight hotels are to for sale on a going concern basis.
The board says that to date it “has been very encouraged” by the level of interest expressed in the hotels to date.
The board says the marketing campaign aims to attract the highest possible number of formal submissions of interest, both from the Irish and overseas markets.
It hopes to complete the sale by Auguest this year and is bing advised on the sale by BDO Simpson Xavier and CBRE.
Looks like the hotel could be in for major changes as well
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
