gaiety centre
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That’s complete bollocks about An Taisce doing cut and paste appeals. It sounds like an error in the appeal has been exagerrated to the point of a “cut and paste” appeal allegation. Can anybody post the relevant mistake?
An Bord Pleanala are notoriously assiduous and meticulous in their assessments and decisions on appeals (the heritage officer of an t. maintains they are the only planning body in Ireland who properly process planning applications – how else do you explain the 85% approval rate for one-off houses by local authorities countrywide?). If they thought A t were lazily cutting and pasting appeals, we’d be shot out of it.
Originally posted by Rory W
Does South King street count as a pleasant streetscape?
I consider the view on South King St worth preserving, yes the Stephens Green Centre is a disaster and yes The Gaiety Centre and Stock are two ultimately forgetable buildings.
However from Grafton Street to the Theatre there is a reasonably intact Terrace of period buildings. The Old Mercer Hospital and Theatre provide two landmark buildings, it has the makings of a decent streetscape but if a large glazed structure were erected at the proposed height it would entirely dominate the street.
What was proposed was a very independent structure that would change the character of the street entirely. It is obviously a lot better than what exists but that wouldn’t be hard.
A scaled down version at front elevation would be most welcome floor space could even be added by going up at a decent set back from the front.
Originally posted by kefu
you have to ask who An Taisce think they’re representing.In the O’Connell Street thread, people were (rightly) saying what a monstrosity & cesspit the new building at the corner of Capel st and Mary’s Abbey is.
…Well that’s what happens when nobody has objected to an overscaled development.
You can’t win in an taisce. If people see something they don’t like they say “Why didn’t an taisce stop that?”. Like, why didn’t an t object to the bungalows beside the Liam Mc Cormick church in Burt in Donegal? (because the application wasn’t referred and no one else told an t about it)
If An Taisce didn’t know about the development on corner of Capel Street and St Mary’s Abbey – maybe they need to start examining the planning lists a bit more closely.
I’ve known about that development for about three years and it was well-publicised at the time.
Capel Street also has a “streetscape” that’s actually worth preserving unlike South King Street.I didn’t say that an taisce didn’t know about the capel st/mary’s abbey development, just that nobody objected to it.
Personally, I think the character of the King st area was killed off many years ago by the Stephen’s gn centre
Originally posted by Devin
Personally, I think the character of the King st area was killed off many years ago by the Stephen’s gn centreI don’t think you’ll fine many who disagree with that….
Tourists love it though, anybody from abroad i know, who has visited it love it… appeals to the disneyland in them i suppose
Originally posted by Devin
the character of the King st area was killed off many years ago by the Stephen’s gn centreDid anything happen with regards to the plans to have the shops on the King St side of the centre open out onto the street as well. That would really improve the street, in my opinion.
I was an Irish embassey in Latin America last year and noticed the promotional literature given to would be tourists.
Instead of something like Kilkenny Castle it had none other than the Stephens Green S.C. I was a little bemused, but apparently it gets a large number of compliments mostly from North Americans
I’m sure Paddy Gallaher is delightedOriginally posted by Diaspora
the Stephens Green S.C. gets a large number of compliments mostly from North AmericansIt’s the classic American retail psychology of malls: trapped inside with the goods, you’re more likely to buy.
I hate all this criticism of the Stephen’s Green Centre. I think it’s a wonderful building, inside and out. A lot of the sniping comes from snobs. The only legitimate criticism I accept is that the building turns its back to South King Street, and only has one entrance on that side. It should have many more access points, and should have shopfronts that link the street to the building.
Remember what was there before – that grotty old Rice pub? Yuk!
A lot of the sniping comes from snobs.
I think everybody agrees that the major flaw here is the face that the centre does not address the street with proper shopfronts – don’t think thats a snobby thing to say.
Pedant spot: it has two entrances on Sth King street
oops rory got there first…. and the only thing anyone has ever accused me of being a snob about is beer….
other things that are wrong:
it looks so messy and the exterior seems to be impossible to keep clean
it is cluttered inside
it is hard to work out how to move between the ground floor and level one
its hard to know what level two is for
its ulgy
awkward circulation space, feels unpleasant inside in way that for eg the jarvis centre doesn’t
As jlang has said, there was a plan to rejuvenate the facade at one stage, does anyone know what happened to it?
I can get over the facade of SGShopCentre – as disney as it is… it’s the interior. A cheap grotty aged hole with second rate shops. All this talk about the last nail in the coffin for Grafton St with the rejection of Eircom-South King St plan… SGSC is doing far more damage – and a far greater indicator of how bad things are. Surely the “premier” shopping precint of our supposedly affluent country can do better than this?
Originally posted by Sue
I hate all this criticism of the Stephen’s Green Centre. .Remember what was there before – that grotty old Rice pub? Yuk!
I Disagree
Originally publisheded by Thoms Commercial Directory 1977
124 Emmet Antiques
125 Metropolitan cinemas
126 Rag Trade Boutique
127 Stephens Green Cinemas
128 Terry’s Sweets, House of Claude hair stylist
129 Glencree Peace Centre, Sounds unlimited, Factory Boutique
130 Mat & sons pianos & musical instruments, Inigo Jones Carpets, Gaiety Green – Gemini sports
132 Vacant
133 Antique markey McCormack Patrick,
134 Dandelion antique
135 Fancy pants Boutique
136 Trash boutique, Norman Terry
137 Upstairs- downstairs boutique
138 Oriental crafts
139 Brown George & sons Chemist, Miller Thomas R, optician, Millar gareth photographer,
140 House of cards, greeting cards, Cafferkey & Grady solrs,
141 Rice R, bar [/B]Besides the two cinemas it was a virtually intact terrace of Georgians and lated replacements. The greatest gamble in Irish property speculation. A terrible loss to Dublins urban fabric.
But if you think the present incarnation is bad, the earlier proposals would have made the ILAC look like 5th avenue.
A red brick STW wasn’t it?
I agree that the centre is not bad – everyone loves to laugh at it cause it’s so out-landish now, which is fair enough.
But in the late 80s, this was possibly the highest spec building built in the city in that decade. This was the first time attention was paid to detail and finishing in a major public scheme (Powerscourt aside) – ok the Victorania frills and Regency green is out now, but was the height of fashion then.
Equally the balustrading, the lamp standards and wall sconces and flooring etc was unique in Ireland at the time and is worthy of praise,no one else bothered their arse to execute such high-standard developments at the time.
The fact that it is so over-the-top now I think makes it almost immune to criticism today – it’s in its own little world.The corner ‘iron’ facade externally is equally distinctive, and not nearly as bad as people make it out to be and despite the crudeness of the supporting girders at close quarters, I like it.
I agree the floor access arrangements – an obstacle course to say the least, and the front does need to be cleaned (one of the first major uses of PVC here behind it too)
It’s extraordinary how tourists love this building, they’re always scrambling over each other to take pictures, esp at Christmas when it looks great.
Opening the shops to Sth King St would be great but there is a significant height differential which would probably render it impractical.
I agree about the shops – crap, indeed the only use I make of the entire centre is the handy cash machines at the (first) side entrance, and to olge in the window of the Sony Centre – mmmm dv cams….I agree the status of the Gaiety should be maintained – regardless of what goes nextdoor it should be subservient to it in scale.
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