Laughter Lounge – Eden Quay
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And some wider views of the building, showing its context.
I would have preferred either a starkly modern building here, using limestone and/or red sandstone, or decent sympathetic stock mirroring neighbouring buildings – ok, replicas. But they are 20th century, hardly a case of ‘fooling’ people!It probably would have been better to take the approach of the recent Henry J Lyons façade which adjoins the Corn Exchange on Burgh Quay opposite. This building contrasts quite well with the Corn Exch. & red brick houses when you are on Burgh Quay itself. But although the parapet height respects the scale of the quay, it has several setback stories piled up behind, so it doesn’t work so well when seen from the other side of the river. But at least there is a modern idiom – the new yoke on Eden Quay isn’t one thing or the other….Parnell St. architecture!
The “hanging silver box” is the building adjoining the pub, which has an underpass into an alley.
@Devin wrote:
the new yoke on Eden Quay isn’t one thing or the other….Parnell St. architecture!
I don’t think that your assessement is fair devin, it is not remarkable but it certainly is not anywhere as bad as some of the stuff thrown up at the back of the Ilac centre. It is as a lot of people have said ‘in scale’ and at least the architects made some effort with it, I’m not sure their vision came off as planned but it will work well with the existing buildings, which is in my opinion the minimum acceptable standard.
The new Laughter Lounge is worse than both the Jury’s and the Penneys extension buildings on Parnell Street.
Now thats a bit OTT – we haven’t even seen the ground or top floors yet! I think it is a subtle addition to the quays – not a bad thing considering all those ugly ‘statement’ buildings that are in its midst (Hawkins, O’Connell Bridge and Liberty Hall to mention but a few…)
I don’t think it’s subtle – look at that last picture again, it’s landed from outer space.
The materials used may be muted, but the scale is not.
A set-back could be got away with here, but only if the concession of parapet regularity is made – and it hasn’t been.
Maintaining that level would have made the world of difference. Obviously modern interiors have different interior ceiling requirments, but externally even in design the quay level could have been acknowledged, what ever about actually chopping it at that point, rather than having the wall sneakily rise above as it does.When you look at the wider view of the quay the design of the building (in relation to its neighbours) seems to be doing one thing more than anything else. It seems to be trying to make an architectural unit out of the buildings from the corner of o connell st down to (but not including) the seamens institute. ie The new building is the new centrepiece in this terrace, flanked by two 3 storey buildings on either side and then matching the height of the irish nationwide (4 storey) on one end and then the other 4 storey on the other end. A basic classical design. Make any sense to anyone else
Yes, it does sort of do that (unintentionally). And it shouldn’t have…a monolith centrepiece building was not called for here!!
It breaks the hierarchy of scale between O’Connell Street and the Quays. The 5-storey WSC’s buildings of Lr. O’Connell Street returned onto the Quays for 9 bays each, before dropping to 4 stories – and this hierarchy was maintained in the post-1916 reconstruction…..The new thing should of course have kept the parapet height of Eden Qy., whatever about a setback storey…..Grrrr! I’m annoyed now! More erosion of Dublin’s design!!!Here’s the building that was there before the previous laughter lounge – the Corinthian Cinema. You can see that, although a flashy building, it kept the parapet:
And a modern view of Eden Quay fron the Loop Line Bridge (taken from a crossing Dart) – the unity of scale is evident:
A centrepiece building is not needed here at all – the whole length of the quay must be taken into account.
Hmmm if you thought it looked ugly with half the scaffolds off you should see the rest. Tasteless, boring rubbish. Also the bulk behind the facade is quite substantial. Those glass box windows look dreadful. And no doubt we can expect boring featureless shopfronts like those on the new Talbot St developments…. and a Centra. That would be nice, and much needed on this stretch of the Quays!
Meanwhile across the street…. the boardwalk is finally nearing completion. Only took about 15 months.
Yes the setback is nothing short of a disgrace. Look at it here from Westmoreland St, clad in all-singing red brick. Whatever about its architectural qualities, the way in which it merges in the eye with the Irish Permanent on the corner (indeed actually overrides it), esp when you move a few feet closer from where this pic was taken, it completely changes the relationship between the quay and O’ Connell St.
The setback looms over the quay in such a way as to make it appear like another storey along the quay at facade level.
How was this allowed? I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to describe this building overall as monsterously overscaled.
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