New Building on Tara Street?

No it is a new building, replacing the old Dublin Corporation offices also called Liffey House.

I like it, I would hope that it could set a precedent of poorly designed 1970-80’s buildings that often only utilised 50% site coverage being replaced with much higher spec ones.

To keep you lot busy; I would like to see Apollo House Hawkins House, The Screen Cinema, the Long Stone and MacTurcails all go. To be replaced in the same way that this project has done.

Fair play DCC you have moved on from your previous developments such as Ballymun and toytown on City Quay. Finally

Love the new building – perfect choice of materials too. Was surprised to hear DCC were behind it.

im pretty sure donnely turpin designed them.
the one with all the basalt and the kink in the facade?

With the Peter Wilson vibe? 🙂

This really should be the model,
increased site coverage traded off for higher design standards. What use are surface carparks nowadays as everyone seems to live in Mullingar anyway

Given the number of really dodgy government buildings being vacated, there is a real opportunity particularly with buildings such as

Hawkins House

Apollo House

College House on Townsend Street

Kildare House

Etc Etc

An interesting walk to make some day is to start from the Civic Offices and walk as far as Grand Canal Docks. It is counter, perpendicular to ‘the grain’, but it provides a different view or cross section through Dublin City Centre to the more well trodden north/south path from Parnell Square to St. Stephen’s Green.

I have problems myself with the way the north/south path actually stops at those two terminal points. But working in an East/West route or emphasis could be another way to diversify the experience of Dublin City Centre.

But as I have said this east/west route isn’t very well trodden at all.

That all depends on mode selection;

Although from personal experience I must agree, in 1996 myself and two others opened a shop on City Quay selling interior products, the basis of the selection was the high passing traffic.

We didn’t do our homework very well, the mistake we made was to equate traffic with footfall. Within six months I was gone, a year later my friends were gone.

I have no problem with this as my other businesses in the same segment were never better and it was little more than a dissapointment.

There are two conclusions from this.
Firstly we were premature for this area in 1996.

Secondly the design of this area was not towards a living quarter but was firmly under the thumb of the roads department in DCC.

I suspect little has changed

The quays are totally given over to traffic, it is horrible beinga pedestrian on the quay-wall side of the roads, esp around Grattan Bridge/Civic Offices

Saw this new building yesterday and it looked massive in the dark – really should see it in daylight!
The v-shape however, I don’t think works, it clutters up the streetscape.
The streets in this area especially are very linear, and follow a grid-like plan. This v-shape both projects and indents from the line of other buildings making a bit of a mess.

One can argue that it breaks the monotony & acts as a feature building – I don’t think so.

But its very beautiful, the materials are fantastic and the little LEDs on the underside of the first floor are very fancy.
It is distinguished and different.
Heres hoping its nasty neighbour Apollo House gets the same treatment – minus three floors.

I would echo the point about the grid nature of the streets here. don’t think there are very many linear intersections in town. The buildings on 3 of the 4 corners of the Townsend St./Tara St. create a very clean intersection.

Liffey House did not honour this intersection and neither does the new building. A shame, I think.

But isn’t there a big huge development down near Grand Canal Dock and a very large landmark building U2 comp going up too? I mean, that area could draw more people down in that direction. I remember coming to Dublin as a wee garsoon and trying to find Rory’s fishing tackle shop in Temple Bar, was ‘really doing into dodgy territory’!

That has changed, even if not for the better! 🙂