New Court Complex – Infirmary Rd
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Parkgate Street is a bit of a dump at the moment, and various parties have called for improvements to the entrance to the Park and its connection to the rest of the city for many years now. I think this new building is an impressive new addition. It has the potential to radically overhaul the whole area.
As for the Four Courts – perhaps taking out the Criminal Courts will allow the building to be renovated back to its former glory and allow for some of the architectural disasters of the last few decades to be undone….Aras Ui Dalaigh for the hammer anyone (sorry Cearbhall!) ….and the mess at the rear.
Oh, agreed!
It would be nice if an air of decorum and perhaps even grandeur could be returned to the Four Courts. It’s some hectic mess at the moment. Magnolia paint in the rotunda, criminally uncomfortable jury seats and public galleries and shabby jury rooms.
And then out the back….yeah it would be nice if the complex was overhauled. Hopefully the learned gentlemen in the Law Library won’t kick up too many fusses.
I drove by this site this evening. The trees along the road are beautiful and mature, they better remain in place!
Is this real? I can’t believe that this is being built on this prominent location. I know that it is a difficult site. Was virtually vacant for years (I think it was the city car pound and one-time home of Nelson’s head after his column was blown up) and waws then the site for the ill-fated AHGI competition. Was there an EIA or anything? It will be seen from miles around.
I think PPP is a disastrous method of procurement for major public buildings and if you want unique architecture of the highest quality which will stand the test of time it is absolutely the wrong way to go.
I know that courts are extremely complex to plan and design – I imagine that it must be a nightmare to work on from a practical side. The unfortunate thing is that the external design and urban design issues get neglected. I think that a perfect example of this is hospitals, which have their very own bizarre architectural language which doesn’t seem to exist outside the world of healthcare (all those weird pastel colours…).
Another urban courts for the purpose of comparison
http://www.bdonline.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=725&storycode=3086779&c=1&encCode=0000000001300e26
I prefer this one although in fairness think it is also PPP (they call it “smart PFI” but time will tell). It’s a bit bleak in this image but I think it has more rigour design wise. I am guessing the boxes are courts, and they are more expressive. The Phoenix Park one has a bit of an air of desperation in the detailing (“do you think anyone will notice we’ve dumped an 11-storey box on the corner of Phoenix Park if we cover it with enough shutters, glass boxes and changes of material?”).
It’s not 11 stories though is it? looks like 4 + set back, completely different proposal if it ends up at 11 with that kind of massing.
Doesn’t appear to be from the picture, Peter, but the article above says: “But the new 11-storey building will be welcomed by victims of crime and their families as they will no longer have to confront each other because of the unique design of the new courts complex .”
read that too ctesiphon, strange … at that height it sits ok, looks like it escaped from strasbourg.
It is hard to tell but if you look at the height of the balcony above the entry canopy, or take seriously the size of the tiny people near the building, it does look like 8 plus set back?
Im sorry, that cgi is weird. To pick a view from behind a run-down pub is a very strange decision. What is this view saying about a contribution to public space as a public building?
And – I don’t believe this – it actually appears to say ‘SIGNAGE’ on the hotel canopy on the front. It all contributes to the feeling that this building could house anything – hotel, offices whatever.
To me this building doesn’t say “this is where you will find an understanding justice, this is where the ethical and moral decisions which underpin how we decide to govern ourselves and deal with each other will be made”. This says “We are a huge big organisation, our bureaucracy will give the false impression of efficiency and what we say goes”.
😀
true the balcony does make it look like there’s a few more stories in there … but when viewed in relation to 3 story pub beside ? dodgy render.
@Peter FitzPatrick wrote:
😀
true the balcony does make it look like there’s a few more stories in there … but when viewed in relation to 3 story pub beside ? dodgy render.
In fairness way I see it the pub is three storeys and would be height of atrium in criminal court building based on render. Then double height floors above.
just wondering does anyone know what is currently being built here.its a very large site with some very tall cranes.the site im referring to is just on the corner at the main entrance to the park at parkgate st.
Yeh I’m really eager to find out what’s going in there as wel. I walked by the site and thought that it looked like quite a large development, not something that would end up with a run of the mill 4 storey apartment block.
Silly df1711! Haven’t you heard??? Its the latest addition to Dublins non existant skyline.The 250m ultra sleek Eamonn Dunphy tower
sound like it?
1375/07
“In accordance with part 9 of the planning and development regulations 2001 to 2006, the Courts Service propose to develop a Criminal Courts Complex on a site of approximately 0.95 hectares, comprising the Garda Siochana car compound and part of the Department of Defence lands at the junction of Infirmary Road and Parkgate Street, Dublin. The complex will have circa 24,850 sqm gross floor area and will be circa 37.7 m high above the main entrance level which is 10.00 m above ordnance datum. Accommodation will consist of 22 courts, jury, judicial, bar council, custodial and office accommodation, public reception, waiting and circulation areas, cafeteria and other internal ancillary facilities, approximately 70 car spaces located in underground car park and external car park”
Not sure how this works. I think DCC can only make observations as it’s a Dept of Justice application, which does not require Planning Permission. So it’s unclear whether this development has the go ahead, but the map should tell you:
Is this the building?
https://archiseek.com/content/showthread.php?t=6131
Though the screenshots from there aren’t working for me anymore.
[edit], found a render of it, it looks familiar alright:
– the pic on the left [/edit]More pictures on their site: http://www.3dimageworks.com/
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