New Ireland Assurance office blocks dawson Street

It is interesting you should raise this as well Notjim. I had raised it on another thread earlier today. As you say, their scale is in keeping with the rest of Dawson Street.

https://archiseek.com/content/showthread.php?p=67053#post67053

Oops, sorry, same quote and everything!

No need for apologies.

When you consider the horrors of the 70s those buildings look totally unexceptional now, even relatively pleasant in the case of the southern building.

Call me a sentimental fool to worry about a 1960’s office building but I think that this building more than any other stands for all that was good in the economic renaisance under Lemass and symbolised the commercialised New Ireland they sought and successfully delivered.

The market will probably win on this one but it will be a shame that the era only has a tobaconists building to be remembered by

I hope that the doorcase at the very least is preserved if not the facade of the Dawson lane building; the side frontage would make some spectacle if glazed like Castlethorn’s Gaiety Centre on South King St and is South Facing

If ever there were two buildings that should have their facades preserved it’s these pair – can’t believe the IT called them ugly – shame on you Irish Times

I agree. They’re fine buildings and the facades at least should remain.

Anyone been inside these buildings and care to comment on their interior? As people are probably bored of my views on facadism I wont ramble on about it again 😉 . The situation with a modernist building is an interesting one though, as often their interior has been changed on a superficial level throughout the short lifespan of the building, and the structure of the building allows it to be altered considerably without it being completely replaced. What is being proposed by other posters is interesting as in recent years the trend has been to retain the structure of the building and make additions whilst replacing the facade. Goldsmith Hall being an example that springs to mind (It seemed that this was also done on the old Department of Foreign Affairs on St Stephens Green, but I can’t say for sure).

I have been inside one of them and it was spectacularly mundane.

The key driver of any transaction on this site will be a change of use to retail. Maximum office rents would be €500 per square metre whilst a Zone A retail rent well in excess of €2500 would be acheivable given the up market feel of the street and lack of large floor plates south of the river.

I am unsure where Jack Fagan got 6 floors of retail from though; Even John Lewis or House of Frasier rarely go over 3 over ground/Basement.

I would have though more Basement, Ground, first/second and two floors of offices above which would need to be set back to give the mezzanine heights required at ground and first.

The problem is that as attractive as this facade is it would be completely useless as retail frontage unless altered significantly.

Hard to see them working as retail, a book shop maybe, of course, that is why we list buildings.

Can’t see a book shop in the market for more than 20,000 sq feet which is only a third of the floor area discussed. With Waterstones already on the Street that only leaves Borders as an occupier on that scale who are actively acquiring.

They may or may not want to come in town given their existing presence at Westend retail park Dublin 15.

So it looks like an all or nothing situation!

Something like fnac would be great (fnac sells books, CDs, DVDs, Hi-Fi, Games, Consoles, laptops, TVs, cameras, toys & educational stuff for the little ones, has concerts, ticketing, cafes and internet access) they have them on the continent and they are fantastic (in particular for CDs they have all the albums by the artist available all the time – brilliant stock management) and most stores would easily take up 20000 sq ft. Come on fnac this is your opportunity to enter the english speaking market!