O’ Connell Street, Dublin
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@PTB wrote:
Thats not half as distracting as the one outside the Hugh Lane.
Slow, rythmic pelvic movements. No wonder I was late this morning
Is she meant to look like a prostitute? I drove past one night and it’s a little startling. It would be better if they were hidden around the city like the one by the Hugh Lane, where they were a bit more unexpected than on the veldt that is O’Connell St.
🙂
I much prefer these to the hares – they’re so stark and so clearly temporary as to really make an impression. The concrete bases look much better in real life: quite clean and crisp.
Glad to report these railings have since vanished.
Interestingly there’s a little speaker built into the side of the electronic units that doesn’t appear to serve any function. Perhaps they’re just a factory standard. I presume the displays are solar powered.
Also SHOCK! – seating arrived on the central median last week! 😮
A little more inspired than the lampposts at least. I wonder who will be the first to spot their catalogue colleagues in their local town…
Good choice of a nice crisp design nonetheless, though they will require regular maintenance. There were dirty footprints all over them within days of being put down!
Two have been placed in front of O’Connell Monument also. While they serve a function, and limit damage to the monument from being used as a public seat, I can’t help feel they look ridiculous as sited, especially as the median surface tilts up in the middle in turn throwing them off the level. Their function probably balances things out.
Great news about Ulster Bank Stephen, thanks for that. No details as yet online, but needless to say this will be a great boost for the entrance to the street – not only to restore the building to its original condition, but in ridding Lower east of a nasty blank frontage that does nothing for that stretch.
As TLM mentioned, Irish Aid has just unveiled their chic new unit by de Paor Architects. A diamond on a sow’s ear if ever you saw one.
When the planning application mentioned waxing down the concrete, you assume it to be a chic polished affair, forgetting that the aggregate in question was designed to be clad in granite, so it’s extremely rough on exposure.
It’s attractive through in contrast with the glazing. Quite daring.
Still not sure I’m a fan given there’s finnicky processed finishes elewhere such as the paving and a rather predictable granite-clad wall beyond (and where limestone would surely have been more appropriate). I’m not convinced it knows what it’s at.
Good contrast with the sharp plaster ceiling.
The internal displays are very effective, projected onto what appears to be a combination of walls and screens. I expect the fit-out is of a very high standard.
New white tiling was introduced on top of concrete/render panels that had replaced the original tiling, along with galavanised steel beam-effect cladding.
All in all a considered and well tailored adaptation of a highly suitable unit for this public use, and of course soon to be adjacent to the City Library.
This was the proposal as presented.
© de Paor ArchitectsThe columns are pants, and I give it very little time before… Oh what am I saying- those letters are probably half gone already. And the nooks presumably already smell of piss. Since when were re-entrant corners on city buildings anything other than magnets for dodgy antics?
Otherwise, looks pretty good. (Though they do say that if a chubby person wants to look slim they should just hang around with a bunch of fatties.)
Well isn’t that just it. It wouldn’t work at all otherwise, whatever of the current effectiveness. Indeed on structural grounds one would wonder as to the columns’ longevity. How close are reinforcing steels to the surface of the concrete, and how would the coarse aggregate fare upon (no doubt many) impacts?
Also the granite wall is bizarrely last-minuteish. It doesn’t remotely connect with the rest of the design, and in fact protrudes beyond the building line. Extremely odd.
I think the concrete columns are cool, its the polished granite that fecks the whole thing up … why polished ! ?
@GrahamH wrote:
Indeed on structural grounds one would wonder as to the columns’ longevity. How close are reinforcing steels to the surface of the concrete, and how would the coarse aggregate fare upon (no doubt many) impacts?
When I saw it first, my reaction was along the lines of ‘interesting approach for a temporary job’. I just presumed automatically that it wasn’t intended as a long term solution.
Also, Peter- agreed on the granite. With this one and the bunker on Dame Street, are we seeing the emergence of a new retro trend?
Perhaps some of the City Council architects’ teenage/college-age kids are part of that awful ’80s revival with the ghastly day-glo hoodies and synth-heavy music, and the parents are just trying to be hip by looking to that era for inspiration too?
(Thus allowing parallels to be drawn between the zig-zag front windows and asymmetrical haircuts? Or with the DFA logo? I should stop now…)
I must disagree with you Graham, I think this project “knows what it is†much more than most insertions or fit outs around. It is conscious of the fact that it is a new skin on an old structure and expresses this through a clear language of artificial planar surfaces that fall way from the original building in places. Also the articulation of the ground floor perimeter shows an architectural clarity of not belonging entirely to the building it occupies. I have only passed it and not been inside so I can’t comment on the interior (although it looked pretty good from outside). I don’t think you can dismiss the project because some pissed fella might piss against the window, but who gives a fuck? Its o Connell street, it would be a sorry state of affairs if we resigned ourselves to vandal deterrent buildings and forgot any aspirations for architecture. I think its quite a beautiful move to pull the façade back from the columns and not clad them with fucking re-con stone on secret fixings for once.
I thoroughly agree with you what?. For clarity, I didn’t mention anything to do with misuse – rather it was ctesiphon, in what I presumed to be a tongue-in-cheek remark. I’ve never been one for limiting expression or progress because of what ‘might’ happen – as had been argued about O’Connell Street before incidentally with public seating.
The reasons you outline are also the very reasons I like this insert: it is clearly that, a new patch sewed onto an old jacket, which has been elegantly and deftly expressed. It has no intention of accounting for the wider building, which is a clever and cheeky acknowledgement of its twilight years. The problem is not with the concrete, which is effective in how it reminds one of the wider 1960’s host structure floating above – rather it is the processed solid finish of the frankly hideous granite wall which throws the pared-down philosophy and clarity of expression evident everywhere else completely on its head. The development is engaging in two conflicting approaches, the latter of which is precisely akin to your description of naff deluding cladding tacked about a structural form, and is completely at odds with the expression elsewhere. Coupled with the curtain walling above, it looks all the more daft. Perhaps that’s the intention…
(Incidentally, I knew you’d jump on this on what? ;))
first up great to see Irish Aid on O’Connell street …..from the images so far it looks quite conventional, nothin to daring, bu I guess it’s the internal content that matters most on this occasion…..anyhow judging from what I can see so far I would expext more from that DePaor guy !
One problem this design has is that it makes the rest of the builidng look so bad. I hate those exposed columns – they looks awful and not at all what was intended I am thinking. I agree with the granite wall as well. Its so bland. A more textured surface would have been so much more interesting.
The design aside my main grip is from a taxpayer point of view. What on earth is this place all about? Who is going to go in here? Why waste a perfectly good space and design with an office that few people will use.
You beat me to it with the benches Graham. Progress at last and I think their positioning at least suggests some though was put in.
I see dodgy signage popping up again at various points…..
StephenC wrote:The design aside my main grip is from a taxpayer point of view. What on earth is this place all about? Who is going to go in here? Why waste a perfectly good space and design with an office that few people will use.QUOTE]
oh the old ‘taxpayer’ argument eh?
This is all about giving Irish Aid a face, so that the taxpayer can see how Ireland’s development aid, which will be 1.2 billion by 2010 is spent, it’s also about engaging people to have a role in the issues, to volunteer at home or abroad and personally I think it’s something to be super proud of. 😀
Secondly you obviously know nothing about NGOs in Dublin, Cómhlamh who will be co-running the centre run events continually and they are always packed, so please don’t worry yourself about it being empty – because it won’t.
The centre will be a resource for children and young people as well as for the wider public, so it will have a continuing programme of events such as exhibitions, debates, lectures, conferences, cultural events, film screenings and theatre performances. I’m sure you can agree that something which engages kids at an early age to consider their world around them to be a great thing.For anyone who’s interested in development issues you can see the upcoming events on their website http://www.irishaid.gov.ie/centre/events_list.asp
Looking at GrahamH`s excellent pics of the window displays I`m left pondering the one about Achieving Universal Primary Education as a Millenium Development Goal……Which Millenium is being referred to…and will the Irish Aid stretch to paying the water charges in these far flung Primary Schools…:confused: :confused: :confused:
Well thank you Starch…I stand wholey corrected. I imagined this centre would be as busy as say the Financial Regulator’s info centre on Dame Street. A great idea to be sure but is it ever used, since many people would probably access information like this by internet and phone. However as you point out there seems to be a well thought out case for this centre. So by all means…
For the record my “taxpayer” arguement does not stretch to foreign aid. I completely support the Irish government being an aid donor.
I like it … inside & out.
Some nice images there. Its certainly a very high spec. It makes you think what a great attraction to the top of the street this site and a revamped Royal Dublin Hotel (as proposed by Ashlin Coleman) would have proven. Bold, modern contemporary architecture to complement the exiting street.
Hmmm did they say that when they built Pennys, Dublin County Council Offices and Findlater House….. how the worm turns.
I think it looks great. Not too crazy about the exposed concrete on the outside, Looks quite good on the inside. but it looks like one of the best of these type of refurbishments I’ve seen.
@StephenC wrote:
Well thank you Starch…I stand wholey corrected. I imagined this centre would be as busy as say the Financial Regulator’s info centre on Dame Street. A great idea to be sure but is it ever used, since many people would probably access information like this by internet and phone. However as you point out there seems to be a well thought out case for this centre. So by all means…
For the record my “taxpayer” arguement does not stretch to foreign aid. I completely support the Irish government being an aid donor.
No problem stephen, sorry for going off on a rant… I was sleepy! …yeah sure there is a lot of good information online but to debate and pass information it’s always best to do this face to face and so this is the reason for the centre…
Universal primary education is MDG 2
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