O’ Connell Street, Dublin
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Spike costs a million to keep clean
Monday December 22 2008The city’s “self cleaning” Millennium Spire has cost €1.1m to keep its shine since it was erected six years ago.
Extensive cleaning and maintenance programmes have been needed on the landmark monument, which is one of the tallest scuptures in the world and is too high for normal repairs.
The self-cleaning properties of the Monument of Light, which was supposed to keep its sheen as the city’s rain washed down its slightly slanted sides, have proved a dismal disaster.
The metal has become badly smeared and joints between individual sections have become more obvious.
And the lights at the top have failed on at least five occasions, when the 1,200 bulbs inside were supposed to last for at least 20 years.
Crane
Dublin City Council says €324,868 has been spent this year on lighting repairs and a major cleaning operation.
Because of the Spire’s height, a huge crane had to be put in place to carry out the operation.
Last year, the council spent a further €435,633 on the same type of cleaning and lighting repairs.
In 2006, maintenance of the spike cost €238,432 and between 2003, when it was erected, and 2005 the council spent a further €180,00 on maintenance and cleaning. The massive cleaning bill is in addition to the €5m spent on construction.
Dublin City Council says that 2007 and this year saw “exceptional years” with major lighting repairs and cleaning.
The lower section of the Spire has to be cleaned every morning at 7am and the first 12 metres are washed thoroughly four times a year.
The landmark was designed by the architectural firm of Ian Ritchie, a British- based designer.
Dublin City Council says that 2007 and this year saw “exceptional years” with major lighting repairs and cleaning.
Exceptional is correct….That`s probably why the damn lights have failed,YET AGAIN.
It only remains to be seen where DCC will find the exceptional amounts needed to fix the exceptionally fragile light units in 2009…..:)
Where`s the queue for refunds..??? 😀
At least the sections have blown evenly. They almost look (poorly) designed that way :rolleyes:
@GrahamH wrote:
This is [Ulster Bank’s] Dorset Street branch in Dublin, so convincing a reproduction of the neighbouring Victorian gabled pair that it has fooled at least one inventory recorder of the street that I’ve encountered.
And fooled me 😮
Always one to put my hands up when in the wrong (yeah right), this early 20th century photograph posted by Griffin on P45 confirms matters somewhat emphatically as being otherwise…
However, the Ulster Bank pair for whatever reason still appears to have been entirely refaced and reroofed in the 1990s, with just the terracotta panels to the gables apparently retained. Without getting a good look at the neighbouring pair, it is possible there’s extensive spalling taking place judging by the first picture.
So it was a fair, if incorrect, conclusion to draw. And Ulster Bank are still turned on by reproduction!
You might also be thinking of the Cosgrave Bros muck further down the street that used the same style to much poorer effect
@darkman wrote:
The Green Light has been given to the Dublin Central scheme….could not find a thread on that.
Is this “the Carlton facade moves up the street” scheme?
Still trying to find “An Lar” myself.Happy New Year and Better Buildings everyone.
@GrahamH wrote:
At least the sections have blown evenly. They almost look (poorly) designed that way :rolleyes:
And fooled me 😮
Always one to put my hands up when in the wrong (yeah right), this early 20th century photograph posted by Griffin on P45 confirms matters somewhat emphatically as being otherwise…
However, the Ulster Bank pair for whatever reason still appears to have been entirely refaced and reroofed in the 1990s, with just the terracotta panels to the gables apparently retained. Without getting a good look at the neighbouring pair, it is possible there’s extensive spalling taking place judging by the first picture.
So it was a fair, if incorrect, conclusion to draw. And Ulster Bank are still turned on by reproduction!
All the bricks and decorative pieces were all numbered taken down and stored and restored off site while it was rebuilt and then reassembled on site again like a giant jigsaw puzzle my mate done the roof
@darkman wrote:
The Green Light has been given to the Dublin Central scheme….could not find a thread on that.
Yep, granted around December 17. 32 conditions.
http://www.tribune.ie/article/2008/dec/21/oreillys-1bn-oconnell-street-scheme-gets-green-lig/?q=Chartered%20Land@Pot Noodle wrote:
All the bricks and decorative pieces were all numbered taken down and stored and restored off site while it was rebuilt and then reassembled on site again like a giant jigsaw puzzle my mate done the roof
Ah thanks for that Pot Noodle. And the site clearance certainly explains the wholesale new appearance.
Alas, only the decorative keystones and teracotta panels were recycled though. The entire facade is definitely modern brick. Strange a facade retention wasn’t employed, however dubious a practice. Upon closer inspection, the original brick next door is in perfect condition, so it wasn’t the brick integrity that was in question anyway.
@jdivision wrote:
Yep, granted around December 17. 32 conditions.
http://www.tribune.ie/article/2008/dec/21/oreillys-1bn-oconnell-street-scheme-gets-green-lig/?q=Chartered%20LandYou’d want half a day free to go through all the stuff on the Corpo website to do with the Carlton site (Reg. no. 2479/08), but from what I can tell, the only design revision directly specified in the Decision to Grant Permission is that the glass canopy roof supports should be removed and replaced by wall brackets basically!
Apart from that, it’s the usual ‘finishes to be agreed in advance with the planning Dept.’ etc. etc.
The Planners report seems to run to over a hundred pages, mostly of padding, but there’s a nice little, two and a half page, report specifically dealing with the Additional Information by an outfit called ‘icon, Architecture, Urban Design, Conservation’ submitted by Fáilte Ireland.
This little report mirrors many of the observation made on Archiseek, only much more concise and bitchy!
Scan of an extract:
The tappered stripes on the Moore Street facade haven’t gone unnoticed, and ‘icon’ are not having that ‘Civic Space’ off O’Connell Street!
@gunter wrote:
Fáilte Ireland report mirrors many of the observation made on Archiseek, only much more concise and bitchy!
The tappered stripes on the Moore Street facade haven’t gone unnoticed, and ‘icon’ are not having that ‘Civic Space’ off O’Connell Street!Lollers, thanks for that gunter 😀
“NOT a civic space”… while Moore St treatment is “a suspect language which suggests fake supports with with meaningless inverted spines”…
Entertaining stuff altogether – matched only by it’s accuracy… McGarry Nà Éanaigh won’t like that…
‘Dublin Central’ has been appealed to the Board. No details yet on pleanala.ie – I’ll post as and when I know more.
@ctesiphon wrote:
‘Dublin Central’ has been appealed to the Board. No details yet on pleanala.ie – I’ll post as and when I know more.
Yeah I’d heard that alright. Fairly inevitable. Let’s hope that the design gets further refined by the process.
Of course the big question will be not whether DC ultimately gets permission or not – but whether injunctions are taken by other commercial interests, delaying and stymieing the regeneration of O’C St … not that that’s ever happened before :rolleyes:
Given the current decrepit state of the country`s finances does anybody really envisage this O Connell St project even progressing to site-work stage within the next 5 years ?
The extent of serious damage to the basic fibre of our Developing and Construction industry by the Sean Fitzpatrick affair alone must have reduced the funding avenues available for this somewhat dubious project ?
@lostexpectation wrote:
thats fantastic, as submitted by failte ireland? written by who exactly?
Written by Philip Geoghegan.
It seems like a much sharper summary of the Carlton (Dublin Central) proposal than I’ve been able to find in the Planning Department’s report! . . . . not like us to be agreeing on things:),
I scanned up the rest of it, there’s some other good stuff in there on Henry St., Parnell St. etc. as well.
ah right that guy former chairman of an taisce
http://www.europanostra.org/lang_uni/juries/geoghegan.htmAn advertising banner has appeared on the blank space beside the Carlton where the faux Quirkeys fascade used to be. Planning have no record of it and won’t start an investigation without more details but I won’t be passing there for a while. Can anyone tell me what the advert is for?
@ctesiphon wrote:
‘Dublin Central’ has been appealed to the Board. No details yet on pleanala.ie – I’ll post as and when I know more.
ABP Reg. Ref.: 232347
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