O’ Connell Street, Dublin

17/4/2011

So I see the redevelopment application for the corner of O’Connell Street and Henry Street has been referred to Further Information by Dublin City Council, who are seeking clarification on a number of matters. Nonetheless, it is clear from the tone of the planner’s report they have got what they wanted – demolition of the Victorian building on the corner with Henry Place and the Georgian building in the middle. Only the 1750 corner building at Nos. 68-69 O’Connell Street Upper is likely to be retained.

Given the overwhelming weight of development pressure from within DCC, it is understandable, if depressing, that the Further Information only relates to consolidating the conservation gain for the important corner building and not the wider outstanding questions about this proposal. Sadly, the pleas of others in the Council for retention of all buildings, including the case planner one suspects, are not reflected in the planning assessment. Even a rigorous assessment of the viability of level floorplates spanning across a contemporary infill building and a retained Victorian corner has not been asked for, never mind a design option for better interpreting this ‘war-torn collection of buildings’ as the Conservation Officer suggested. This is not just unfortunate: it is simply unacceptable. And not exclusively from a conservation point of view either, but from an architectural perspective also. How can we promote challenging, creative design in Dublin – as espoused by DCC’s freshly lodged bid for World Design Capital 2014 – if we simply demolish existing stock without even questioning the possibility of dynamic synergies? This typifies the lack of clout – and the commonplace lack of understanding – of the architectural profession.

The latter is further exposed by the City Architects Division’s and the Conservation Officer’s respective submissions stating that the proposed new building should be predominantly of brick, rather than the overly complex and distinctly bling approach proposed by the project architects. As I stated here previously, this is a far more appropriate option for re-interpreting this modest infill site on a predominantly brick street. The building should not take its design cue from the attention-grabbing neoclassicism of O’Connell Street, but from the measured reticence of Henry Street. Again, not on ‘conservation’ grounds, but on grounds of good urban design principles.

The Further Information rigorously picks through the proposals for the retained corner building, requiring retention of its distinctive plan form and further research be conducted into its original layout, clarification of design approaches between ‘old and new’, revised approaches to services passing through the building, retention of a proposed part-chopped out corner chimneystack, and a more traditional shopfront befitting of ‘Number 1 Sackville Mall’ which I fully concur with. Feck off with your imported stone lads – let’s get some classy indigenous timber craft going here.

If there is a single thread of humour here, it is the submission from the Griffin Group of Londis fame, World Class Leaders in the Field of Unauthorised Development of Convenience Stores: Specialising in Architectural Conservation Areas. They object, no less, to this development on the grounds of ‘Damage to the historic fabric of central Dublin City’, in particular the buildings’ ‘nostalgic and emotional significance’ and their being located in an Architectural Conservation Area. You couldn’t concoct this stuff if you tried.

Manahan Planning also submitted in a similar vein on behalf of Bulter’s Chocolates, The Body Shop. Korky’s Shoes and others, devoting most of their submission to conservation philosophy no less! It’s hilarious how business interests can turn on the rose water when they want to get one over on the big guys, especially in this case with the applicant being AIB. Unfortunately the conservation approach outlined is not particularly well informed and is something of a disservice to the submission.

In other O’Connell Street news, Eason is getting in on the trend to turn Dublin into World Landfill Capital 2011 by erecting a giant banner across their facade advertising their wares, in contravention of ACA policies. As if the store wasn’t cheap enough, they’ve just brought it down to a whole new level. One hopes it doesn’t fit in with Eason’s managing director, Conor Whelan’s, vision for turning around the chain by making it more up-to-date and improving its image through investing €20 million in store refurbishments and IT. What a way to start the process.

Nonetheless, never did the flagship O’Connell Street store need a makeover – it’s horribly dated, cluttered, cheap and incoherent. The new business plan intends to integrate all aspects of the business’s product lines more seamlessly into each other, so rather than ‘departments’ of books, cards, stationary etc, they would bring it all together, and more coherently branded through ‘merchandising, signage, lighting, shop flow, cross merchandising – the whole atmospherics’. They hope to refurb a trial store this year – here’s hoping the O’Connell Street outlet will be one of the first.

25/4/2011

On Easter Sunday just past, O’Connell Street served with dignity its now annual role as host to the Commemoration of the 1916 Rising – this year marking its 95th anniversary. The deep enclosure of the GPO plaza surrounded by distinguished lime trees affords dignity to the setting of the ceremony – a function envisaged by Dublin City Council as part of the initial planning of the space in the late 1990s.

Aerial views of the plaza during the event captured the eye-catching pattern of the square contemporary setts of the carriageway, beautifully evoking the historic setts that paved the roadway outside the GPO in 1916. It is a shame this effect is not appreciable from ground level.

In assessing an event of this nature on a forum of this kind, one must primarily focus on the nuts and bolts of its presentation. But it is also the civic character of the occasion, the ceremonial of State, the deployment of the urban environment as stage set to public pageantry, and of course the commemorative function of the event itself, that all help to shape the tone and nature of the proceedings. In this respect, it is probably fair to say that the host location, as now evidenced on a yearly basis, far exceeds the standards applied to the ceremony itself.

Troops from various divisions of the Defence Forces are aligned on the carriageway in front of the GPO, as well as on the pavement flanking the portico.

While the Army Band occupy a by now well established position encircling Jim Larkin.

Beyond them (in the background) the median of the plaza is occupied by senior government representatives including the Cabinet, probably senior members of the judiciary, and high ranking members of the Defence Forces.

In a carefully cheorographed sequence, the Minister for Defence is always the first to arrive, followed by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, followed by the Taoiseach, and finally the President. (When competing heads of state are involved in these sequences, quite the farce can often ensue, as occured between Margaret Thatcher and François Mitterrand before the European Council Summit in 1990, as both endlessly encircled Dublin Castle trying to out-do each other in the late arrivals stakes. I can’t remember who blinked first).

An Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

Lord Mayor Councillor Gerry Breen.

And finally An Uachtarain Mary McAleese approaches with a Presidential Escort of Honour, comprised of thirty motorcycles that are usually drawn from the 2nd Cavalry Squadron of the Cavalry Corps.

The former famous bright blue motorcycles were replaced with these deep green Honda models three years ago. Personally I don’t think they have nearly the same effect, while the loss of connection to the vibrant blue of the Blue Hussars mounted escort is of considerable shame. Another element of civic continuity thrown by the wayside.

And the car itself. De Valera’s 1947 Rolls Royce is largely only used for inaugurations. Curiously, the Taoiseach’s Mercedes always seems to have flashing blue lights, but the President’s doesn’t.

The Tricolour always mounted on the left and the Presidential Standard on the right.

As ever, the President got the loudest applause on arrival, in contrast to the weak reception of the other dignitaries. And not just loud, but thoroughly warm – applause reserved for somebody above politics. Which doesn’t say much for politics.

All in all, a distinguished event – one that is considerably added to by the salutes, laments and anthems of the Army Band. Indeed a little more by them during the ceremony certainly wouldn’t go amiss.

Unfortunately, it really is the standards we set ourselves for managing and presenting events of this kind that so let us down. For example, why does O’Connell Street have to be turned into a giant galvanised dipping plant on Easter Sunday?

The giant steel barriers with army plastic thrown over them, believe it or not, are the entrance gates for dignitaries, which are hastily pulled apart when they arrive! Yet this is by now a long-established event – a civic event at that – so why isn’t there more appropriate infrastructure in place for it? The same purpose-designed elements could be used for countless civic occasions and should be in the possession of Dublin City Council or the Garda to be rolled out as required.

The same can be said even of the plaza at the GPO itself. Embarrassingly, even here galvanised metal pens are used to surround the ceremonial site. A cattle shed has more dignity. Again, in most European cities elegant timber or metal fencing is held in the possession of the city authority and brought out for civic events. Indeed, the question has to be asked, why wasn’t temporary ceremonial furniture designed as part of the O’Connell Street project? Presumably for the same reason why a multitude of design elements for the street never came into being.

Likewise, the positioning if the large screens – incidentally with 16:9 aspect ratio mushed into 4:3 – is nothing short of a farce. They are dumped by Mongey Communications, complete with associated paraphernalia, speakers and control units, slung over with plastic tarpaulins, in front of the GPO itself!

Who on earth manages these events? Evidently someone who excels in organising the Killorglin Puck Fair. What’s even worse is that the screens aren’t even positioned for the benefit of the public, but rather apparently for ease of draping cables through the window of the parcel office behind. Can you just image the Queen standing at the Cenotaph with a pair of giant plastic-wrapped Mongey screens looming down on her? This is primitive stuff chaps.

And need it be confirmed?

A rank of Woodies domestic plastic planters ‘dresses’ the ceremony. No really… honestly… who are these people?

And the icing on the cake – where does the ceremonial wreath go after the event? You guessed it!

Marvellously versatile things these Woodies planters. They can host everything from petunias on your patio to, er, State wreaths under the portico of the General Post Office. The cut out plastic ribbon-on-a-roll is a particularly eloquent touch.

Is this what they died for? Jaysus, they’d sooner expire for Queen and Country than be honoured like this. Truly, the dignity of Irish State ceremonial knows no bounds.

Annnyway, it’s genuinely lovely to see O’Connell Street used in a truly civic way. Some fine tuning and it will soon be worth writing home about.