Over Use of Brick in Dublin
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Exposed finely detailed concrete is a beautiful material. Playing with different aggregates and cements gives a large pallette of colours and textures. Ian Ritchie has used exposed concrete to wonderful effect on the Jubillee Line exhaust shafts in London Docklands (sorry no images).
Brick/masonry is probably an underused material not explored to its limits. When one just thinks about what Gaudi did with masonry it shows we are limited only by our imagination.
Masonry has a wonderful heritage in Ireland. The dry stone walling of the west of Ireland, the cottages, Dun Aengus in Aran, Clonmacnois… the list is endless. Maybe we should consider it as more than a cladding material and make it truely expressive…………
John: re. University Church
There is a history of the Church available – unfortunately I don’t know what it’s called or who wrote or publishes it. But if it’s any help, I saw it in Eason’s on O’Connell Street, in the small section on Irish Architecture just as you go in the far right door. Might as well have a look there!
Siobhán.Seriously there is some really good work being done with brick on a domestic scale in may of the suburbs in Dublin 4 & 6. Usually down back mews lanes, there are a couple of fine houses near Waterloo Road [dont ask me where exactly… I was drunkenly wandering home pas them]
Further to this conversation and my other posting about ‘Decoration’ and the lack of.
I love that ornate Venetian/byzantine style building in Dublin.
Which one? Try looking on Westmoreland Street. Where you wouldn’t expect and some wouldn’t even notice. The Amusement Arcade in the bottom of it is quite a distraction.
I wonder when they’ll demolish that?
John
I see the O’Donnell Tuomey, Ranelagh Multidenominational School has been put forward for the Stirling Prize.
Does it look more impressive in reality than the photo suggests to me?
It looks pretty crap to my eyes.
John
the award shortlist is on linewith some nice photos,
and on-line voting
…. so go ahead make their day!I think brick was used in a lot of 1970’s buildings, esp. in Lower Mount Street, and kind of makes the use of it seem inadvisable. The truth is that these buildings were probably designed on a lower budget with pre-cast concrete originally intended as the cladding material. When the budget was increased and/or they realised they would get P.P. with brick instead, that is what they decided to use. The problem is usually with the design and not the brick. Polished Granite isn’t so bad. I think a few good examples of brick use include the new foyer and fronting square in UCD Blackrock, Co. Dublin. The library next to this is also aside this space.
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