Roches Stores, Henry Street, Dublin
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The revamped store is nearing completion… I think the opening date is Nov 4. Today they are laying paving around the store on Henry St. And guess what,while it is the high quality grantite slabs used on the street there is no effort to keep to the pattern used perviously of pink stone surrounded by granite…. attention to detail and all that.
Mind you an article in the City Life section of Tues Indo asked why we were spending such huge sums on lovely quality paving when the slabs were being sug up as quick and replaced with tarmac. And when you look at (the €2m repaved) Henry St you can see what the writer meant. Still at least its all level…unike our roads!! Well done lads!
Its the only street in the city thats a pleasure to walk on in terms of ‘levelness’, the row of cobbling along the shopfronts is also nice.
The speed at which Roches’ interior is coming along is incredible, pity the same contractors weren’t hired for Luas! And the new centered entrance al last gives something back to the street, as do the new windows and canopy.
And I have to admit, in the dark and rain yesterday, the building did look amazing in all of it’s newness, the halogens inside sparking through the new glass corners and lights glittering through the projecting window at the top of the building.Yeah – I was really impressed (again) by it the other day. Come back to me in six months though when the clean exterior has had a bit of exposure to Dublin’s quality air.
They’ve started to open up the interior of the building, new escalator atrium opens up the 5 floors of retails space quite well – still a bit of a mess down there but improving nicely.
Sure the store will be soleless but at least it will be 21st century soleless and not 1960s soleless that was there before!
I think it looks remarkable! As other people have mentioned I am kind of worried about how it will look a few years down the line when the concrete starts to deteriorate. There are so many concrete overhangs. I wonder will they have problems with falling masonary come 20-30 years like a few other buildings ’round the city atthe moment!!
some parts of it are very cool for a shop (possibly too cool?) but its one of those buildings that pains you because it has some really nice parts and then the whole is let down by, either laziness or lack of design ability.
have to commend roches for putting in the effort, facade possibly too black for the street tho
I have always liked the facade. People have compared it to an ocean liner. That is what I like about it!
The mass of scaffolding slowly growing over the Ilac centre is also good news. Hopefully they have come up with a really stylish replacement for the entire existing mall…
Might be Pierse, not sure.
Was in there yesterday having a nose around – like everyone else – and was bowled over by a soaring new atrium going up the 4/5 floors of the shop, riddled with escalators etc.Pretty impressive. Done on the cheap as all the floor edges and the undersides of the escalators are completly featureless, just clean-cut plaster. Other stores always put halogens or some type of snazzy lighting in these architectural spaces.
Dosn’t look cheap though – they’re using the ‘less is more’ excuse.Roches do have a pretty good record with their interiors – a few years ago they gutted their flagship store (their 1st, the big yellow one in Cork) and created as Grahan described for the Henry Street one, a large atrium. Decent quality restaurant (quality of materials that is) and each concession given it’s own look. A vast improvement on what it was before. They certainly compare more favourably over another Irish retailer…
so what do people think of roches since theyve had a chance to walk around the place?
its seems to have done the trick from a commercial point of view its always packed to the rafters. pretty snazzy glass sheet tvs hanging from the roof. the restaurant projecting is a relly nice idea but i think its ruined by being a little mean in the width department. good view from the top. theres two redundant spaces above each of the corner entrances, or a re these going to be used for displaying later?
all in all its growing on me, especially at an oblique angle down the street. still think the facade is a little inarticulated but hey..
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