South Great George’s Street
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This building Stephen?
If anyone’s walking through the Castle grounds, be warned – the unassuming pedestrian is likely to experience heart failure upon turning into the Dubhlinn Gardens:
😮
Frightening how quickly these went up – not quite sure what to make of it all. Not so much the impact on the Coach House as it is little more than a sham anyway, but the stone cladding of the new buildings looks rather vulgar – like the tiling of one of these crass four star hotels in the news at the minute, or the flooring of a flash shopping centre.
Wonder would Victoria be satistifed with the view from her bedroom window this time round? 😉
Wow, that’s pretty shocking alright – but on the other hand it could have been a whole lot worse! It’ll be interesting to see how those balcony things along the top work out (at the moment it sort of looks like a take on the “battlement” idea), but otherwise it seems to be of at least reasonable quality – much like the rest of the scheme. Are these apartments or offices?
typed in error.
i am shocked myself. one can picture the newer building saying “move out of the way” to the older one.
I think that such a high proportion of tinted glazing was ill considered in such close proximity to a stone structure and given that what you see is in fact lower than what was proposed it is actually better than it might have been. It would be interesting to compare how far the building line moved towards the stone structure in this development. Does anyone have any archive photos?
In relation to the retail element I am a little disappointed by Dunnes use of the window displays and general shop fitout; they have a lot to learn from habitat; I am however glad that they will occupy their City HQ as opposed to their propsed edge-city move.
I have no photos, but the corner of the new dunnes building on Georges st/Stephen st is starting to look very well now with the hoarding down.
The new retail areas on georges st and stephen st on the ground floor, should provide that part of the street with some well needed new life.Here is the new corner as nearing completion:
Most impressive, if the left-hand facade rather flimsy looking in comparison. Still, its thin, suspended appearace when viewing the sweep as a whole is elegant.
The acknowledgement of the Victorian’s storeys and parapet with graceful curved floors integrates the two quite well.
Very striking forms created – I think this is a good example of where the use of expansive glazing is not a lazy choice, as is increasingly the case of late.
When one compares this comparitively minor scheme with the prominent site beside City Hall, it paints even more starkly the leaden, stodgy, cumbersome monolith that crucial site has been dealt.
NEW BUILDINGS AT THE JUNCTION OF CHANCERY LANE AND GOLDEN LANE
To avoid starting a new thread I’ll put these here, as they are quite close to George’s Street.
The L-shaped street Chancery Lane, which links Bride Street and Golden Lane, has been almost completely rebuilt over the past two years or so. These buildings (above) are at the top end. I think the scale is appropriate. It’s fine to go higher here because it’s in a ‘no man’s land’ between Dublin Castle and St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
And stepping down to existing buildings adjoining – nice to see a bit of manners!!
The buildings are coordinated too. The architecture may be fairly standard with a few ‘hi-spec’ touches, but you’re not looking for Pritzker prize material here – you just need a decent standard of backdrop to the historic ‘character areas’ that adjoin (castle & cathedral).
This is what repair of the city should be about imo – respecting the surroundings, achieving coordination and going higher where appropriate – not the awful results we’ve seen in some places. I know I’ve gone on about it before, but the dog’s dinner of unrelated new buildings at the junction of Ardee St & the Coombe bypass is my favourite.
Feature ‘wedgy bit’.
While i agree with your point about height, I find them completely bland and uninteresting. I’m also curious at this new trend of leaving cladding in between windows. Is there a reason for this. It also appears to be proposed for Arnotts. I think it looks absolutely terrible.
Compared to what you’ll find in glossy architecture books, they may be “bland and uniteresting” but compared with the masses of apartments that have filled the city (especially around this area – Christchurch, Patrick St, etc.) during the last 15 years, this looks like a big step up.
@jdivision wrote:
I’m also curious at this new trend of leaving cladding in between windows. Is there a reason for this. It also appears to be proposed for Arnotts.
It’s just another way of breaking up the facade when there’s a large site to be filled.
Yep – by and large this area is coming along very well with block infill development of a decent standard. Crucially, the buildings relate to their context appropriately, including the nice little 1950ish Corpo blocks across the road, which admittedly are probably for the chop soon if a decision is made not to refurbish them. The height, massing and stepping down is finely tuned for once.
Personally I don’t have a problem with cladding between floors if it’s executed well, such as with a refined ‘louvre course’ or similar – but certainly blank plastic panels, still unbelievably cropping up everywhere in window apertures, are a big no no.
As an aside, note how the 1950s concrete lampposts on that little street off Golden Lane help ground the awkwardly immature development into its context. Features like these make all the difference in helping to establish new structures, creating a sense of place and familiarity while the new builds find their feet and begin to generate an identity of their own that people can connect with. Alas, like everywhere else, they’ll more than likely just vanish when a gas main has to be rerouted
The other end of Chancery Lane. I wonder what will be built on the derelict site (on the right) where the Napper Tandy pub was.
Also worth noting in the area is this recently built block (centre).
Together with the Adelaide Square complex, it frames a new view of St. Patrick’s spire. Nice views make me smile.
That new block is an extension to Adelaide Square, I don’t like the grey balconies but otherwise it looks good.
By the way an application is up in the Dunnes Homestore window for a sizable extension (nearly 400 sq m if memory serves) of the shop into the office space behind. I wonder if they’re planning to put drapery in there. I hope they don’t move the homewares to the back as it’s a good shop and the window displays add to the street.
That application (5941/06) was declared invalid: insufficient information on site notice, invalid newspaper notice, sub-minimum submission of plans, drawings, elevations etc, and insufficient Conservation Method Statement to support an application for change to a protected structure.
Computer Says No.
@jdivision wrote:
I wonder if they’re planning to put drapery in there. I hope they don’t move the homewares to the back as it’s a good shop and the window displays add to the street.
The displays certainly seemed to have attracted a pigeon today at lunchtime, spotted browsing through the soft furnishings. I guess it’s not only cash-rich/time-poor Dubs who like a bargain…;)
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