St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin

anyone got any final pics of what the building beside the fitzwilliam hotel will look like ??

I passed the completed structure during the week, I am in two minds about it on the one hand it is a decent enough design on the other hand should anything have been built there that wasn’t fully screened?

@Rory W wrote:

It’s finished now and the tenents Bank of Scotland (Ireland) are in. Almost 30 years after the the rampage started Stephen’s green is whole again. – now please start pulling down the crap on the south side of the Green (KPMG, old Dept of Justice, Canada House, Hainult House for starters)

There is shuttering up around the old department of Justice, so it shouldn’t be too long before something happens on that one, there is a plan for Canada House and I’m sure KPMG has been in play for a while given the sites has a very low site coverage ratio and depressing architecture.

so the bad thing about the BoS building is that ugly fussing with the curved glass; they should have just stepped the building line like the other buildings on this side; the colour isn’t great either, but what is great is that completely unexpected long view down the side corridor with the illuminated panel at the end; i love it, i am just afraid that someone will ruin the effect with a potted plant.

Did anyone see the almost full page article on the Bank of Scotland building in FMD’s architecture page in todays times.

It gave it the review it deserved, money very well spent.

@Graham Hickey wrote:

Almost fawning 🙂

But rightly so – although I see what people mean about the clunky glazing curve: it would have been so elegant with the use of curved glass.
But it is how the building fills that hole on the Green that’s the most satisfying part of its completion – the gradual stepping back of all the buildings into the distance when viewed from Grafton St looks great.
Draws your eye away from the Stephen’s Green Centre too 🙂

I still remember the story on RTE radio the morning ‘A house with strong connections to Daniel O’Connell has been illegally demolished’ obviously nothing was going to bring it back in 1985 Dublin but this building is definitely the best possible outcome. It pains me to say this but I am glad that the site stayed vacant for most of that period as very few groups would have designed such an appropriate building for such a tricky site and it is also highly unlikely that any speculative attempt would have come close to it.. Steping a building into that particular spot must have taken serious thought and there is no comparison between this perfectly judged scheme and BKD’s admirable extension to the Lucent Technologies (ABN-AMRO) building.

An interesting view of this building is through the entrance to the Stephens Green Shopping Centre Car Park, this building has buckets of space but shaved off quite a lot in the 5% of the footprint that could have mired the project for years.

The plant in the corridor has thankfully departed the stage after its three day residency and yes the scale of corridor can be appreciated much more easily without it. 😀

The set back could have been executed a little better but I think it is fair to say that it provides a very decent template for high end infill at a sensitive location that delivers both Grade A space that will attract a rental level premium in the market and delivers a good result in architectural terms for the City.

I hope that similar results follow on other buildings such as the RSA building on Dawson St and this building’s immediate neighbour Hainault House which along with Stokes Place and 25 Stephens Green are the only real re-development objectives left on the Green.

The original proposal was for an extra three storeys above the parapet level (an eight storey building altogether). But it was reduced to what you see now after 3rd party objections.

<a href="http://www.dublincity.ie/swiftlg/apas/run/WPHAPPDETAIL.DisplayUrl?theApnID=4867/04&theTabNo=2&backURL=Search%20Criteria%20>%20Dept. of Justice redevevelopment application

10/6/2007

Just some pics of Number 75 at night.

It doesn’t seem to change colour – maybe it’s a different colour each night?

Also its substantial rear, facing onto the NCH.

And for what its worth, the uncoordinated patchwork quilt of Iveagh House a few plots further down. What a shame – it’s almost there.

I can’t see a case for redevelopment; the front blocks both have basements and Block C to the rear is already 7 or 8 storeys given it starts 1.5 levels down; the existing parking provision is extremely attractive and would no doubt be scaled down dramatically if redeveloped. To make it pay would involve a complete rewriting of the building line for the square which would not be without much opposition one thinks.

This observer sees a reletting probably in blocks or even floors of blocks or possibly a 12 month refurb and then a reletting as a substantial corporate HQ complex.

The KPMG complex at Stokes Place is a much more attractive prospect for redevelopment to my mind.

Good photos Graham; this type of lighting makes a very positive contribution and highlights much of what is good about mixed use development; in the City of London you rarely see such lighting because come 6pm the place is only frequented by workaholics scurrying home and does not see much leisure or tourist traffic.