The cladding although a bit bare is supposed to look like a book shelf with different width books (vertical elements) on shelves (horizontal elemnts).
But I have to agree the views from inside trinity are much better than the nassau street facade. The side facing on to the pitch to the south is heavly glazed.
I certainly hope that the project goes ahead, a project by Libeskind in Ireland would be a small step to attracting other international interest, something that is in short supply in the country.