BTH
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Oh and any argument based on buildings being “good” simply because they stick out like a sore thumb, regardless of the actual design quality is patently bull. Douglas may be a bit of a wilderness architectually but crap like the watergold building only makes matters worse. What really pains me is that a lot of money was obviously lavished on this development and I can only imagine the sort of considered, elegant building any decent architect could have come up with.
By the way, I have been holding my thoughts on this thread for a while until I actually saw the building in the flesh… Now that I have seen it I’m even more amazed (and slightly concerned) that anyone who has had an education in architecture could possibly see any merit in it at all… Sorry if that sounds harsh but thats how I feel!
God that Watergold building is awful… Really, spectacularly, awful… It’s even worse in reality than it looks in the photos as I discovered last weekend… The fact that it is actually an apartment block makes it even more revolting – I can just imagine the wonderful artificially lit corridors. I’m also amazed that there dosent appear to be any private open space whatsoever, no balconies, gardens or otherwise… how did they get away with that??
The roofscape is literally scary, particularly the arched windows, the elevations have no grace, the laws of proportion obviously didn’t have a look in when the window blocks were being pasted in on autocad. Post-Modern architecture only works when the laws of the styles that are being applied are followed. Michael Graves’ work generally succeeds because he respects certain conventions, using bases, pediments etc then having fun within the constraints he sets. Added to that is the fact that he obviously has a good eye for harmony and proportion. And I don’t recall ever seeing a bloody mansard roof in his canon of work either!I agree that much of the floodlighting of buildings in this country is incredibly insensitive, particularly when it comes to attaching light fittings and cabling to beautiful stone facades… What is wrong with the much simpler method of attaching high powered spotlights to lamp-posts, aiming them at the buildings and allowing the architecture to speak for itself. This is the method generally used in both Paris and Barcelona and I’m sure in many other cities and it works perfectly…
Well, I can offer one side of the N.I. perspective! I hail from Tyrone originally though I haven’t lived there for about 8 years now. It’s very hard to go beyond the political and psychological resonance of Stormont to offer an architectural opinion. Suffice to say I wouldn’t be disappointed if I heard it was to be demolished tomorrow… I’ll acknowledge it’s powerful grandeur, fine quality in construction and the fantastic landscaping which adds to the overwhelming feel of the place. However it’ll always be symbolic of the ideal of “Protestant parlaiment for a Protestant people”. Perhaps if the political institutions back home could be re-established the work to turn around that perception in the Nationalist community could continue. However Stormont is still a symbol of oppression. Maybe someday it’ll become the museum piece that it deserves to be and a new assembly building created in which all sections of the community will feel a sense of ownership and belonging. I realise thats a pretty major ambition to have but really N.I. needs as many fresh starts as it can possibly have…
I agree fully – Surely theres bound to be some way to “fix” what was so obviously a poor idea executed incredibly badly. I’m quite fond of the spire as a whole and I’m sure it’ll look fantastic for years to come when all the lighting issues are finally resolved, particularly the general floodlighting. However the base section is a failure that has soured the entire scheme for many. The “patterning” is vile, the change in colour even worse. There MUST be some way to re-do it.
You know I wouldnt mind having one of those going up into my attic! Not terribly pretty but it isn’t awful either… It’s actually quite a nice little bit of engineering and ergonomics. However I’d assume that it would be completely illegal as the main access to the upper floor of a house – The building regs are pretty proscriptive when it comes to stairs…
Heres the picture from Douglas Newman Good’s website. Its a pretty decent 3D rendering which makes the building look OK. The reality however is pretty revolting with loads of cheap and nasty looking grey aluminium detailing and incredibly fussy massing. It may have been a bit more successful if they’d stuck to the palette of materials as shown in the rendering – metal + grey/white stone or render but the Pinkish stone really is horrible and the overall effect is quite kitschy and camp…. Kinda apt considering it’s neighbour 😉
Of course thats just a matter of opinion on my part, but if this is what’s built on O’Connell St I don’t think I’ll ever go near the place again…!
Oh don’t worry Alan, my architectural taste dosent revolve around what the AR publishes every month… Amazing the conclusions some people will jump to 🙂
I agree fully that as a publication it’s pretty weak right now – completely lacking in any meaningful critical writing and seemingly without any agenda other than publishing as many pretty pictures as it can each month…
The publications mentioned, the Irish Architectural Review and the Irish Architecture Awards are good on a purely parochial level – the former suffers from a touch of the AR syndrome – lots of pretty pictures but not much else, whilst the Awards book is the opposite – too many opinions about schemes and not enough visual detail.
20th Century Architecture Ireland if a fine book but stops just when things get interesting – the last project mentioned is O’Donnell Tuomey’s Blackwood Golf club if my memory serves me…
None of these serves the purpose I suggested – to collect together a definitive record – visual, constructional and critical – of the best schemes that contemporary Irish Architecture has to offer. Perhaps in this way those that havent had the access to journals and magazines over the past fifteen years or so would be able to get a better awareness of what’s on offer.Well I have to agree with you there Stira… I guess I’m just tarring all the bloody politicians with the same brush (sometimes they deserve it!)… However just lookin back over old articles I guess I should give Brennan credit for actually questioning the insane sums that were being thrown around for the metro to begin with and forcing a rethink.
Personally I would have preferred a proper underground system for the city centre as well, however I wish they’d just have bitten the bullet and went for one or the other. The Luas/Metro interchanges will be a mess (Stephen’s Green bein the prime example) and its hard to see how they are going to connect Tara St. to the system without some major additional tunneling and track laying! All your other points are totally valid as well, and a National Infrastructure Board is the only way we can take these projects of supreme importance out of the hands of about 4 different organisations each with their own vested interests (CIE, NRA, etc…) and actually get them finished!youre right stira, the pitch is a lot bigger than either, 160m x 100m. Rugby and soccer only need about 100m x 70m so there would probably be a bit too much distance between the edge of the stands and the pitch itself to create a truly great atmosphere…
Being a big fan of Rugby as well as GAA I’m interested to see what becomes of Lansdowne Rd. I think it’s be a great shame if Rugby was ever to move from that venue. Of course it needs a huge amount of money spent on it but the IRFU is bound to have enough money in their coffers and property they could sell off to at least get the ball rolling. The GAA raised well over a third of the finances for Croke park simply by selling corporate boxes and 10 year seats. Coupled with a bit of government subsidy (fairs fair after all..) I’d say they could aim for a decent 50,000 seater stadium on the site which would be more than adequate to accommodate Rugby or Soccer internationals…Croke Park will never be opened up to other sports, and neither should it. As for the issue of tax-payers money being used – a drop in the ocean when you look at over 100 years of development of facilities, fitness, community and pride throughout the entire nation, mostly through sheer hard work and fundraising by the members of the organisation. Why should the GAA and it’s members stand for the pitch at Croke Park being torn to shreds by Rugby games during the winter months? Why should the GAA allow rival games have the benefit of it’s stadium that it has paid for fairly and squarely when it’s fighting the promotional battle against soccer and rugby constantly? It’s total nonsense for anyone to demand this off the GAA.
Croke park is being built to the original plans. It was never intended for the Hill 16 end to become a covered stand simply because there isn’t enough space for it on the site. The Railway line from Connolly to Heuston cuts the corner off which is why the hill was higher on the Cusack side than at the Hogan Side. The new Hill will be steeper, higher capacity, and will include a permanent “Big Screen” at the site of the Nally stand, to cover the Blank wall of the Railway embankment. Personally I’m more than happy thet the Hill will remain, it being by far the most atmospheric part of the stadium. Hopefully I’ll get to watch Tyrone win the Sam McGuire from a similar vantage point in future as I did this year!!
It never ceases to amaze me how the media can jump on an issue and report it to death, seemingly without checking a single fact along the way. The fact is that the port tunnel is designed to a specification equivalent to any similar tunnel in Europe or indeed in Britain, and the issue of the Super – Trailers is totally irrelevant as they should and will be banned from all states in the EU, even Britain due the their excessive weight and the damage that they will cause to existing road surfaces.
Why does everyone fall for the bullshit that Irish Road Hauliage and the media (with their insatiable appetite for controversy however they may find it…) constantly spout?
On the subject of The underground link… Theres one very obvious reason why they figured that the Underground station had to be on the other side of the Green. In order to build a station on the Luas side they would first have to close the Luas stop, rip up all the tracks and dig a really big hole to accommodate it (going by the recognised and way cheaper method of Cut and Cover that will probably be used on the line…). I’d like to see Seamus Brennan or anybody else solving that problem within the budget he’s set for the entire scheme..! Of course the logical thing to have done would be to build the underground section first then the Luas on top…
But Logic seems to be in short supply in the current Irish government, especially when it comes to transport management. And the fact is that the problem was known about years ago when the original idea was to run Luas straight through the city centre along Dawson, Nassau, Grafton and Dolier Streets. Still the best option in many people’s eyes, although the government decided to shelve those plans due to complaints from southside traders that their businesses would be disrupted by the construction… Seems Abbey St. traders didn’t have as much clout eh? And what did they do when the plans were shelved? Did they have a valid, sensible alternative? No, they decided to worry about it later and go ahead building the Luas so it would be all nice and shiny and new, just in time for the next general election…
And of course the RPA has to pick up the pieces of this purely political decision and attempt to make some sense of the nonsense of having people travelling North through the city having to get off their trams and transfer to another system at Stephen’s Green. The more you think about it the more stupid it seems. So before you go praising Brennan, spare a thought for the decisions he and his cronies made in the recent past that have caused this mess. And for more information on Dublin’s transport system and how politics has strangled the city you should read the infrastructure chapter of Frank McDonald’s “The Construction Of Dublin”. Or try http://www.platform11.org which is great for showing up how woeful the system in Dublin actually is and comes up with some fascinating and seemingly very feasable alternatives.
Theres no doubting the success of the Shop St. pedestrianisation as a concept and it works for me aesthetically, consisting of simple cobble style concrete pavers in a uniformly natural tone with large “blocks” of light granite paving framed in darker stone which are regularly spaced along the length of the streets involved. It’s a simple and elegant solution from a design point of view, which is a comment I think could be applied to the Eyre Square scheme also.
My only issue with the project however is the execution… I’m led to believe that large sections of paving had to be replaced quite soon after the completion of the scheme due to pavers cracking and subsiding under the weight of delivery trucks which rumble up and down the street every morning. It seems to me that a lot of the concrete pavers are laid only on a very weak bed of cement, if not on a sand cement mix, driveway style. There seems to be quite a lot of movement, especially at the Quay St. / Spanish arch end of the pedestrianised area.
Another issue is the lack of care that is taken of the area by the people who use it. Truck drivers regularly uproot bollards and stainless steel flagpoles are constantly covered with stickers and flyers. Its a great shame and can really take away from the look of the place. The other small grumble is the lack of bins along the street and again the abuse of the stainless steel surfaces on the ones that are there! If only steel could be invented that was really stainless, and imperveous to the assorted glues and tapes that get applied to it on Irish streets!
However, due credit to the City Council who do their best to repair damage and who do a great job on cleaning the street every morning. It’s a wonderful thoroughfare, not yet completely overrun with chainstores and with a very unique character which has probably been enhanced by the pedestrianisation scheme. Try it on a saturday afternoon on a sunny day with a crepe from the market… It dosent get much better!
The saga of the Eyre square renewal scheme rumbles on… Stirring up yet more controversy along the way, even here!
The current proposals by Mitchell & Associates is an extremely well considered, thoughtful approach to the current problems of eyre square. This is their second scheme for the square, havng revised their proposals to accommodate all of the trees of worth that are currently in the square following criticism from some quarters. The layout and circulation proposals – including the arc connecting the two major hubs of the Shop St. corner and the Railway/Bus stations, the relocation of the “sail” sculpture and the creation of level terraces of lawn to counteract the slope of the square – are all sensibly and elegantly resolved and will add immeasurably to the quality of Galway’s urban environment.
Images and plans of this layout can be found at the following:
Eyre Sq PDF
There are however some quarters in which this proposal is not so popular, particularly in the local media. Newspaper story after story has come down on the scheme and misinformation is rife. Recent claims in certain papers would have you believe that there won’t be a tree left standing in the square, that the whole space is to be concreted over, that the trees that are to be planted will be dead within months etc etc… Its disgraceful and very frustrating that such ignorance can hold up such an important scheme.
Even more frustrating is the fact that many of the people of Galway seem to be falling for the crap that is being spouted by the few. The model of the scheme was being displayed in the Eyre Sq. Shopping Centre a few months back. It drew great crowds and was extremely convincing in displaying the benefits of the scheme. However the amount of comments along the lines of “those trees arent going to be that height for 50 years” or “Thats not really going to be grass” was ridiculous! This despite the fact that it was clearly written on display boards that new trees are to be semi-mature and of at least 5m high before planting, that lawn area would in fact be greater than is there currently etc. etc.
And the latest twist in the tale is this unsolicited (except by the cranks who are hoping to undermine the official proposal)scheme proposing to reconfigure the square into the shape of the claddagh ring… the heart shaped lawn and the statue of Padraig O’Connaire at the crown… Unfortunately I can’t find any images of this scheme because I’m sure it would give you all a great laugh! I have never seen anything more kitch or twee in my life, right down to the “celtic patterns” inlaid into the paving around the edges of the square… It even proposed the retention of trees which are currently dead! The only trouble is, this amateurish and fundamentally flawed scheme has received acres of coverage in the local press and even or RTE News as mentioned. And again, a lot of locals who are being fed only misinformation are falling for it and saying “Sure wouldn’t it be lovely” and all the rest. the lowest common denominator always having a certain appeal…
So this is where the situation stands at the moment. We have the City council on one side getting ready to move in, cut down the trees that need to be removed, and get to work on turning what is now an eyesore into something Galway can be proud of. On the other side we have the local media, the assorted cranks and crusties and everyone else who has been fooled into believing their bullshit who are getting ready to “resist” by tying themselves to trees and lying in front of bulldozers… It’s pathetic.
And by the way, I have nothing to do with the City Council or the architects involved (in case I sound too enthusiastic about the whole thing!). I’m a student of architecture, back in Uni in Dundee this year, but who has lived and worked in Galway City Centre for the previous two years. I walked through Eyre Square every morning and had my lunch there on many afternoons, despite the fact that it’s currently a shithole quite frankly! Something needs to be done urgently and I’m convinced that the current Mitchell Associates proposals are worthy of the city. Lets just get on with it for god’s sake!!They look pretty good to me… I don’t get where the “cheap” and “ugly” jibes are coming from. There are many many similar examples throughout Barcelona (though none as dynamic looking as these) which work perfectly – The pavement illumination in this case comes from a vertical strip of light running up the side of the main support.
Its now just about complete and looking quite spectacularly good. The drama of the copper sails has been well balanced out with a completely mad looking entrance ramp complete with a stretched fabric canopy in a very complementary shade of purple. It reaches out from the plainer side of the building towards the road and coupled with a great bit of landscaping the overall composition is very successful. Ive had a couple of glimpses inside and it looks just as spectacular (and eccentric!) as the exterior. I’ll have to pop out and take a few pics…
