Devin
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There’s been a crusade on the forum over the past few months – I don’t know if the people involved are aware how obvious it is – to ‘put pressure on’ for hi-rise, and try’n create the impression to those in influence who might be looking in that there is a large demand for high rise, and that we need to “catch up†with other international cities by pushing through any high building plans quickly. These sentiments have been made, in the large part, without any accompanying discrimination in regard to quality, appropriateness of location and response to the city’s existing structure and identity.
A small number of people, using multi-IDs (and perhaps organising others here or abroad to register and say the same thing) have been coming in and expressing essentially the same sentiment as ‘Irishatheart’ above.
None of these advocates have presented any rigorous arguments as to why all of the high-rise building proposals presented thus far should be given planning approval and built promptly, as they want. The standard flimsy argument is that ‘other cities have high buildings – why can’t we?’ and (fallaciously), that high rise would stop urban sprawl.
@Paul Clerkin wrote:
[Ellis Quay]
Don’t think much of this but lightyears better than the block to the left of it.I don’t think much of it much myself – the corner feature is a bit meaningless (is it supposed to relate to the Calatrava Bridge, which is beyond the next building?).
The former Phoenix Cinema is part of the holding. They originally sought to demolish it for the new development. An Taisce Dublin City expressed concern, mainly because of – as Thomas Cooley says – the unusual interior. It was subsequently retained. The exterior is very plain, but in old photos you can see that it had plaster decoration.
Get out of it!! 😀 That is the most pathetically see-through disguise I’ve yet seen.
Seriously, this business of regulars taking on new IDs to indulge their pet gripe will have to stop! (though it is only a small minority)
Some towns are worse than others though, & the sash is nearly extinct in Longford.
On closer inspection the top floor window is some kind of early-20th cen. casement. Still, you’re theory holds.
…nice crumbly old chimney..
Graham Hickey wrote:The white above is attractive alright – though the window above equally so ]One of the very few buildings in Longford with sash windows surviving:
Nice, but it’s a pity about the loss of the original window & door frames / trim. The replacement is not sympathetic to the front at all.
This is an example of the same thing in Longford Town; a nice vitrolite front with (unusually) white panels down the sides, but with unsympathetic ’70s door / window aluminium inserts. It used to be a butcher shop but has been closed now for a while. I gave a talk on shopfront design last week in Longford and mentioned it … said the front should be repaired and incorporated should the shop reopen:
GRATTAN BRIDGE KIOSK IN PVC SHOCK
Yes, it’s true. A PVC sliding door has just been fitted to one of the kiosks (a blinds shop). Sorry to be negative but nothing is going right about these kiosks, is it? On the positive side, at least we were spared Georgian glazing strips.
This has already been covered on a multitude of threads. Do you use the ‘search’ at all? (on the top right)
Hi,
have a look here:
http://www.dublincity.ie/business_services/planning/development_plan_2011/index.aspAlso here:
http://www.spggda.ie/Trams in Bordeaux use underground powering as well – no overhead wires. This is what should be done for Luas through College Green … would cost a bit more but would definitely be worth it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_level_power_supplyIreland is the most car-dependent society in the world. We need to be doing everything we can to get car-use down.
HERE’S HOW MUCH WE DEPEND ON OUR CARS
The extent of our car dependence is quite startling.
New research shows that if people could not use their own car to commute, a majority (58pc) would get a lift and 8pc would even change jobs.
The RAC findings show that on average, commuters would be willing to travel for about 15 minutes more than they do at present.
They’d be prepared to put up with a commute of more than 50 minutes.
Even if car-commuting time doubled nearly half (46pc) would allow more time for travel with 23pc using other routes. Just 7pc would use public transport.
The news comes as another Car Free Day comes along on Monday and in the wake of a recent report Transport Investment and Economic Development which claims Ireland is the most car-dependent society in the world.
Four-in-10 living in rural Ireland do not even have a basic bus or rail service, leaving them wholly dependent on the car for their mobility, according to a recent Government survey. One quarter are unable to make important trips due to a lack of transport.
Last night RAC Ireland chief Robert Taylor said: “Car Free Day highlights the need for a better public transport system, it unfairly shows car users as the bad guy, which isn’t the case.
“People are wedded to their cars for practical reasons. In many cases people don’t have a choice of an alternative means of transport to get to work, or those living in remote areas don’t have a public transport system to avail off”.
He added: “Due to major expansion in our towns and cities, public transport has not kept pace with the demands for transport.”
The DTO annual report showed 60pc of commuters opted for the car as their first choice of transport.
– Irish Independent Motoring Supplement, September 19th 2003
. . 
Some more pictures of the Dunnes site pre-redevelopment to augment ctesiphon’s view.
One of the demolished facades on George’s Street had an extraordinary cracking pattern in the plaster (top right pic), like a dried lakebed. At first glance you thought it was part of the finish.
@hutton (on ‘Planning chief warns of scant regard for design’) wrote:
…..[The Chairman of An Bord Pleanala] said many…proposals involved the “unnecessary demolition of older buildings” that formed part of a streetscape and made an “essential contribution” to the character of a town….
© The Irish Times – Fri, Oct 21, 05
While broadly speaking ABP are one of the few planning bodies in Ireland to take planning seriously, the above comment does make me ask why the Thomas St. building was passed for demolition by the Bord…
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Originally posted by Graham Hickey (as file)
. . . 
We’ve established that the magnificent 1930s concrete Art Deco lamps which once lined (primarily) the main streets of what is now the O’Connell Street IAP area were removed wholesale in the late-’70s, except for a cluster around College Street / D’Olier Street, and, scandalously, that several more were removed within the last five years: the two seen on College Street outside the now Wesin Hotel in the top left picture, which were replaced with ‘heritage reproduction’ (the top right picture shows the heritage repros being put in) – a piece of official cultural vandalism – and two more on O’Connell Bridge, one of which is seen in the above picture (the other having been in the same position on the other side of the bridge).
I think it is reasonable to suggest that the two on O’Connell Bridge that had survived up to this time had lost their context; they were just two leftovers at the south end of the bridge and did not relate to anything else in the vicinity. Given this, the obvious thing to do was to carefully lift and relocate them so as to consolidate the surviving cluster on College Street / D’Olier Street, where they looked so good next to the stone and brick buildings, NOT simply remove and/or destroy (?) them.
What happened to these lamps removed in recent years? It’s our city – we have a right to know. If anyone in lighting (Plug? Eric Woods? or anyone else) knows or could find out what happened to them, or indeed the bulk removal of 25 yrs ago, it would be very helpful.
Interestingly, when you see pre-1916 photos / prints showing that part of the street, there is a similar mini-terrace of Georgian buildings where the Ann Summers terrace is – so there was a precedent. I often think that even now, the addition of an extra storey onto that terrace would be a big improvement for the street. And it wouldn’t affect Clery’s – even with a storey added onto the terrace, Clery’s would still dominate the block.
@crestfield wrote:
Interesting that holland should be brought up. I have been to both Amsterdam and the Hauge and found conditions for pedestrians even worse. Little distingtion is made between raodways/ cycle paths/ tramways and pedestion paths. The conduct of the cyclists I found to be similiar to those here, just there was a lot more of them and therefore more dangerous.
I accept that if you don’t cycle and your experience of cyclists here has been poor as you describe, the system in Dutch cities is not going to be that impressive. But the undeniable fact is that it works. Dutch cities, and particularly Amsterdam, have (in my opinion) the X factor of urban culture. I frequently seriously consider chucking Dublin in and moving to Amsterdam. There is a notable absence of the agression and antipathy you find between all road users in most other cities (though obviously German and Scandinavian cities are good in this respect too), but with all the excitement and vibrancy of a major city.
Some more pics of Amsterdam to try’n back up my point:
This street – Oude hoogstraat – is like a ‘normal’ street: – pavement on both sides & road in the centre – but for cyclists only.
In purely environmental terms, the transport energy savings must be colossal.
Damstraat
@lexington wrote:
…..the Camden Quay buildings……………… Noteworthy also is the characteristic olde-worlde Maud Whelan’s Pub (north along John Redmond Street, beside these buildings) which is also being refurbished and given a new lease of life as we speak. If anyone has images of that building, it would be nice to see it posted.
The building you refer to as being under refurbishment (above) has just been fitted with PVC sash windows and PVC shop windows…….(??)
