-Donnacha-

Failing to keep a train station clean, like the city’s streets, cannot be blamed on a lack of resources. It’s the failure to properly manage the resources available which is the problem, such as the lack of supervision of cleaning or personal accountability (how much cleaner this city would be if regular checks were made of street cleaners!). Moreover, always blaming the public for litter (which Dub. Corpo. does) directs attention away from this management failure, afterall, every European city creates litter except most are much better at removing it than we are!

I know the Abbey has many proplems, but a relocation to the south of the river will be very unpopular. I have no sentimental attachment to the present site, but I want the Abbey to stay on the northside of the Liffey. The O’Connell St area badly needs a cultural revival to match the fine plans to rebuild the Street’s image; at the moment it is a mess of fast food places, tacky shops, and miserable commuters. This part of the city has rapidly deteriorated while the southside has flourished. This is why the Abbey must stay. It should be possible to make major modifications and increase space, even if it means completely rebuilding on the present site. Or a move to the old Carlton would be great. RTE radio’s arts programme recently featured a discussion about the move. One person interviewed talked about the undesirable elements in the Abbey St area, and the proplems she has getting there from the southside! Thus, will the move to the south be a triumph for D4 snobbery? I wonder.

Thanks Paul. I have to say having entered
that competition myself I find the
winning design very restrained and bordering
on the banal…

Westminster offices: Most expensive office
space to build ever in UK

There are tests and there are tests but
the argument remains that many architects have pushed sustainable concepts through to
the completed building stage without rigorous testing and the actual savings in
energy fall well below predicted savings and
the quality of the interior environment no more comfortable than more conventional design which has a tried and tested track record. The use of blinds, brise soleil etc
often obstruct views whereas good thick walls
do the same job with the minimum of fuss.
Alot of sustainable architecture is based not
on new technology but ancient techniques of
passive cooling and heating. I think the
problem with Ireland is that the vernacular
is beatifully restrained and uncomplicated
and the central fireplace provided the natural ventilation, heating and cooling.

McC: Great, but your boozy solution would take too much time and would never be completed ~ can it be done? And God only knows what Joyce meant us to think!

I’m afraid Katherine the simple answer is
“no” and nor should there be.Styless is
the preferred option nowadays.
Contemporary style

Dara. I think the inland revenue buildings
in Nottingham are considered another
example of sustainable architecture but one
thing which is rarely published about sustainable buildings are the actual results
of the design. Many critics have attacked
current solutions on the grounds of the
limited degree of control users have leading to overheated space or underheated space.The
field of sustainable architecture suffers from its very unscientific approach. Either
architects are willing to test these things
til they fail or use unwilling punters as
guinea pigs which is to say the least a little too dogmatic

Unfortunately, a mindset that rejects modern, revolutionary design, prevails among our public representatives. This is reflected in a preference for pastiche (like fake Georgian), which rejects architecture and public art that is progressive.