dpower
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What do you know- perhaps government is transparent afterall- found the environmental impact report….
http://www.environ.ie/press/OConnellSt.html
Interesting:
Irish Aviation Authority: “In the light of the above measures we do not see the design height as a danger to aviation.” The Irish Aviation Authority submission states that their requirements have already been incorporated into the specification and design of the proposed development.Maybe Ritchie had no say…
“a more reflective surface shall be created over the lower 10 metres of the spire according to an artist’s design, as suggested in paragraph 3.2.21 of the EIS, to enhance close up views of the proposed monument;”Sorry notjim, on reflection I was a little harsh, and I never doubted that you were a rocket scientist. I’m an Industrial Designer, and believe that you are quite right about the Spire staining even if it were polished- but I think the shot peening is far more likely to stain and harder to clean. I would love to have some information about the environmental impact of the spire- I don’t agree that it would have been “a bit much”.
I haven’t seen the lights yet (apart from the news) and I would love to go into town and watch the thing being unveiled this morning. Even got a mention by David McWilliams this morning on Newstalk. Mixed reviews.Firstly, I don’t appreciate your condescending tone.
I believe the shot peening was a poor choice and a misuse of technology. I do concede that shot peening would help strengthen the structure- although in this case the effects would be negligible due to the sheer thickness of the steel. And any finish other than polishing weathers badly, whether its brushed aluminium or starked plastic.
Technology for technologies sake. Sounds great in the brochure stuff- “using a technique that was developed for the aerospace industry”.
Now lets talk aesthetics-
The polished section on the base looks better than the shot peened finish (just an opinion).Firstly, let me say that I like the Spire, but let’s face it- There have been too many mistakes. The whole thing has been one long amateur hour (more like an amateur decade!).
The concept itself wasn’t exactly a “thinker” and the structure and engineering involved was relatively simple.
Any architect worth his salt should have considered environmental damage- the shot-peening just doen’t work. Much harder to tarnish a smooth surface- you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure that out.
Didn’t anyone even consider the shut lines just wouldn’t look right on such a vertical structure? Were any steps taken to minimize this effect? I don’t think so. Don’t think you can blame the manufacturers either- I believe they were working to ridiculous tolerences, so once again the blame lies with the architect.And don’t even get me started on the base design- the form was just fine, the “guilding” was unneccesary- why not just stick “Superspike 2000” on it somewhere and a “as seen on TV” decal. I thought guiding had died with the industrial revolution.
I think they should have left the pattern off it. It’s like designing a wonderful toaster only to be told that in order to sell it you need to stick a “sheaf of wheat” motiff on the side to sell it, because Joe Public likes Sheaves of wheat. The form is beautiful all by itself- the whole notion of engraving and guiding is pre industrial revolution.
Well Graham, you have defended the spire through thick and thin, such a pity that it should end like this.
Unfortunately I agree.
I was very excited by the concept, but this “pattern” doesn’t seem to have any discernable geometry. And I know it might be considered garish, but the polished steel would have looked amazing.
What a shame.I think contractors get very complacent when they land large government contracts. There is just no excuse for being so late all of the time. Companies that don’t meet their deadlines should be fined for it. It’s a great waste of taxpayers money- and it might force the companies concerned to be more careful with their time projections. It’s unprofessional and reeks of chancery- I’m sure time is a factor when the corporation is considering tender proposals, so companies just plain lie about how long a project will take so they land the contract- afterall, there doesn’t appear to be any consequences.
It’s turning into an anti-climax. Too much trouble. People only have so much patience. It’s hard to be proud of something when it’s caused so much grief.
Litter is a problem alright, but any designer should just see this as a challenge, and rise to meet it. I’ve seen some great solutions to the litter problems that have been listed above- it’s up to the council to have some foresight.
I came in from Kildare this morning- you can see it as far away as the naas road- and that was with the early morning mist- needed to see the crane to get a bearing on it though!
The sun was just coming up and hitting it- really quite spectacular. Will probably be able to see it from even further at night when the lights go up.
we already have a viewing tower- the Smithfield chimney, or the guinness sky lounge.
wanting to ascend the spire is a little primative.
The eyelets are to radiate light (via i think 70,000 LEDS)
Apparently Hewlett Packard developed a new kind of LED especially for the spire
Have to say I’m a little bit dissapointed with the finishing of the steel- you can clearly see what look like heat sinks where the stainless was glued to the ribbing. Thought is would be cleaner- especially after reading that Sunday Times article about how long it took to polish it. Don’t think that they should have shot-peened it.
Having said that- it should look awsome with a few lights on it at night.That’s exactly why they are red- anyway, didn’t the original context of this thread mention something about colourful streetscapes?
Actually, if anybody knows the full construction process, (including crane particulars!) I would be interested in doing a flash animation to demonstrate the entire process.
