GrahamH
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No the west tower will not be rebuilt, as this application (lodged two weeks ago) forms part of the wider Arnotts redevelopment which involves the remounting of the facade of the west wing of the building as the elevation to the newly opened Liffey Street. This will make the existing central tower three-dimensional and a prominent feature of the streetscape.
This is a very welcome development, not only as the Arnotts store – as admitted by the group’s chief executive – is getting a bit tatty round the edges, but also as this phase of the development project was scheduled to be one of the last completed in around 2011-12. Now it is the first. It makes complete sense to undertake it now, independent of the delay to the wider project, as it serves a dual function of greatly improving the store in the interim while also tackling one of the cheaper parts of the new quarter scheme. It also explains the rather high figure of €10 million that was being bandied about for these cosmetic works!
Just on the west tower mystery again, there is little question that it was built. I came across this rare image of the store some time ago, reputed to date to 1902, but is perhaps more likely to be 1904 if this is when the building was finally completed (the main structure being of 1894).
This trade card appears to be more pragmatic in terms of detail than the earlier sketch we have of the building (but it also serves to confirm that it was correct too). Interestingly, the two gabled buildings to each side of the building are depicted here as forming part of the store – perhaps it was these elements that were the ‘extension’ of 1904? It is significant that these buildings are depicted at this time, as this tells us that the left-hand one, which still survives, pre-dates the 1916 destruction, and is likely to be the only other building on this side of Henry Street to do so.
Also interestingly, the image also shows the vast workrooms (in somewhat embellished perspective) to the rear of the main building, where clothes were made for the ‘monster store’ and probably custom-tailored for customers when required.
KITCHEN and DINING ROOM can clearly be made out, along with WORKROOM and CABINET to the rear (above image), presumably referring to furniture-making.
The newly proposed works will radically transform the appearance of the store, turning a dingy 1960s vision of retailing back into the gracious ensemble of tall plate glass picture frames addressing the street that Arnotts once was. The photomontages look extremely impressive – literally a new Victorian building will land into Henry Street, as the typical shopper cannot appreciate the store in all its glory at present. These works will do wonders for the prestige of Arnotts, injecting it with considerable street presence.
One final point is the ground floor pilasters proposed to be reinstated dividing the windows. The drawings propose to reinstate ‘stone pilasters to match original’ but there is no bronze band detailing depicted (as seen above), as once wrapped around each pilaster in typical Victorian style. Such a motif can still be seen on polished granite shopfront pilasters on Dawson Street, and more critically, on Arnotts itself, where the banding marks still remain on the pilasters of the grandiose side entrance door.
© fjpWhat’s the likelihood of those going back on across the board? They’d cost a fortune to get made up. Sourcing a similar dark grey granite for polishing also won’t be easy. These issues are not specified in the otherwise very well detailed conservation method statement.
Many thanks lauder. Okay, so the above is a tad ranty for what some may see as comparitively minor quibbles. But these poorly detailed works are symptomatic of a broader ignorance in the city of the importance of a well-presented public realm. It is frustrating to see one of the few oases of sophistication and good craftsmanship in the city centre, that was entirely self-maintaining year round, with a timeless, hard-wearing charm, being so crudely butchered with finnicky, badly thought out and unnecessary detailing. Never mind generating it from new, we cannot even recognise when we already have quality.
Passing this evening, the rusty setts have, as expected, since been relaid with a surgical scar running along the length of the driveway, while some of the larger angular gaps between the Chinese granite kerbing and the paving stones have just been filled with cement. The Chinese curved stones look ridiculous emerging from the Dublin kerbs of a third wider dimension. And as if to prove the unnecessity of the fawn tiles, the Dame Street side driveway has been left as was, with simple dished slopes of granite.
It is deeply sad that there appears to be no mainstream contractor capable of carrying out repaving in the robust but elegant spirit of the Dublin tradition. This is not just a matter of laying slabs and choosing the right pointing in a localised fashion. It demands designing an entire pavement as a coherent architectural ensemble, with correctly chosen or tailor-made pieces to compose the picture. The ingenuity of the 19th century paving recently featured over on Lincoln Place is but a minor example of such artistry.
Such craftsmanship applied on College Green would dictate that there would be no angular gaps plugged with cement, curved sweeps of kerbstones would be robustly and generously scaled. and surfaces comprised of increasingly scrappy off-cuts of granite generated by service interventions over the years would be rationalised. And need it even be said that expensive and well-sourced granite setts would be treated as an asset and long-term investment of the public realm – not something to be slashed through with a chainsaw at the public’s expense.
The outrageous condition of the granite paving over at Trinity beside the gates has long been a blight on the presentation of the environs of the West Front. However, things are so bad thus far that one almost hopes this will not be ‘refurbished’ as part of these works.
As Stephen mentioned also, not a single item of clutter has been rationalised anywhere on College Green or College Street. Even the rank of three preposterous traffic signal megaboxes dumped outside Fox’s have not been sunk underground – they still sit alongside a redundant international telephone kiosk, a car park display, numerous traffic signal poles, a Malton View, a rank of Eircom phoneboxes and various other random municipal knick-knacks. What a wasted opportunity this project has been. A quick-fix engineering job at its most short-sighted.
Fully agreed. Not every aspect of the public domain has to be ‘managed’ within an inch of its life. Also agreed about the works currently underway. Indeed things are so preposterous on the College Street island that they are crisply paving around the splodges of tarmac! Incredible.
I promised myself I’d go easy on the Bus Gate works (i.e. civic improvement works of the most basic nature that should have been carried out 20 years ago independent of any transport policy). There is good quality work taking place in some virgin territory, but really and truly, what is happening in front of the Bank of Ireland simply beggars belief.
Firstly, one would naturally suppose, in spite of chaotic and destructive works involving historic paving still abounding across the city, that a decent effort would be made to manage change sensitively in the historic environs of College Green – even if for PR never mind matters cultural, or civilised for that matter. Secondly, one would have thought that the outstandingly beautiful setted entrances to the Bank of Ireland, composed of unique rust-toned granite setts laid in gracious sweeps emerging from the gates, flanked at either side by historic granite paving, in totality comprising the very best modern-day paving composition anywhere in Dublin city centre, would be duly respected.
I simply cannot believe what is happening in front of our eyes by Sierra’s botchmen.
This is the surviving sweep at the west (Dame Street) end (cameraphone).
This is what is happening at the east, pedestrian crossing end.
Firstly, as can be seen, it has been deemed appropriate that the flanking granite paving be gouged out to cater for preposterous little scraps of crossing stud tiles. How can such a tiny feature possibly aid the visually impaired? In any event, why on earth are these needed at this crossing? This is health and safety or mobility correctness gone crazy. All at the expense of the historic setting of the Bank of Ireland. The composition has been ruined. And need it even be noted the new thin Chinese granite kerbs do no justice to the robust entrance gates.
The same tiled treatment looks to be going in at the completely gouged out opposite side, completely stealing the limelight from the rusty setts.
Secondly, all of the fabulous seemingly hand-cut setts have been scandalously sliced the entire way along their length with a circular saw. This is not even the stuff of Bob the Builder.
A crude line of cement will now be pasted the whole way along the junction’s length.
Back again on the opposite side, the driveway is being lop-sidedly widened in compensation. Here, setts are being laughably re-laid directly abutting the chainsawed line! The existing half-setts are not even being taken out to enable a neat intercourse with the new setts. You couldn’t make this up.
Then at the new rounded corner, thin and weak kerbstones of Chinese granite are being laid against the robust Dublin kerbstones alongside.
While the original curved stones remained stacked in a heap in the middle of the site.
Who the hell is overseeing this mess? Anyone? I dare not go back and see what other delights they have in store for us.
And again on the issue of coloured crossing tiles, if fawn coloured can be used outside the Bank, why on earth is this (not to mention more palatable) colour not being used across the board? Why is red being used on the opposite side of this very junction?! Or over on College Street? While over at Trinity Street it’s back to fawn again. Absolutely no co-ordination.
I just cannot believe what is going on here. You’d think for such a flagship contract, involving the ceremonial and historic heart of the city, and encompassing a number of challenging conservation requirements, that a masterplan of some kind would be drawn up. I really shouldn’t be surprised at this mess – also taking account of the lack of progress on the trees and all the other junk – but one really would have to despair in this city. There’s just no aspiration to quality, plain and simple.
I’d say tarmacing and asphalting crept in as early as the 1950s, johnglas, with the increasing commercialisation of the squares. Still, the levels of unauthorised, and ultimately desecrating, piecemeal development that took place behind these buildings is one of the untold stories of the past half century. High profile cheeky office inserts aside of course.
@jimg wrote:
A reasonable summary I’d say, all things considered.
lol
It’s interesting how this debate, understandably so, often revolves around an ingrained perception about what is ‘bad’. Not that I suggest for a moment that people are blindly presuming 1960s = Abomination, but one need only look right next door to observe what I think is the greatest blight on the area, namely Larry Murphy’s on the corner with Baggot Street. Its all-singing rendered facade, hideous pubfront and attendant clutter present the most appalling vista in the south Georgian core, above and beyond that of nearly anything else. Its effect on the senses and disruptive impact on the character of the area is at its peak as one emerges from gracious tree-lined Baggot Street, where the glaring, tawdry cream facade and nasty modern fenestration shatters the mellowed brick environs to disorientating, not to mention eye-watering, effect. To such a degree in fact, that coupled with the ESB block straddled along Fitzwilliam Street, and the vacuous asphalted road junction directly in front, there is no sense whatever that one is standing in a supposed 18th century urban landscape. It is probably one of my least favourite places in Dublin. It’s just too crushing an experience to willingly impose on oneself.
Larry Murphy’s ironically also deprives the ESB block of an appropriate context. The absence of a red brick Georgian at this corner strips the bookended effect that the block so desperately needs to read as an inserted entity. When viewed from Baggot Street and Fitzwilliam Street Upper, the effect is nothing short of chaotic.
I say we start a campaign to tart up Larry Murphy’s. It’d be a heck of a lot cheaper, save a truckload of argument, and prevent our electricity charges increasing from the highest in Europe to the highest in the civilised world. Everyone’s a winner.
And matching robustly detailed bootscraper.
A much simpler one in the middle of the platform.
The corner shopfront, though reproduction, is well detailed.
An original chunky and spare granite pilaster lands right down at ground level here. Lovely stuff.
While Sweny’s retains attractive lamp holder ironwork and some apparently 1960s box signage hung on an even earlier wrought-iron bracket.
The rear of the buildings, as might be expected, are of yellow brick. Note the seemingly earlier over-zealous cleaning of the red brick of the upper side elevation.
A further fun curve gets squeezed in immediately inside the carriage arch (right).
The interiors of the block appear to have been very well restored, with maximum original fabric retained. Most windows and internal shuttering and boxes survived the fires, as did cornicing and chimneypieces, and repaired where necessary.
The main entrance door on Lincoln Place was substantially replaced. The panelling detail isn’t great and the mirror glass horrendous. Otherwise a good job.
The window directly above was also replaced, frustratingly in a Georgian idiom rather than two-over-two. It looks silly stranded on its own when all first floor windows are the latter format.
But otherwise a faultless restoration. Top marks.
The third floor apartment is available for viewing on Daft at the minute. €1500 for a double and single.
Sadly the Merrion Street elevation needs considerable work. Many bricks are spalling quite badly.
Note this elevation is west-facing, exposed to rain and thus freeze-thaw action.
These illegal plastic windows only went in recently. Classy.
Some delightful cylinder glass in the neighbouring building though.
The pair of shops around here are probably original, though their shopfronts likely to be Edwardian.
Pilasters, fascias and console brackets can still be made out.
The lovely raised granite platform suggests the shops did not extend all of the way across originally.
Again beautiful craftsmanship in the cutting of slabs is evident here, with unbroken curves hewn out of a single piece at each end. I thought I’d leave the syringe for dramatic effect.
Unusually delicate ironwork to the end of the platform, a feature very much of the Dublin tradition. The newel post has long been knocked off.
It is apt so close to Bloomsday that we make mention of the restoration of the Lincoln Place corner, synonymous with Leopold Bloom’s purchase of a cake of lemon soap in Sweny’s Chemist which occupies part of the ground floor.
Not only is Sweny’s a charm, but so too is its elegant host building – comprising Dublin’s best curved corner. A perfect quadrant, its facade’s delightful full-bodied form is ebullient yet gracious, politely turning the corner onto Merrion Street Lower. It is the nature of curved street corners, especially those at tight junctions, that their form generally goes unnoticed: the generous profile facilitating a free flow of traffic to the detriment of the appreciation of the structure which enables this.
What is particularly interesting about No. 1 Lincoln Place, and ultimately a sad aspect of the structure, is its refinement and development of the Georgian building model in a manner that is so very rare in the city. The facade’s impeccable proportions, ambitious shape, gracious granite and stucco dressings and refined machine-made brickwork offer a glimpse into a Regency and early Victorian world of commercial and domestic architecture which the city centre simply never experienced, due as we know to economic and political stagnation. Aside from the completion of the outlying great domestic estates in the 1820s and 1830s, Dublin city centre exhibits a gaping hole in its architectural landscape of purpose-built premises, effectively stopping stone dead at 1800 before picking up again on a notable scale in the 1850s. Victorian tinkering with stucco dressings on existing buildings is largely all the intervening period had to offer.
It is therefore a delight to experience with the ensemble at the corner of Lincoln Place late modest Dublin classical buildings of exceptional quality, which display a progression from the severity of the school of the Wide Streets Commissioners to a lighter, more palatable outlook on commercial architecture.
The entire block would appear to have been built by one individual, if perhaps in stages. As seen above, the central three-bay curve is flanked on either side by a four-bay range on Merrion Street and a half version, a two-bay range, facing Westland Row – the latter presumably on account of limited land ownership. Alternatively, the high quality red brick side elevation may suggest a right of way of some kind next door.
The curved corner building, which also incorporates the two-bay range facing Westland Row, suffered a fire on the second floor in approximately 2004, and a number of break-ins and subsequent fires since that time. Sweny’s survived all events largely unaffected. Restoration of the block finally got underway in recent times and has just been completed. There is one two-bedroom apartment on each floor.
The architect’s report on the structure claims it was built after the 1870s on account of a sharp angled corner being portrayed on all OS maps up to that time, until the 1907 edition depicts it as curved. Quite clearly OS were being lazy on the matter, as the character of the building is very much of the 1840s or early 1850s. Judging by the sheet glass windows at first floor level, which are almost certainly original, and the fact that Sweny’s was supposedly established in 1853, it is fair to assume that the building dates from precisely this time. I have yet to encounter a single sheet glass window in the city centre which pre-dates 1850. All windows have been impeccably restored and replaced where necessary.
The original brickwork is also of a very high standard and has been sensitively cleaned and repaired.
Extremely refined original craftsmanship.
Spot the replacement headers!
It is unusual, however, for a facade to be tuck-pointed so late into mechanisation. The use of red mortar and putty and silver sand ribbons is clearly apparent.
All original sound fabric has been retained. Fantastic job (i.e. by simply doing nothing).
A further curiosity of this block of buildings (not meaning to dwell too much on brick detail), is the fact that the Merrion Street range was wigged in the Irish tradition (red mortar applied over white mortar to form lines), while the curved corner was English tuck pointed (white lines applied over red mortar). Here are the two compared (wigging to left).
Need it even be said which is the more refined technique…
Aha, I was wondering too. Very nice presentation effect indeed.
Just as Dame Street has often popped into this thread, many stretches of this grand old thoroughfare are sadly going to pot in respect of shopfronts and the wider public realm. This farcical vista presents itself to visitors and citizens alike on the so-called, officially-termed Grand Civic Thoroughfare of the city as one approaches the historic environs of City Hall and Dublin Castle.
If ever there was a doubt in anybody’s mind that all principal streets in the city centre should be Architectural Conservation Areas, this stands as but one example of many as to why things simply must change. Not that most of this signage is legal under even standard planning controls, but ACA status (in theory anyway) at least affords much greater development control on the part of the local authority, and gives reason to carry out (in theory) much more rigorous monitoring of these areas. Parliament Street, Westmoreland Street and Grafton Street are experiencing a scourge of similar tawdry tat which needs to be stamped out hard if we are to achieve anything remotely like this oft-touted ‘quality city’. We’re not even at the starting line.
🙂
Even so. were it not for the outmoded floor levels and circulation issues etc, I wouldn’t be in any rush to replace the facade of the building – at best it’d be a 50/50 scenario when comparing this with the potential reinstatement of houses. If it is a foregone conclusion (which is I suspect it is) that a contemporary insertion is the desired option, it would be a shame to have Gibney’s elegant facade replaced by something as equally incongruous on the streetscape, only simply more so by losing the very potent connection that the current structure has to the heritage of the site. At least what is currently there is honesty at its most raw. Would an uber-chic, intellectually contextual concoction hold quite the same appeal? The answer is that, as with all such matters, everything is relative and at least in part ideologically informed.
The reinstatement of the houses would of course be fraught with its own difficulties: do you build them all of the same brick as a unified scheme as an 18th century developer would have done, or replicate subtle deviations from pair to pair as if built by multiple persons? If sufficient records do not survive, do you execute this arbitrarily? What about later additions such as Victorian plate windows, balconies or other ironwork?
mp, of course reinstating the houses is not something to be repeated on a wider level, but contained to such a notorious site, all passions and ideologies aside, I think it would be quite a curious exercise – on an international level at that. Even if something to be completely derided, it’s still unquestionably interesting. Frankly we have reached a stage (whilst not advocating mediocrity) that whatever fills this site, above and beyond all other contentious cases over the years, shall stand as a monument to this generation’s (or this generation’s professions’) outlook on the built environment.
Still have an open mind though. I have some thoughts in my mind’s eye but I cannot articulate them. How convenient.
Fully agreed jimg regarding traders’ concerns about access to the city – limiting access to College Green is not going to stop shoppers coming into town. Rather, I just mentioned this in the context of the impressive insight some traders and politicians displayed in relation to the importance of a quality public realm and the impact of Bus Gate on this. But a ‘more efficient’ movement of buses through College Green, as I see it, means more opportunity for a wall of buses to clog the space. Indeed by definition, the removal of the dilution afforded by private cars will result in the cells of traffic passing through being dominated by buses relative to the current scenario. As regards Dublin Bus’s fleet being reduced, at the very least this will only be sustained for a year or two – it is not a long-term solution, whereas Bus Gate has the potential to be. The taxi fleet is also ever-expanding to insane levels. But the net effects either way are so arbitrary to the average punter that we might as well give it a trial run, as is being rolled out.
The new crossing at the Trinity side of College Street, moved eastwards and made substantially wider. Alas, those crossing tiles are not buff coloured, but entirely unnecessary garish red, coated in dust.
The few pieces of antique paving uplifted during the work.
And as just reinstated awaiting repointing.
(don’t get me started on the logic of joints there)
The vast area of the island being dug up right now. Appallingly insensitive treatment of the city’s vernacular tarmaced surfaces!
Below was taken before the above works had extended, but the amount of municipal tat clogging the island is something else. All of this should be wiped clean, including the trees.
The current head-on view of the portico of the House of Lords. I risked my life attempting to get it.
Just shameful. Interestingly though, the Moore statue is not on axis with the portico, addressing it as it does at a slight angle from left of centre. Quite odd given there was ample room to make him such originally.
Thanks for the links victurk – that’s far from a short article! Some thorough (and clearly passionate) research in there. A shame you spend half an hour reading in minute detail about the complex’s development history, until hitting a polychromatic glazed brick wall at 1900, when it was sold off. What happens next?! How does such a frivilous complex survive the cynicism of the 20th century for the best part of seven decades? A carpet showroom? A mega ice cream parlour? One of Dublin’s earlier hotbeds of iniquity?
(perhaps this thread could be merged with the other of the same topic)
It depends what is meant by ‘historical recreation’. Personally I would be in favour of rebuilding all 16 houses, but critically as just that, houses. Frankly I think this has much integrity as any piece of clever contemporary infill, and in the longer term would prove to be the more gratifying option. These residences could take the form of a mixture of full-on townhouses and purpose-designed apartments in the Continental tradition.
I do however also feel that the redevelopment of the entire site is something which must exhibit a design unity and coherence. The reconstruction of houses to the front with a behemoth of a contemporary insert to the rear, ‘to make the figures stack up’ Spencer Dock-style, would undermine the integrity of the whole scheme. There is a perception that the south Georgian core is self-sustaining and has achieved its optimum quality and level of occupancy, whereas the reality is that an opportunity is presented by this redevelopment to inject much life and vigour into what is a lifeless, if beautiful, quarter of the city – the blonde trinklet on the arm of Dublin (even if Dublin is another female, though I often suspect sexless myself – it’s hard to know where to look to confirm these things), which exhibits much style but little in the way of substance. This affords an unparalled chance to inject a large and dense residential population into the very heart of Dublin.
I feel the entire development should use brick as a baseline material, with the contemporary parts making reference to Georgian design through scale and proportionality and a wider interpretation of the era’s guiding principles. If anyone thinks I’m calling for 80s pastiche, we forget this discussion now. It’s time for architects to get real and imaginative about contextual architecture – surely matters have progressed in architectural thinking to a degree that intelligent, academic design can be just plain old pleasant to look at and live in, whilst also gratifying those who look for the more subtle layers in the built environment.
I see works are already underway for Bus Gate, with the pedestrian crossing at the Trinity side of the College Street island being significantly widened. Of course why this wasn’t done twenty years ago is anyone’s guess. But credit where due, the granite kerbstones are being carefully stored, as is now standard practice in the city. Problems with antique paving in Dublin tend to arise with relaying though…
The opportunity should be taken at this point to rationalise and improve the College Street island, in spite of imminent Metro works, which are still some way down the line. All for extremely minimal expense, all of the trees here should be removed, along with the above-ground lavatory paraphernalia, telephone kiosks, tarmaced surfaces and signal boxes. A simple but attractive concrete-flagged surface with robust granite edging, a handful of elegant lamp standards and benches languishing in storage out in Marrowbone Lane, and some decent planters if needs be, would simply transform this important part of the city, restoring order, dignity and (shock!) sightlines to the portico of the House of Lords, and tide us over for a couple of years. As it is, significant amounts of the paving is already being dug up. Simple simple measures people…
Interesting view of College Street there, gunter. Makes the city look like a charming Tallin-esque toytown (with a dash of Soviet pazazz chucked in to the bottom left for good measure).
@jimg wrote:
The presence of a considerable number of buses does not contribute positively to the urban environment obviously. Unfortunately, for the moment it is a vital public transport mode particularly given Dublin’s obvious shortcomings in terms of rail. One of the worst aspects is the air pollution and this is exacerbated significantly by the stop/start nature of the current flow of buses through this area of town. If the passage of buses can at least me made smother and more efficient, then the environmental damage they cause will be lessened considerably.
Sadly, being pragmatic, Dublin’s topography means that there are certain streets which will continue to serve the role as arterial routes for motorised traffic for the foreseeable future and unfortunately, I think it’s unavoidable that College Green will have a role in this regard. The aim should be to reduce the amount of motorised traffic on these routes as much as possible (and any sort of restriction helps in this regard) while building largely pedestrianised zones in the urban islands created between them. This would be cheap and easy to achieve and would be a step in the right direction until it is no longer necessary to carry passengers by bus around the city centre and the entire centre can be reclaimed for pedestrians, cyclists and clean/quiet on-street trams. Is it my imagination or did the expansion of pedestrianisation in Dublin slow or stop 5 or 10 years ago?
I think you’re probably right on this jimg. We have to be pragmatic until such a time as a wider transport infrastructure is in place. But the problem that so many people have with this plan, and understandably so, is that in typical fashion in this city, the scheme will be used as the opening of a door which may prove impossible to close again. Even amongst many business interests in the city, aside from their greatest concerns about perceived reduced shopping access to the core, they do view it in a manner as most of us here do – leading to a reduction in quality of an already significantly compromised core, where services and infrastructure take precedence over a quality civic life and enjoyment of place.
These latter points are critical factors in suburbanites’ decision-making about where to go shopping and cultural consumption – not on a day-to-day basis, but for special or ‘big ticket’ purchases or services, at a time when Dundrum et al are increasingly catching up in terms of attractions, if not on experience. Negating the quality of the public realm of the city centre in the longer term is to compromise its most prized asset: the one element out-of-town centre cannot compete with on any level. There is a fear that the Irish public administration mentality, which tends to focus on micro practicalities, will simply sustain Bus Gate long beyond its shelf-life, while also making it more difficult to effect radical civic improvement of the city’s ceremonial core. The implemented limited hours of operation is probably worth a shot anyway.
The new Coke Dublin ad campaign is clever. Keeps me suitably occupied at the bus stop every morning. The buildings themselves are very accurately depicted in spite of the riotous licence taken with their positioning.
Copper has been used to roof Connolly and Christchurch, but we’ll let em away with it…
Good detailing, right down to Sam’s later incongruous railings around the Central Bank.
Manfield Chambers, O’Connell Street Lower.
The Trivision sign has been removed (as well as the original elegant metal window/s).
The sign has probably morphed into a JCDecaux somewhere along the line, whilst the windows are in landfill, alas.
Personally, from a design and cultural perspective, I’d like to see the Irish remain smaller. Not only does it look better and more coherent to have a design hierarchy – in terms of usefulness as well as appearance – I think it also gives special significance to the Irish language to have it on a more muted scale. It draws the attention of the curious that bit more into focus.
Delighted the O’Connell Street debacle is not the doing of authority (in fariness, there’s precedent) – thanks for the clarification. I love how the picture posted by Morlan of the ‘erection’ of the O’Connell sign by Shinners et al is taken not on O’Connell Street, but around the back of what appears to be a munitions dump in the arse end of Monagahan.
Here’s the lovely O’Connell Street proper sign, still lurking under the current affront to good design.
Can we have it removed please, and the original actually made presentable – indeed all those on the street – if it’s not too much to ask? At least we don’t have bone white plaques as in central London – jaysus, can ya imagine the state of them over here?!
Some context, as seen from the Seán O’Casey Bridge.
Beautiful form. The ungainly width shall be concealed once in position.
I hope those black yokes vanish.
The enormous concrete pivot pier.
The scene from the north wall, with the receiving junctions being finished off.
I wanted to pop over to the south quay for some close-up detail, but alas, well, there’s no bridge yet.
At the opposite end of the street, at its entrance, sadly we encounter a typical example of the lack of quality aspired to in Dublin city centre on the part of Dublin City Council. A small detail, but an important one, it involves the most iconic street sign in the State.
Extraordinarily, the perfectly sound, elegant metal plate with ‘O’Connell St. Lower’ lettering, beautiful Irish script and border all cast in high relief, sited on this corner building for at least the past twenty years, has just been pasted over with a horribly cheap flimsy piece of junk with garish italicised Irish double the size of the supposedly dominant English.
The former sign was the quality of the surviving Bachelors Walk sign around the corner – itself also poorly maintained.
Who comes up with this muck, and more importantly, who signs off on its ham-fisted attachment over an existing sign, never mind a larger one?! It just defies reason.
The new Irish is significantly different to that of the former (rather hidden) sign, suggesting this was the reason for replacement. But even if the Irish was antiquated, it still deserved retention as a prominent example of the evolving official use of the language and the heritage of the street. Either way, the crassness of the new design and its preposterous mounting is the real issue here, and typifies the lack of commitment to quality in Dublin’s public domain.
Can you just imagine the same treatment by City of Westminster Council? One thinks not.
I can’t see it that way sadly. Judging the record of Dublin Bus, the proposed restrictions will result in a long term increase in the amount of buses using College Green, which in spite of a reduction in private car numbers, can only be a bad thing. By association, this will also result in an increased number of buses being funnelled through the wider ceremonial heart of the city centre. The void created by the banning of cars will also simply be filled with the city’s ever-burgeoning fleet of empty taxis. Conor Faughnan’s recent drawing of a parallel with choked and hostile Oxford Street in London, filled by a cliff face of buses, was extremely apt. It was precisely the example I was thinking of during the public debate on the matter.
The statement released by the Mountjoy Square Society a couple of days ago sums matters up well I think:
Mountjoy Square Society Urges Dublin City Councillors to Drop “Bus Gate” and Instead Connect Luas
11-05-2009
The Mountjoy Square Society strongly urges Dublin City Councillors to cancel the bus gate at tonight’s monthly meeting as we fear it will cause far more buses and coaches to be dumped in Mountjoy Square. This position was adopted unanimously by the society’s members at its monthly meeting, held last night.
Despite Dublin Bus network reform announcements, first by the late Seamas Brennan, then by Cullen, and most recently by Noel Dempsey, no reform has occurred – with most buses following tramlines 70 years gone to a pillar also disappeared. It would be a rotten irony if more Dublin Buses blocking up College Green was to result in the Luas lines prevented from ever being connected. The Mountjoy Square Society urges connection of the Luas as a priority over facilitating an unreformed Dublin Bus.
The north inner city is abused by Dublin Bus; no service connects one end of Dorset Street to the other, no bus goes down Capel, North King, or Dominick Streets; instead Dublin Bus uses Mountjoy Square as a runway depot with many out-of-service buses parking up outside a crèche and childrens areas, blocking motorist’s sightlines and emitting cancerous fumes.
Dublin Bus refuses to provide passenger services after 6pm to Mountjoy Square, thus further stigmatizing business and residential interests. Despite the Mountjoy/ Summerhill depot due to be going, as scheduled in a 2001 council plan, even a reasonable suggestion by city officials urging a new ramp from the depot onto Summer hill – delivering speedier access onto O’Connell Street via Parnell Street – has been ignored.
Dublin Bus do NOT “serve the entire community”; they bully their way against the community and are a blight on the parts on the inner city they already dominate, such as Marlborough Street and Parnell Square. What hope for College Green if these custodians were to take primary charge – please see attached photograph of Broadstone Station in disgraceful condition.
Bus Gate is highly unlikely to deliver a better bus services in the absence of route reform; instead it facilitates worst practice. Little benefit is gained in the way of deterring private through traffic as O’Connell Street College – Green is already a large traffic cell area – since considered restrictions were introduced at Suffolk, South Great Georges, Pearse, North Frederick, Abbey, and Upper O’Connell Streets, as part of the Integrated Area Plan. The few cars currently using O’Connell Street – College Green already have to drive out of their way and are mostly not through traffic. Taxis and buses will simply make up for the private cars removed, not delivering for either cyclists or pedestrians.
Dublin Bus is part of the greater CIE created transport problem in the north inner city: in Mountjoy Square walls of coaches dangerously park up, yet many of these are on contract to CIE – who already have Broadstone, 90 acres at Connolly, etc. Beside Mountjoy Square is Croke Park, Europe’s 5th largest stadium, and sandwiched between two railway lines – yet CIE refuses to either install a station. This existing line would connect Connolly and Heuston Stations, and serve the communities in the North Circular Road, Phibsborough, Cabra, Russell Street, and Ballybough areas.
Facts provided by agencies have been few, yet Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) have stated at Metro North hearings, the time benefit to Dublin Bus journeys is only 1% if bus gate is inserted.
The Mountjoy Square Society notes and supports the Dublin City Business Association’s concerns; in the absence of leadership being given by central government prioritizing Luas lines being connected over bus gate, we call on Dublin City Council to give leadership in rejecting this scheme outright.
Issued on instructions by the members of the Mountjoy Square Society,
Ruadhán MacEoin
Chairman.
