GrahamH
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Just on the general matter, great to see Evie Hone’s My Four Green Fields window in the full glare of publicity yesterday – usually skulking as it does in the background of the staircase hall. What a stunningly sharp and vivid memorable backdrop.
And apt too in da Bert context.Or at the very least encase it in a glass box and stack 12 storeys on top of it, thus solving everyone’s problems :rolleyes:
It sounds likely doesn’t it? Relocating it to a central position in the building would be no bad thing though – the glazing obscures much of the detail and real-life vividness of the sculpture (although it does look great at night).
There are so many options here. I wonder how the post office element will continue to function around a central processional route, expecially given nearly half of the public office is in fact a single-storey building projecting into the courtyard. If this is removed to enhance the square, there’d be nothing left of an interior save the shallow depth of the original building from the front wall to the current balconies.
Another option, given the scale of the proposed square, is to build up this structure to full height, thus enabling a large double-height space to the interior instead of the current stepped arrangement. Though it would be a shame to lose the handsome pilasters and balconies – perhaps transform it into an exterior wall with balconies overlooking the courtyard… Whatever happens, this is a rare Art Deco/classical interior in Ireland, let alone Dublin – it ought to be retained in some significant form.
It strikes a chord that the Cross Blocks of both the GPO and the Castle were/are to be demolished…
Of course the central question – what’s the interior space and the courtyard going to be used for?!
Fully agreed. Indeed if anything the inauguration process is distinctly short – it’s a shame it’s usually done and dusted by midday. Making a day of the event by extending it to include a more public ceremony or address in the GPO is a tradition that ought to be established.
Yes I think you’re right about the courtyard and the 2000 capacity Peter, in which case all the more reason not to use it for the inauguration proper – I’d rather not have the President signed into office in an atrium thanks very much! I’m sure the Stephen’s Green Centre would oblige with a more competitive tender!
In some respects the inauguration ceremony has been muddling (admirably) along for the past seventy years – however a wider and more ordered protocol is in order by now I think.
Without question though the sense of enclosure, of exclusivity, of purpose-design in many respects, that the Castle affords the ceremony is unparallelled. The fact that it is largely reserved just for presidential inaugurations (in terms of day-to-day use, whatever of the odd corporate event) in itself makes it of special significance that would be a tragedy to lose.
Very exciting works, and of an ambition that is necessary for this signature building. I support almost every element of the plan.
A few matters remain unclear: notably that the courtyard facades of GPO are distinctly grim. I wonder how this will be handled – limewash everything/parts perhaps?
Secondly, I don’t quite understand how a ‘processional route’ behind the portico can also be a space capable of and suitable to holding 2000 people – anyone any ideas? And would this/should this be an adaption of the existing decor, a crisply modernist scheme, or a full-on neoclassical job?
And while I support the plan, especially with retention of a significant post office element, I abhor the idea of inaugurations being moved from the Castle. The mellowed splendour of the setting, the ceremonial route from the Park approaching the axis with City Hall, the grandeur of the environs of Cork Hill and its suitably distinguished buildings, the drama of the sweep into the Upper Yard under the Fortitude Gate – itself a wonderfully evocative piece of military design – the setting for the inspecting of the guard, and then of course the illustrious St. Patrick’s Hall. All of this would be utterly lost, not to mention the focus being taken away once again from the west of the city. It’s a far surperior setting to the manky retail-lined route with crass galvanised barriers tacked up along the way in the case of O’Connell Street.
The size of St. Patrick’s Hall is agreed a problem, but either way you have to draw the line somewhere. For Douglas Hyde’s inauguration there were barely 250 in the room.
Why do you say that Paul?
I’m surprised by this rejection, but more so that it was even proposed in the first place. Good to see someone’s taking the broader picture. What a terrible article – the whole crux of the story has been missed, aside from a reference to not being ‘iconic enough’, which in itself I’d imagine to be an inaccurate representation of the matters considered.
I think we have a problem in Ireland with accepting one of the fundamentals of the Venice Charter, as expressed in Article 1:
“The concept of a historic monument embraces not only […] great works of art but also more modest works of the past which have acquired cultural significance with the passing of time.”
The same is also applicable to Liberty Hall, which looks like we’re going to lose. Indeed can anyone name any example of a structure here that has been protected purely/principally for this reason?
The recent cleaning and general sprucing up of an 1918 facade opposite Dunnes has demonstrated what can be achieved with these delightfully whimsical buildings that don’t really take themselves seriously.
The trademark glowing orangey brick of the early 20th century gives a lovely warm glow. The sashes turned up great too.
With by-then established cement mortar (some dodgy repointing of which around the granite wasn’t removed alas). The granite is still lovely and crisp, not least as it’s all north facing.
With the gradual improvement of properties along Henry Street, the intrusion of Dunnes into what was an entirely intact early 20th century streetscape is becoming all the more regrettable.
ake, Curran wrote that no ‘adequate’ pictorial record survives of the Rotunda/Great Hall decoration, but he certainly did take pictures of some of the elements prior to the ‘catastrophe’ of 1922. It was upon these images that he drew these sketch representations, and included them in the book. The original photographs alas were not published.
Suffice to say Gandon hated Stapletonesque faffing about with dinky neoclassicisim – he wanted robust!
Wow fantastic shot ake (pity about the truck lol).
Really though doesn’t it highlight how poor those weak pitched roofs are – such feeble terminations.On the general theme of conservation, it’s a shame how quickly the building has sullied since cleaning in the mid-1990s, particularly the capitals. To see the difference, RTÉ News still use a great raking shot of the portico and dome for the picture window beside the newsreader for certain court stories, which was shot just after the restoration. They are absolutely pristine. Thankfully it hasn’t been updated! It’s depressing to see it knowing what matters really look like.
The same can be said of the most splendid capitals in the city, those of the House of Lords portico, which are similarly choked with dirt. It’s not a big deal to lightly spray down dressings with water once a year – City Hall were doing it recently up on a cherry picker with a pressure hose, taking non-abrasive broad sweeps. Contrary to popular belief that ‘acid rain’ or urban rain causes such accumulations, the opposite is actually the case. It’s areas that don’t get washed by rain, e.g. highly detailed Corinthian capitals which are notorious for turning black, that gather deposits. City Hall is still pristine nearly 8 years after cleaning seemingly because it’s being maintained.
Not that everything ought to be gleaming, but if you can limit the obscuring of detail in a non-intrusive way after the effort of a major cleaning, this should be done.
A breath of fresh air.
Lovely to see everything back to normal again. Nice clean view of the Malton house and bumbling terrace too.
But given the €100,000s spent on this project, why was such a crude finish reinstated in parts?
Most of the resurfacing is of a high quality, but shoddy workmanship such as this pock-marking all about the place is a slap in the face to the overall high standard of the original project. Why couldn’t matching slabs simply have been cut and inserted? One would have thought every effort would be made to compensate for what will go down in the annals of history as Nightmare on Grattan Bridge.
I’m surpised nobody’s mentioned the ‘signature’ building at Mayor Square yet.
© The Irish TimesHave to say I kinda like its expressive, sharp forms. The building in the distance looks like it has a digital audio meter on the roof 🙂
However so much of the same design across the board I suspect will either be dramatically effective or extremely tiresome. The same may also contribute to an atmosphere of a ‘designed’ 1980’s UK town centre regeneration, which is my greatest concern.
Still – we’re getting too much of a multi-faceted, softly softly approach of jumbling various buildings of late in major redevelopments. At least this has the guts to work with a singular concept in mind. Whether this concept is unduly monotonous, I haven’t quite decided. What I have decided is that ‘world class’ is not a term that immediately springs to mind.
The choice of brick is going to be crucial.
Yep spot on :p
Oh how we yearn for Jonathan’s. 80’s chic truly at its most dazzling.
A fountain with coins completed the uber-sophisticated ensemble.I’d have to agree. Was in there a few hours ago thinking exactly the same (as with every time I pass through). A remarkably soulless centre that’s still the biggest waste of urban space it ever was. The ongoing mall project has been little more than a re-clad job of mammoth proportions – although there are some attractive plaster suspensions in parts. The dingy units are still the same size with low ceilings, and the Parnell Mall as pokey as ever. As mentioned before, the choice of non-slip granite flooring across the centre is particularly horriffic. It looks so cheap, and like it’s been painted on from a pattern in a Georgianise Your Home book from 1984. Such a disappointing choice.
Saying all that, the centre is most afflicted by poor tenants – once this is resolved, and the central area finished, it may yet garner a bit of character.
It really does look like they’re drilling for oil though – trying to fund the rest of the refurb perhaps…
It was incredible how quickly they vanished – so much so you begin to wonder if it was all a dream when you see the patches of newly laid granite where they once stood. Perhaps that’s the intention 😉
Literally within 3-4 days the bridge was back to normal, though the fencing is still there. Lovely to see the generous expanse of paving again.Only one major quibble, and that’s the obsession in this city with laying drainage channels in the middle of pavements – why can’t surfaces just slope down to the road?! Or at least do what was done on O’Connell Street and make the slope so gradual towards the centre that a single strip of near-level paving slabs acts in itself as the channel, with regularly spaced drains. The current one of moulded shape is ideally designed for tripping over, and sited exactly along the route of heaviest pedestrian traffic.
@Paul Clerkin wrote:
now if they could take the horrible lamp standards too
Absolutely. Tesco Southampton want their car park lighting returned asap.
Okay they’re decent enough, but entirely unsuited to bridge use, and entirely unnecessary with the dazzling halogen lamps of the seahorse parapet standards.
Yep. Just to be clear, the proposed Carlton redevelopment is a world away from the dinky shopping mall first proposed ten years ago, and different again to that of two years ago. It is now approaching Arnotts proportions. By no means a bad thing, but what is of concern is that the city is increasingly being viewed by developers in terms of blocks. Extraordinarily, in quiet 1970’s style, this consortium now own virtually all of Upper O’Connell Street west – ‘Carlton’ is a misnomer now.
What is equally of concern is that DCC have recently published a Development Brief specific to the regeneration of the Carlton site that conveniently endorses baffling height at precisely the locations proposed by the developers. You couldn’t make it up.
Agreed a new street with well-designed corners is welcome mid-way on Upper west.
Yup it’s a nasty blank stretch along there – it’ll make a world of difference to this part of the street.
It’ll be interesting to see what type of cladding method will be employed – i.e. either little more than granite tiling with thin side profiles exposed at corners, or proper fully hewn blocks (even if at the corners). Also coarsely grained Leinster granite will surely have to be sourced to get a decent match. I hope it’s intended to retain the original skirting – a feature that could easily slip through the net.
Incidentally, I’ve only just realised that Ulster Bank were those responsible for this high quality (if contentious ;)) reproduction job in Dundalk. There’s a pattern emerging here…
Both the central bays and left-hand pavilion are entirely reproduction, i.e. 60% of the building, dating from the late 1990s. In this case they used granite tiles to the ground floor, but the joins are so tight they’re barely noticable unless you’re up against them. Indeed if anything there’s a warmer patina off the reproduction granite!
Anyway the Dublin branch is an ever so slightly worthy case methinks 🙂
Cool interior pics of Irish Aid – love the contrast with the concrete and crisp plaster! Pity the funky ceilings are so peppered with services, but you can’t have everything. I like how this entire premises just uses Findlater House like a leech. It does its own thing – hosting itself in a decaying building, insidiously stripping it back to basics. Quite unique in the city.
So, what have Ulster Bank proposed? Well, very simply the reinstatement of the original shopfront, seen here c. 1957 🙂
Conservation ReportVery similar to the former Grand Central Cinema (BoI) further up, it featured a central arched window with stern classical doorcases to either side.
The bank, commendably, wish to reinstate this precisely, with minor modifications to the entrance levels for access etc. I’d be slightly wary of replicating the glazing to the central window which looks like it may be bronze framing from the 1950s – this should be clarified. A Georgian steel grid may have more elegant impact. Ubiquitous glass doors are also to be installed, but I think the bank should be granted some street impact given the blank frontage in the middle.
So (very crudely) what is currently this…
…should be this with the central portion reinserted.
And like this with a full scheme instated.
The conservation report gave no reference to what the original shopfront at No. 2 originally looked like, however a teeny glimpse of it is evident to the right of this shot.
It’s a similar limestone shopfront with expansive glazing that is proposed for here anyway. It should make the world of difference to the entrance to the street.
Where plate glass has replaced Georgian grids in the windows of the upper facade, they are to be reverted to the original specification (though the variation is strangley attractive as is over the balcony).
Some windows are to be replaced in their entirety too. I think a strong case can be made for painting the windows a dark shade as they were originally. There’s far too much naff brilliant white on O’Connell Street, especially with the recent crass job on the neighbouring Irish Nationwide. A sultry black or dark grey would look suitably intimidating.
It is also proposed to use remove all the nasty projecting floods peppered about the facade and replace them with LED lighting strips. They’re to go literally everywhere: along string course, atop window lintels, behind the balcony etc etc. As long as the units are not visible, it’s a welcome development. There’s no mention of facade cleaning. Crisp back-illuminated individually mounted lettering is also proposed for the main signage.
Top marks Ulster Bank for a thoroughly well-rounded proposal. Relative to a reproduction timber shopfront, this scheme is costing a fortune so it’s an enlightened move on their part. The tradition of banks setting standards on our streets has thankfully not disappeared.
One would wonder about the mindset that wished to retain the ebullient date stamp yet maul the rest of the facade…
Interestingly, original granite and basement windows survive intact right down at the skirting of the shopfront. The night safe is possibly a little later in date, though the railings look original.
And surprise surprise – steel windows 🙂
The copper dome perched at the opposite end of the building is an elegant feature that aims to give the premises prominence in the wider cityscape. This something it achieves with considerable impact when composed as part of the Big Three heralding the entrance to the city’s main street from as far away as College Green.
Its curiously flattened scrolls are reminiscent of curled rolls of fizzy strawberry strips.
The impeccably proportioned portico looks humorously incongruous tacked onto the deadpan solidity of the wider granite facade, though largely because it has since lost the lower street level context.
In terms of materials, the steel windows of the charming oval windows to the upper ground floor (and seemingly the dome) are the sole indicators of 20th century construction.
