GrahamH
Forum Replies Created
- Posts
Don’t worry yet a boyle. It’s a long process – ranging from notices being issued, to enforcement proceedings being enacted or the subject property entering into negotiations with the authority as to a timeframe for remedial works, without official enforcement being necessary.
And especially with DCC being as stretched as they are, I’d give them a while.
Have you been to the shop lately?I disagree. Personally I find the current popular viewpoint of insisting on a contemporary stamp on absolutely everything rather irritating – in other countries there seems to be a post post-modern 🙂 thinking, arguably a maturity of sorts, that deems reproduction buildings in sensitive locations like this to be not only desirable, but preferable to contemporary designs – notable to an (admittedly over-) extent in UK housing, and terraced housing located within conservation areas there, and for many years at that.
As far as I remember Phil, you don’t agree with this type of building because it simply does not reflect our times and sets out to skew our relationship with and perceptions of our building stock (sorry if I’m putting words in your mouth). However for me, this type of construction does the exact opposite: it reflects our times and current thinking regarding use of reproduction in a nutshell – surely these houses faithfully rebuilt on this site are a monument to our times and current thinking re sensitive infill? In 20/40/50/100 years time will they not stand as such?
I don’t accept that a new-build building here could have worked as well. Certainly I agree it would have been a challenge to any architect, and an innovative and sensitive contemporary design could have been created, but this does not eliminate the intrusive impact on the terrace as a whole. To insert a modern building here in the middle of an 18th century terrace, however considerate and sympathetic, would have smacked to me of a certain ridiculousness, almost as if ‘sorry, this is all we can do for this site I’m afraid – we’re constrained by current Irish architectural thinking in what we can build’, ignoring the wider impact on the terrace. To almost any person, however ill-educated in this respect, the logical thing to do is to rebuild the previous houses – it just makes sense. We don’t always have to make a statement, however subtle.
22/6/2006
Well after many years of dereliction, the three Georgian townhouses at 49-51 Parnell Square have finally been rebuilt, and are currently nearing completion.
A typical Dublin scene until recently, there was nothing here other than a weed-strewn site surrounded by palisade railings, a straggling remnant of an 18th century doorcase, and ubiquitous timber supports buttressing the neighbouring house; this photograph dates from as late as c.1998:
Designated a tax-incentiveised site in the O’Connell Street IAP as part of Site Cluster No. 2 which encompasses this whole western side of Parnell Square, the Plan stated: “This square was designed as an architectural entity, and the correct solution for this site is to build a facsimile of the previous design. The design should be a scholarly work, undertaken by an architect qualified in architectural conservation or with proven experience in conservation work.”
It is most satisfying to observe that this objective has been achieved in its entirety.
Here is the terrace today:
(apologies for the buses)The difference the infill has made to the terrace is extraordinary; it immediately unifies it once again, replacing the missing tooth that for so long blemished this impressive sloping Georgian streetscape, also concealing the hideous side elevation of the opposing replica townhouse. No doubt this is what was proposed for this site originally – indeed when were these houses demolished, and by whom? No mention was ever made in The Destruction of Dublin, in contrast to all of the demo jobs highlighted on Cavendish Row.
Some views of the new ‘houses’ – currently being marketed as suitable for medical or office use.
The brick is a bit pink, but will tone down with time; most Dublin red brick was probably this colour originally.
As far as can be made out, they replicate the former houses pretty much exactly, including the different types of doorcase and window courses. Anyone got a pic of the original houses?They seem to be late rather than mid-18th century in design; it’s hard to say, especially given the Gardiners’ fondness for a lack of flights of steps which usually helps in identifying in other parts of the city. The brick courses of the far left house and the right-hand pair have been deliberately mismatched to separate the structures as originally built; the brick itself also seems to subtly differ in colour between the two.
The chimneys are eh, unusual in design. One slight objection perhaps is the use of red brick which is not very common either in colour or in being exposed in this part of the city – the rest of the terrace’s chimneys are pretty much all rendered over now, or of stock brick. These new ones do stand out a bit as a result, giving them something of a Zoe quality…
Still, they look well even if a bit false. Otherwise the attention to detail has been superb, even extending to shuttering for the windows that you can see in the above picture. The sashes are of course perfect – not a horn to be seen : )
They are also single-glazed by the looks of things, and individually paned to give them the traditional light-flashing quality.
Even the vents are decorative, if overly so for Georgian ironwork.
They also ought to be painted a more subtle colour – they stand out too regimentally on the facade:
As posted before, here’s what it all should look like including doorcases and railings:
A job exceedingly well done job. There’s a modern office buiulding inserted to the rear of the houses, and a stack of apartments going in in a semi-separate development further down the lane – the upper floors of the houses are probably apartments too. However I do think that these buildings have more integrity than most replicas by virtue of the domestically scaled interiors; this doesn’t appear to be a concrete office block with suspended ceilings covering the windows, all shrouded in red brick, but rather there’s a certain synergy taking place between the interiors and exterior – they credibly relate to each other with minimum, if any, contrivance in an attempt to make it work. Also the houses replicate as best as possible what was originally on the site – there is a connection to the location and wider context in this respect, and a relevance in design.
Unfortunately out of the nine designated site clusters identified in the IAP, this is the sole project to either have been started or successfully executed, with Parnell Street sites still lying idle, the Carlton Cinema in limbo, shopfronts and facades yet to be touched on O’Connell Street, Marlborough Street sites and terraces still a shambles, and the Eden Quay Laughter Lounge and to a lesser extent Schuh building developments hardly what the IAP drafters had in mind as sensitive regenerations.
The Parnell Square houses are encouraging progress however, especially if they were stimulated by the incentives. Parnell Street West is definitely next on the list – what a disaster zone.
So, who’s going to win the biggest PVC contract in the history of the state?
Might as well go the whole hog and clad the entire building in the stuff – a monument to Ireland’s love affair with plastic.
And aptly, a short term solution.At least you’ve given her a suitably period receiver 🙂
They all have strangely long necks – especially Hibernia:
Mercury as mentioned:
And for 1993 recasts, they are all in a disappointing condition. Perhaps they weren’t the most chiseled of replicas to begin with…
From An Post:
“Mercury is [aptly] the Messenger of the Gods; Hibernia represents Ireland and Fidelity, with her faithful hound, represents the trust placed by a nation in their postal service.” (snigger)Of course Fidelity and her hound perform a double act on O’Connell Street:
Hot off the presses – I coincidentally passed it but a few hours ago 🙂
Looks like a bomb exploded. Were these the former NIB offices? – though I’ve a feeling they were swept away about a year ago…
This has been one of the greatest failures of planning in Ireland over the past ten years: the lack of logical extensions to existing village/town/city cores. Frank sums up the ‘insulating’ phenomenon of suburbia very well – particularly relevant to large villages and towns.
One type of situation you often see is the ending of the traditional Main Street or other major street, and it turning back into the main road again – a typical occurrence of course, only now this external road is gradually getting built up again, not with typical one-off ribbon development, but with housing estates, small-scale apartment developments, a petrol station, an isolated Spar with a couple of res units overhead etc etc. So instead of the main street being logically extended and then stopped, it is left stunted as is, resulting in an almost semi-industrial entrance to these places: the busy major road flanked by incoherent (rubbish) development, with new footpaths too hostile to encourage use, not a cycle lane to be seen, disparate retail units, and often acres of flat ‘prairie’ space behind railings flanking the road that buffers new housing estates from the passing traffic.
Of course it’s not easy to plan new streets, but pretty much no attempt has been made at doing it by any local authority, even in conjunction with major private development schemes. An opportunity was lost in this respect in the 1970s and 1980s, where in nearly every town in Ireland a 20-30 unit shopping centre and surface car park was built to the rear of traditional terraced streets on wasteland, on former industrial lands, on commandeered Georgian back gardens etc.
Surely there must be one example of a recently planned street somewhere on the island?!
I hope to stay there during the summer, so lots to look forward to!
Do you know who the architect of the Holy Redeemer in Dundalk was Praxiteles?
I was in there recently, and whilst not exactly enamoured with the interior, the exterior has great appeal I think. It presents a formidable silhouette over its environs positioned on that elevated site. Unfortunately it’s only when you get close that you realise how poorly finished the building is.You put your case forward very well Fennetec – one can only imagine the hoops and hurdles of the industry.
So if as you say, there is a now a moratorium on the placing of phones in the city, how is it that you’re installing one, or has this since been revoked? And now that private operators are installing phones as profit-making ventures, surely these cannot be classed as utilities? In any case, even Eircom cannot just dump a phone anywhere, such as in the middle of a pavement, so surely there is an element of local authority control over where they are sited, and if permitted at all?Other development on the street taking place at a slightly higher altitude is proving to be a lot more intrusive. If like the phone, this lighting unit is temporary, fair enough, but there is no way in hell this yoke is staying up there on a permanent basis:
It had better be just a test strip!
Poor old Fidelity is looking very distraught up there – what are they doing to me?!
The same with your man across the way – there’s new floodlighting being installed in place of the single black floods that used to light each statue (though Hibernia had two).
😮
This floodlighting is certainly one drawn out project!
The Mr Burns caricature often performed on radio couldn’t be more suited to the man – it’s hilariously apt.
And to think he even got his domed Burns Manor in the form of Government Buildings 😀
a boyle, I ddn’t say there were any other differences to the office other than what you outline – merely that the changes that have been made have transformed it into a rather dank space. And it was noted the chairs were there before, only now they don’t quite fit in with the new scheme, in contrast to the previous subtle look to which they were suited.
As for the cabinet table, to play devil’s advocate, over 166 holes were drilled into the Dáil fittings in the 1980s to permit all of those desk-mounted microphones to be installed 😉
A lovely coloured drawing of Government Buildings, so typical of architects’ work at the time:
© OPWThe Taoiseach’s office, located on the first floor of Government Buildings in the principal portico wing, looked better during Charlie’s ‘reign’ I think.
Here it is a while ago, pretty much as per Haughey’s impeccable vision 🙂
Most sophisticated, with subtle grey carpet and curtains complementing the beautiful solid oak panelling, and generating a contrasting contemporary air to a room that’s otherwise traditionally furnished with Irish Chippendales etc. Also elegant Edwardian-style light pendents perfectly suited to the architecture of Government Buildings. All very tastefully assembled.
Then fast-forward to the current arrangement:
http://www.barrymasonphoto.comThe blue carpet unfortunately doesn’t look nearly as good, and doesn’t match with the pink of the French chairs or the rather spare purple curtains, all of which lend the room a sombre tone.
And the lovely light fittings have also gone 🙁 – replaced them with models one would expect to find suspended over the counter in a building society.
Charlie’s famous 1990 built-in computer/television unit has at least thankfully been ditched 😀Anyway, magnificent Coolattinin oak panelling surrounds the room, including an impressive curved apse somewhat reminiscent of the BoI Lords Chamber:
Stunning work, installed by Gem Construction who produce some very fine stuff – they also made the three vast oak doorcases for the entrance to Government Buildings, as well as the panelling of Dublin Castle’s main conference room.
Similarly in the Council Chamber/Cabinet Room we had a simple unpretentious Georgian revival table and matching chairs by Hicks by the looks of things, and all pretty much matching the 1925 Dáil chamber fittings.
Again in 2004 this was all replaced with a custom-made cabinet table studded with a host of salubrious veneers, and a set of what can only be described as druidic thrones:
http://www.barrymasonphoto.comThe previous scene had an unpretentious grace to it. Still, the ‘e-Cabinet’ data strip installed in the surface is a very cunning device 🙂
It’s farily common knowledge now that the Taoiseach’s Bossi fireplace isn’t original to the room, but brought from the old Taoiseach’s office in the northern wing of Govt Buildings. However, considering it’s a Bossi, where did it come from before then?! One of the demolished Merrion St townhouses? Didn’t think any were as grand as that…
Lots of info available on the Dept of the Taoiseach’s site, much taken word for word from the OPW’s ‘Building for Government’:
Oh God – you know when it’s time to get out more (or should that be stay in?) when you recognise a terrace by a single window 😮
Though this house’s replacement fenestration is amongst the very worst in the city, truly appalling – pass it regularly in horror.
Saying that, it’s still better than the terrible repro sashes elsewhere on this street; at least with this house there is the potential for change. These frames are Hawkins House, while clunky repros are the Ellis Quays of the window world.@Fennetec wrote:
DCC took the decision to clean sweep all the footpaths on either side of the street and relocate the furniture on the central median.
Yeah, we’d noticed :rolleyes:
The city’s newest municipal landfill cunningly disguised as a pedestrian walkway.In the next week or so Smart Telecom and Eircom will erect what they like without any consultation
I don’t see how this is so given that DCC now have complete control over every coat of paint and brick laid on O’Connell Street from here on in – and these units are even going in on public property!
You give the impression Fennetec that you have had consultations with the street’s architect which is good to hear, in which case surely he has the final say over what phones are to be installed?
No reflection on you, quite the opposite by all accounts, but the fact that a private operator is resorting to an architecture website for design advice in relation to a public telephone in an SPCS, which in turn is going to be mismatched to other temporary phones by other operators, who have consulted with no one, speaks volumes about how this Area of Special Planning Control is being operated.That’s an excellent idea – the northern-most one could also be handily incorporated into the taxi shelter that seems to be going in up there. With a number of kiosks being installed along the street, there ought not be any need for further telephone facilities.
It most also not be forgotton that O’Connell Street features what is probably the largest public phone facility in the country in the form of the purpose-built 1920s telephone room in the GPO, housing 10-15 units.Tom, to clarify, are you looking for help in future designs for your phone pedestals? And has the standard DCC design to be installed next year been decided on yet?
*checks little black book*
I’ve Dermot Desmond….Sir Anthony O’Reilly….Denis O’Brien is here too – just not Naughton I’m afraid 🙁
Bah – so close.The ad. Not generally in the habit of hoarding things, but I still have this from The Irish Times, Thursday September 13th
2001:
What a bargain.
What a fantastic place – lovely pictures mb.
It is indeed available at a reduced price. I remember this being advertised in property supplements five years ago, astonished at the knock-down price it was going for. I still have the cuttings somewhere if I can find them…
Of course were it to be restored it’d just be another pile of Victoriana – much better to leave it as a crumbling romantic pile 😉
Not at all, but one can never help feeling that with any restoration, the mystique and faded grandeur that makes a place so worthy of restoration in the first place is paradoxically often completely wiped out upon the work getting underway.
The inherent potential of a decrepit building can be more satisfying than its realisation.What a stunning staircase.
This family day out was barely advertised at all; not even anyone here with an interest in the street knew anything of it! Hardly befitting the completion of such a major project in the city – the only possible indication being the much needed painting of the GPO’s bollards taking place last week in time for the occasion. They look great.
Not that the GPO is finished just yet – as predictable as clockwork, cherrypickers have been reerected for the installation of LED lighting strips inside the pediment 😉
Luckily it is incredibly deeply modelled, so there ought to be no problems relating to visibility of lighting units this time round – they should be completely hidden in all views of the building.
This has bugged me for YEARS, lol!
Who and/or what is it?!No doubt so significant and iconic an Art Deco piece of design as to shame us into submission in our lack of knowledge, but it’s incredibly irritating to see it propped on half the window sills of Corpo Dublin and knowing nothing of it other than its cult-like status. There are houses with one in every window, sometimes as many as four! I often mutter thanks to the Corpo’s 1930s architects for only putting two windows in many of their scheme houses 🙂
It’s definitely part of a highly fashionable ‘look’ in these areas, that goes hand in hand with the fluted columns and porches, white plastic bays inserted into standard flat window openings, 37 white lanterns in the garden, and nymphs and cherubs and God only knows what else adorning the lawn and driveway and front steps.
And the latest trend now is the addition of Victorian ‘stucco’ cornices with plaster corbels over all the windows – generally applied over exposed stone pebbledashed facades.It’s genuinely very strange that this extends to the interiors and a standardised ornament that tens upon tens of houses have – a bizarre cultural phenomenon.
Thanks for the links Frank and Devin – will read with interest.
a boyle Dublin and Paris are very much so comparable – as I said on a skyline basis. That is, both cities still have pretty much the same skylines as they did before the modern movement, and indeed since the 1880s with the development of the skyscaper.
Each to their own, they both face the same modern-day pressures, arguably Paris even more so as a major world city.
Yet Paris has managed to contain high-rise, while Dublin persistently refuses to do so, even as a small capital of a tiny peripheral nation of 4.2 million people.
It could be done if the will was there.
