KarenS
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http://www.newcityforthewest.com/news/PioneerFeb02editorial.htm
ooh heaven is a place on earth
The bridge is square from overhead.
Has anyone got an image of the ‘Bowl of Light’? I’ve often heard of this failed artwork on O’C bridge that was eventually chucked into the river. I think it’s from the 50s.
Is Dublin the only city where unwelcome public art is often physically destroyed by the public? It’s democratic in one way but barbarous in another. At least the spire looks pretty durable.
@Graham Hickey wrote:
And in the same photo how many other ways can you see that Dublin could be improved?
-pavement could be paved in stone flags rather than tarmacadam
-pavement could be cleared of chewing gum
-car transporter and other trucks removed from quays and sent down the tunnel (when it’s built)
-revolting smelly seaweed removed from sides of river –or river damned past the custom house so it stays high all the time.
-bus eireann vehicle in a bus lane (is there not one already?)
-horrible white plastic windows removed
-better weather!As the threat of imprisonment ought to be a deterrent to committing crime, maybe prisons should be prominent, daunting structures. That building in Chicago looks pretty frightening.
I wonder what the design specifications would be for a prison in Ireland. Is prison meant to be a punishment or a way of excluding dangerous people from society? As some people are sent to prison for crimes that do not pose a danger to society, it seems that punishment is a goal. Is the loss of liberty the sole way the state aims to puinish prisoners? Should the design of the building form part of that punishment?
@timbo wrote:
with regards to the elcetronic signage in dublin, what about the loop line bridge, especially on the docklands side.? i am not really in favour of the type of signage you encounter in leicester square or picadilly circus (flashing garish variety), but what about a sort of giant plasma screen effect that could run along the bridge.
i am aware that its placement would be in close proximity to the custom house, but ask yourself what is worse, plasma screen effect which could show multiple adverts or being stuck with “tile choice” and the likes. another point is that surely the revenue from a sign which can constantly change and thus advertise multiple brands would be far higher than one static dingy cardboard sign. it could also show live broadcasts – ie news runs from rte or even live sports( although this may be unsfe traffic wise)
What about covering the loopline bridge with screens that appear transparent during the day by showing an image of the custom house behind using a trompe l’oeil effect? It could be something semi intelligent that took the current sky colour into account. Then at night it could change to garish moving ads.
@lexington wrote:
It is only correct that we become ever more demanding on the aesthetical qualities of these giant structures.
I prefer the older Stillorgan centre to the likes of Blanch and Quarryvale. Albeit surrounded by acres of surface parking, at least Stillorgan is a rough facsimile of real shopping streets in a town. You can stroll around in the sun on a good day or shelter beneath the covered walkways if it rains. The newer places seem like giant boxes with huge high white windowless corridors horribly lit. The musak echoes around the miserable shoppers. I won’t go these places when I can shop in town or in Dunlaoghaire or stillorgan and breathe fresh air.
“Dundrum Town Centre” What a scam! There’s already a town centre with some pretty buildings and beside it a grey slum shopping centre. So they build a new SC up the road in the new windowless prison style and call it Dundrum Town Centre – a desperate attempt to endow a soulless box of chainstores shops with a sense of place.
Of course private opwnership is the key difference between a shopping centre and a real shopping district. If you’re too old, too young or too poor to look like a customer, the management can kick you out.
Has anyone considered making residential floors over shopping centres? It might humanise them.
Why do shops use plastic signs? Is it because they are cheaper to maintain? Brighter? It seems strange to pick the lowest grade of materials for the most prominent public part of your business. Can a bank not afford to use illuminated painted or stained signs in wood or stone when they have spent so much on impressive property and brand image consultancy. Can someone tell me?
I don’t understand the economics of building low density housing estates. When a developer owns a land tract beside a small town consisting of terraced houses built to 2/3/4 floors, why would he not continue building in that fashion, and gain from the higher number of dwellings? Do rural councils zone the land beside their towns and villages for sprawl?
It takes an outsider to notice those odd things we take for granted in our environment. I couldn’t disagree with any of your observations and some I had never thought about such as leaning traffic lights and lamp posts.
My impressions from time spent in the North a few years ago are as follows:
looks like the UK
(obviously) letterboxes and phoneboxes, ads for products not sold in the Irish market, colour of roads, signagebetter cars and roads
probably not so much any moreUrban battlements
crazy military building in every town with turrets and razor wire (turns out to be police stations)pedestrian lights
that change in a few seconds instead of minutesneater
Everything is tidier – even the people were better groomed and more neatly dressedtribal paraphernalia
PLO flags, painted kerbstones, muralsnot very relaxing
being told to keep my voice down all the time in case anyone heard my accent
