OisinT

Quite easily the post of the year here from GrahamH… couldn’t possibly have said it better myself. What an absolute disgrace!

I have to say I am VERY impressed with these. Clean, elegant and functional.

@wearnicehats wrote:

not sure where you get that from – the original hotel had 64 shabby, non-Bord F standard rooms and wasn’t viable as a hotel in the longterm. The 160 room option was knock and replace. The article below stated 120 with refurb and extension

http://www.independent.ie/business/commercial-property/83647m-price-tag-on-the-former-ormond-hotel-1767662.html

Interestingly BM had it up for sale for €11m in 2008. Bet he wished he’d taken that now….

http://www.tribune.ie/business/article/2008/jul/20/mcgettigan-tipped-to-buy-ormond-hotel-in-dublin/

also discussed here

https://archiseek.com/content/showthread.php?t=3440&highlight=farewell+ormond+hotel

Still a 120 with refurb and extension isn’t so much different really. Better than a knock and replace option imo.
I believe that is more than the Morrison down the road.

Hate to resurrect an old thread, but been searching for news on this and didn’t find much. Anyone know what is going on here?

@mrdarcy wrote:

There is no chance that the GAA would try to buy that railway line. It is extremely busy at present and will only get more so with the extension of DART along that line. I suppose the line could be lowered but that would require level crossings along the route from Connolly to Glasnevin and there is no chance of that happening. Forget it, the hill stays as it is.

That’s what I’m saying. The GAA have looked into this multiple times afaik and those seem to be the concerns / reasons for this project NEVER going ahead.

@fergalr wrote:

Not much room in the building either. It’s extraordinary how little thought has gone into the accommodation of the public. There’s seating room for maybe 20-30 people in each courtroom, presuming that they are all the same size. I’ve been up in Court 19 watching the Lillis trial and practicing my shorthand. That public seating is about a third to a quarter of what the four principal courtrooms in the Four Courts could take when the balconies above the courtroom are included.

Court 19 is small, I’ll admit… but the reason for that is it is usually not meant to be housing a Media spectacle of that size. The amount of old people in there just to see the “story” is amazing. The District Courts are much bigger due to the higher volume they deal with daily. I also don’t think Court 19 is any smaller than the main courts in the Four Courts. I would have, however, like to have seen a separate family area.

@fergalr wrote:

My second gripe is the lack of crowd control measures. There are pitifully few Courts Service employees to be seen on landings outside the courtrooms. Not only that but the queues that build up invariable take on the usual anarchic Irish scrum shape in front of the door, because no one has had the wit erect some queuing “tape”, like any good bank or cinema would. Of course, this wouldn’t be a problem if the courtrooms were open to the public when the building opens, like in the Four Courts. In the new building, they are opened at some point around 10:30. What happened to having your punctiliousness rewarded with a seat? (This is a minor gripe from someone who is always on time).

I agree with you on this. Also, for the amount of screening they’re putting people through, you’d think they’d have at least another screening queue.

@fergalr wrote:

Lastly, there are only four small lifts for the entire building – unless the Law Library and other departments have seperate ones. They are packed with barristers, gardai and joe publics at all hours of the day. Again, not much foresight has gone into the number of people who might stream into the building to watch a criminal case.

The lifts are slow, but I’d imagine when there isn’t a huge case on like Lillis they would be ok. Although there are 6 floors, the lifts only service 3 or 4 floors. I almost always take the stairs up unless I’m going to the 6th floor.

@fergalr wrote:

Oh… sorry. One more thing. There is an airport-style liquids ban in the building. Didn’t I learn my lesson when I had the cheek to bring a store-bought bottle in with me during the week. Nice little monopoly for the canteen and completely over the top security concerns.

I believe this has to do with the extra security necessary since the Special Criminal Court has moved into the building also.

I think setting the “robocop” building back actually makes the street much more interesting and pleasant looking.

@missarchi wrote:

So this means that architects will now be going to the green st to defend high court appeals?

No civil matters will be dealt with at the CCJ. The civil courts are in pretty good shape at the moment in the Four Courts, but the criminal matters were in shockingly bad courts in the Bridewell and others.
The old Bridewell and others will be totally refitted for minor civil matters that are currently crammed into tiny courts upstairs in the Four Courts.

I disagree, I think the class building at least around the carlton is a vast improvement on what is there presently and would love to see that go ahead at least and worry about some of the other stuff later. e.g. the slope part can be designed and built at a later time

@aj wrote:

“Fingal will be gone in its entirety and Dublin Bus re-faced as it is a Protected Structure with a near-fully fledged townhouse surviving behind its deceptive curtain wall. Just a correction from earlier, the RDH has vanished in its entirety, with only the gable walls left standing for the benefit of No. 42 and the AIB”

graham I am intrigue about the dublin bus building I thought it was pure 60s have you any more details of what has survived of the townhouses ?

surely if they are being refaced tey should have their facades restored

That’s the impression I was under… they will be restored back to their original townhouse style. Anything would be better than what is there now!