Paolo
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I have to say that I like the look of this but I find it very annoying that the other buildings and features surrounding it, such as the rest of the Georges Quay development, are still not shown. The geezer pyramids have to be shown in these views in order to illustrate how crowded or otherwise that area will be, although I assume the developers of the pyramids are reluctant to hand over drgs. Is this new building higher than the pyramids? It looks as though it may be in between the highest and lowest towers. But regardless of how it looks, it has to be a train station that is functional and safe and with enough capacity to handle the commuters as well as the commercial traffic.
There is an interesting use of stone facing/cladding on the new office/retail building beside the Mansion House, Dawson St. Two different colours are used, a creamy coloured sandstone (possibly?) and a reddish coloured stone, both contrasting but fitting in with the red brick on one side and the lighter coloured Mansion House on the other.
The worst toilet design I have seen in a long time was in the now-defunct Chocolate Bar. The urinal wall was basically mild steel sheeting, by the look of it. Water was then cascaded down into the trough. But unfortunately the drop was sheer and unbroken and the splash factor was such that it was dangerous to stand near it! The cubicles were located either side of the trough so that when exiting the cubicle you had to be very careful to look down only! I only went to the bar once but it was enough to keep me away. Strange design to say the least.
But the best layout and design in the world is useless when there is no hot water or the hot tap only stays depressed for two microseconds and the skin is taken off your hand from the 5 gallons of scalding water that gushes forth during that time. Grrr.I agree with you on the view, Stephen, it’s one of my favourites in Dublin. On a clear day you can see the Dublin Mts! Something along the lines of the Powerscourt Townhouse would be interesting, the way it was before the recent renovations destroyed the ‘open courtyard’ ambience it had.
The ESB have been thinking about moving out of the city centre for quite a while. ESB own land in Leopardstown and that is a candidate for the new head office location.
What’s the point in rebuilding Georgian? It won’t make up for any past mistakes and what Georgian structure would best suit the location/site/aspect? A modern office/apartment block or a hotel with a Georgian facade a la Merrion Hotel? That would certainly improve the look of the street but it’s not really progressive or maybe progressive isn’t suited to the area. Does anybody know what sort of restrictions would be placed on any new development, i.e. blending in, use of red brick, etc.? Directly across the road from ESB HO is another relativley recent development which tries to keep in context with the surroundings and ends up looking like something trying to keep in context with the surroundings and not contributing anything to the streetscape. Maybe Georgian facade would have been appropriate here.
I don’t know about the Dublin Bus/Corpo dispute but does anyone know if Iarnród Éireann is in dispute with it’s passengers? What they pass off as shelters and seats is laughable (when it’s not raining). The new station at Grand Canal dock looks like something from post war Berlin. There is no shelter whatsoever from the elements and considering that the platform is raised several metres above sea/dock level they could at least have provided windbreaks. The other new station at Clontarf is the same. Completely exposed to the wind and rain. I think that the designs for these stations were in-house jobs and, that being case, there is no excuse as surely these people study other projects before starting new ones. Maybe I’m ranting but whenever I hear the words bus shelter I reach for the umbrella…
Up until recently (last year or so), there was an interesting plaster relief work around a building on Dawson St. at the junction of St. Anne St. It gave a curtain/drape effect around the basement window and was regularly snapped by tourists etc. It was in disrepair for quite a while then the place was “done up” and that was the end of that.
