Paul Clerkin

That’s true of most buildings – the Four Courts and Custom House have had a little work done over the years, but we’d still say they were by James Gandon…. just not as designed by James Gandon

@Praxiteles wrote:

St Joseph’s Cathedral, Sioux City; South Dakota

Another work of Emmanuel Louis Masqueray who Built the Basilica of St Mary in Minniapolis, the cathedral is currently undergoing a re-reordering under the direction of Duncan Stroik:

http://www.stroik.com/portfolio/st-joseph-cathedral-restoration/

Shite – could see the spires from my hotel room when I passed through last May. But was too tired and wanted to sit in the bar, rather than start wandering around at dusk. Figured I’d be back.

Ahhh now a night at the dogs is fun… a night at the theatre is angst-ridden drama

i know your problem – this server needs a reboot

Rofl

DOES SIZE MATTER? HAVE YOUR SAY AT THE IRISH TIMES OPEN DEBATE 2010

On Thursday 7 October at the Aviva Stadium, broadcaster and historian John Bowman will chair THE IRISH TIMES OPEN DEBATE, the popular opening event of the Irish Architecture Foundation’s OPEN HOUSE DUBLIN (7 to 10 October 2010), to ask “DOES SIZE MATTER?”

In line with the Open House Dublin theme this year – BIG, SMALL, GLOBAL – a local and international panel from architecture, literature and journalism will discuss scale: the physical, economical and psychological effect of architecture on the city and on the people who live in it.

The panel includes Liza Fior (of muf architecture/art), Sean Love (Executive Director of Fighting Words, a creative writing centre established with Roddy Doyle), Frank McDonald (Irish Times Environment Editor and writer), architect Shih-Fu Peng (of Heneghan-Peng Architects) and urban planning expert Pauline Byrne (Treasury Holdings).

The discussion will include the impact that designed places, either big or small, have on our sense of self, on our quality of life and how we perceive Dublin’s relationship to the rest of the world. Speaking about this year’s Irish Times Open Debate, the Director of the Irish Architecture Foundation Nathalie Weadick said “Open Debate is always a vibrant night of colourful people and heated discussion, where the panel and audience both take on the topic of the moment.”

OPEN DEBATE takes place at 7pm (doors open at 6.30pm) on Thursday 7 October at the Aviva Stadium, (Havelock Area), Dublin 4.

Directions: Enter via Aviva Stadium reception at the Lansdowne Road entrance.

You must book to attend Open Debate at http://www.architecturefoundation.ie/openhouse or 01 6165220.

Admission is FREE.

The dark wood and the green is all a bit “nude” circa 1998 innit?

A couple from the same time – during the dig on the site… apols for the crappy digital – top of the range at the time

Registering architects
In this section »

* Asylum hostels’ planning permission
* An economic nightmare
* Call for one-day boycott of Mass
* Remembering Mick Lally
* Losing senior public servants
* Site for national children’s hospital

A chara, – I refer to the new compulsory registration of architects in Ireland, which is being managed on behalf of the State by the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland Limited (RIAI). I write for the Architects Alliance, which represents long-established non-RIAI architects, who, because they were not members of the RIAI, were denied automatic registration. That exclusion has placed their hard-won livelihoods in jeopardy to the advantage of their competitors.

An EU Directive is being incorrectly cited by our detractors in support of the new regime. In fact the EU is specifically neutral on both the State registration of architects and the “protection of title”. Nor does State registration confer any rights of access into the European market, it is purely an internal and entirely discretionary policy.

In the general discussion which has ensued, a mistaken comparison with doctors has been drawn in order to explain the “protection” of the common usage word “architect”. My reply is that many important professions are conducted without a need to commandeer the language. Doctor is not a “protected title”, nor for example are the descriptions teacher, nurse, engineer, or journalist. The inevitable consequence of trade-marking the plain word “architect” is to create a closed shop and to reduce consumer choice.

This trouble can be reduced by ceasing to exclude the 1,000 or so non-RIAI architects whose established presence in the Irish market has been acknowledged by the Architects’ Council of Europe. It is simply achieved through the adoption within the current legislation, of a standard, self-extinguishing “grandfather clause” for long established, market-proven architects.

New entrants into the profession would continue to be bound by the new regime for they can make no claim of prior establishment and market accreditation. A clause similar or identical to that already provided in the Building Control Act 2007 for the equally important professions of Quantity Surveyor and Building Surveyor, will suffice.

In addition to being made State registrar, the RIAI was also made a competent authority for architects. It is therefore particularly disturbing to learn of its newly- launched political lobbying campaign which is targeted against a parliamentary Bill for just such a “grandfather clause”.

Of course it was hardly anticipated that the RIAI would use its State appointments in this way. But to also learn that RIAI credits for Continuing Professional Development are awarded to members attending lobbying briefings, takes the breath away. Only vested interests are served by continuing to deny us equity. – Is mise,

BRIAN MONTAUT,

Spokesperson for Architects’

Alliance,

Mount Pleasant Villas,

Bray,

Co Wicklow.