tommyt

@GrahamH wrote:

Nit-picky perhaps, but I was just passing watching the tourists scrambling about vieing for space with passing hoards of pedestrians, and observed firstly how utterly ridiculous these yokes look, secondly how ugly they are, thirdly how insensitively positioned they are in a tourist hotspot, and fourthly the obstacle they presented right in the middle of the busiest footpath in the city. Just no thought.

Going back to the title of the thread, having recently heard a speech (though more of a passionate rant) on Irish limestone from one of the two producers left in Kilkenny, the extraordinary fact emerged that at least 50% of their output goes straight onto boats to the Netherlands. They cannot get enough of Irish limestone, and are willing to pay for it in spite of their own native resource – albeit somewhat inferior. Irish limestone is proving particularly popular for sea defences, but also for paving and quite highly engineered interlocking municipal paving systems that are expensive to produce. They spend significant sums on paving in the Netherlands, deeming it to be an improving, cost-eflective, long term investment.

And yet we don’t even use the stuff here! Indeed in Kilkenny there’s a row brewing over proposals to use Chinese granite from the other side of the world to repave the city centre, rather than native limestone from the outskirts of the town. It was noted that too often municpal authorities in Ireland just see figures on a sheet and the bottom line, and nothing of the wider costs – social, economic and environmental – of trucking the alternative half way across the planet from potentially dubious sources. Once these factors are considered, our own little narrow world of penny-pinching dissolves into insignificance.

Apparently there’s also a reluctance to use limestone for paving: it often being deemed to be too slippery and not abrasive enough, whereas it is generally more than adequate in its natural state and especially so if a machine-punched finished is given.

It’d be great to see more native limestone paving the capital’s streets. You see the odd freak blue limestone kerb that stands out beautifully even against concrete, but that’s about the height of it. We really need to take both the longer term and wider view on this issue.

I may have mentioned it here before but I was flabbergasted to hear the same anecdote from a Tobermore sales rep a few years ago. He also stated that chineses granite is cheaper than ANY locally produced paving material. Prompts the obvious speculation about the lack of labour costs in chinese quarries… I know it is easier to cut as it is such a uniform material but if tonne for tonne it’s cheaper than even the crappest suburban driveway material it is going to appeal to the pple who control the purse strings in local authorities,

@Blisterman wrote:

Whereabouts, and what type if you don’t mind me asking?

1950s built estate in Dun Laoghaire- Had its problems but nothing major in my eyes-suppose I am from an era when artisan families still got social housing- In fact all social housing in DL could be considered a ‘success’ IMO- notwithstanding some typical societal problems involving drugs and crime-due to their proximity to wealthier, mixed use and recreational areas. That was the major problem with all the westside corpo housing built from the 60s onwards-no opportunities for the proles to mix with the posho crowd out in Blanch and Tallaght.

@paul h wrote:

Yea, great big glass dome would be sweet, but the high cost would be a factor im sure

Great pictures Overworked thanks, any shots of the planned interior??

I would imagine and hope the acoustic engineering necessities dictated the form, wouldn’t a dome be a nightmare sound wise?. Dublin’s never had a purpose built arena sized venue for concerts so hopefully it’s a marked improvement soundwise…

Decision due on this any day now. This site should heave been CPO’ed decades ago by CIE-but seein’ as they’re up to their oxters in property development too it’s no surprise we get TCD ravaging Pease St. as usual.

http://www.etenders.gov.ie/search/search_show.aspx?ID=OCT093130

Closing the stable door after the horse (in fact the whole mews!) has bolted.

@paul h wrote:

I’m a fairly liberal person with most issues,
but its preposterous to think that any group of people can set up and move in,
anywhere,on any piece of real estate
Especially a prized chunk of land like in docklands
Why should i have to work my ass off saving and working?
Maybe i should head to woodies or somethin pick up some ply wood and nails
and build my own little house in Stephens green

That would be an ecumenical matter. What other way has land come into private ownership over the centuries in that area other than the method you outline above?
Maybe Sir John Rogerson’s descendents should go down there and reclaim their stone that’s keeping the place from becoming a salt marcsh once again:)

@PVC King wrote:

Any progress 12 months on?

There was a tender awarded recently for the public realm/urban design, I presume based on the fact they want to pedestrianise Custom House Quay. If i find out more I will post it up your plasticness.

Lord Ardilaun will be spinning on his plinth!

Hartigans is 101 and the numbers run normally (i.e. not odds and evens )so it would be part of the Dept. of Marine/Coillte building accessed on Leeson lane or the catholic University School

Apologies to Devin et al if this has been covered in this thread already but the west side of merrion square from the national gallery entrance to the junction with clare st is in an awful state and worthy of pictorial commentary at the moment-the usual globs of tarmac around new water mains ,cement bodges etc. on what is one of the few remaining extant ‘carpets’ of wicklow granite paving apart from the southside of Molesworth st.and the southside of fitz sq.that I am aware of.