urbanisto
Forum Replies Created
- Posts
I stand by my comments on the cyan fenestration – I like it and I am not usually a fan of coloured uPVC, the awful dark blue stuff in particular. I think the splash of colour works well for the building. The big problem for this building is the narrowness of the quays at this point and the huge amount of dirt swept onto its facade from lorries, buses etc whizzing by.
Mount Prospect House, as the new infill is to be called, is certainly not particularly remarkable but it is an improvement in the concrete slab it replaces. Its best feature in my view is that its restores a degree of rhythm to the quays with its fenestration and use of brick. The set back (arghh!!! again!) top floor is conspicuous I agree and creates a featureless bob on top. A straightforward flush facade would have been preferable. I don’t like the window detailing either – the steel gantry frames.
The facade to the rear on Essex Street is also being remodelled in a similar fashion. Again it has the same effect on Temple Bar. Perhaps its the warm tones of the brick.
Agree with your sentiments fully Alek. I wonder how vocal the Westin are about the problem. The decline of Westmoreland Street continues unabated.
Still the Lighting Dept have been around the area. The Art Deco lamps on D’Olier Street were removed in Nov and replaced with the swan-neck style lamps, to match the others on the street.
Floodlighting: two other high profile lighting schemes gone to pot Graham…Connolly and Heuston Stations.
Its a real mess. Is this whole development site being actively managed while we await the development?Its doesn’t appear so. Even something as simple as the site notices which were plastered on every building during the planning process remain in place. The terrace along Henry Street, some of which are set for demolition (or are they? I lost track of the changes) are in terribly poor condition and have a consequent impact on the quality of the prime retail pitch. Further up O’C Street the former Royal Dublin Hotel development seems to have stopped. The big worry here is No 42, a hugely important townhouse which is half way in the process of restoration.
I never really bought into the whole National Monument status for these buildings on Moore Street. They are very poor quality in my view. The historic group advocating their protection are certainly very vocal but I’m still not convinced.
However, I really abhor this slow slide towards dereliction for large sites in the city. It is so retrograde.
Yes, I noticed. Its a shame, but the whole issue of feature lighting around the city must be raised. Its in a mess – all those nice uplighters and LEDs and arty lights which were installed in happier days have fallen foul of lack of maintenance. Think of the river bridges (we were moaning about the Millennium Bridge years ago – still missing lights), the Boardwalk, some of the pavement lighting on O’C Street, a great number of prominent buildings (Lafayette Building for example).
It all goes back to maintaining and valuing the public realm.
On a brighter side (fnar fnar) a candidate for most impressive floodlighting surely goes to the newly cleaned St Patricks Cathedral – beautifully bathed in white light. Looks magnificent.
A very smart revamp unveiled earlier in the year on Wood Quay.
The groovy cyan fenestration is new…really lifts an otherwise dull frontage.
Back down on Wellington Quay, this refronted building is nearing completion – a vast improvement on the ugly concrete 1970s job that went before.
And then of course this beauty on the prominent corner of Parliament Street. The shop has now closed. I am unaware if planning enforcement got involved.
A smarter outcome for this property further along the quay, part of the Clarence site. The shops were recently renovated and some have reopened, including this The Workman’s Club. The brickwork was cleaned of layers of paint and smartened up. Perhaps they can move a few doors up and undo the damage.
Capel Street is an ACA since January 2009 but that hasnt stopped the creep of poor quality and garish shopfronts.
The Planning Authority seems curiously reticent about engaging with ethnic businesses to encourage them to develop more sensitively. Given that the new Development Plan talks about encouraging ethnic quarters on streets like Capel Street then something has to change, otherwise the character and quality of the street will be harmed.
This property has applied for planning permission for a new shopfront (and went ahead and developed before the decision). The application makes no mention of the upper floors! The application is out to FI requesting revisions to ensure the building is improved and repaired.
A couple more shops in the area making zero effort to fit in
This parade on Talbot Street has been a mess since as long as I can remember. Shops just change hands, planning is non-existent, the adjoining Georgian townhouse has been butchered and disfigured repeatedly.
Further along Talbot Street, towards the junction with Marlborough
On North Earl Street, again a prime pitch…or at least what should be a prime pitch.
Here’s a snap of the less than desireous shopfront on Mary Street. A prime pitch on the city’s premier retail street should be aspiring to a lot better than this. The window transfers seem to be obligatory.
@GrahamH wrote:
Aha – Stephen’s eyes have been assaulted by the new Polish supermarket opposite St. Mary’s Church! Did ya ever see the like in all your days? Any other European city and this would be a quaint historic church surrounded by a civic square, little cafés and provisions shops and a daily on-street flower market. Here, we get a redundant roadway – newly paved specifically to make it more redundant – an industrially-railed off church curtilage crowded with commercial tat, a Polish supermarket straddling at least two historic properties forming the setting with newly mauled upper facades, and a fascia board ya can see from outer space!
Interestingly, now that the work is done, the owner feels it necessary to apply for retention permission 4095/10, decision pending. Observations can be made to 18th January.
A quick read of the application states: “the bi-chromatic colour scheme does not depart from the Development Plan Standards and adjacent colour schemes” and “portions of glazing are left clear to provide interaction in accordance with the Development Plan and O’Connell Street Shopfront Design Guidelines 2001”. So the shopfront designers are at least aware of the Shopfront Guidelines and appear to indicate that they have consulted them prior to designing the fascia.
Just of interest, the developer says they comply with the Development Plan Standards whcih apply. I assume they mean the new Development Plan 2011 – 2017 which comes into effect tomorrow and which will be used to assess this application. Section 17.25.3 of the Plan, entitled Signs of Shopfronts and Other Business Premuses states:
The signage relating to any commercial ground floor use should be contained within the fascia board of the shopfront. The lettering employed should be either on the fascia, or consist of individually mounted solid letters mounted on the fascia. The size of the lettering used should be in proportion to the depth of the fascia board.
Signage internal to the premises, including interior suspended advertising panels, which obscures views into the shop or business and creates dead frontage onto the street shall not normally be permitted.
Corporate signs will only be permitted where they are compatible with the character of the building, its materials and colour scheme and those of adjoining buildings.
Advertisements and signs relating to uses above ground floor level should generally be provided at the entrance to the upper floors, in a form and design which does not detract from or impinge upon the integrity of the ground floor shopfronts, or other elevational features of the building
Shopfronts sponsored by commercial brands will generally not be permitted
Proposals for signage shall have regard to Dublin City Council’s Shopfront Design Guide, 2001 and the O’Connell Street Area Shopfront Design Guidelines, 2003, where appropriate
All proposals for shopfronts shall have regard to the guidelines for illuminated signs as set out in Appendix 25 of this planHmm, judge for yourself.
I don’t mean to pick on this one particular premises. At the end of the days its welcome to see a new shop at this location, and its welcome to see the building renovated. However, we should aspire to a little more quality on such a prominent street. Why should John Keating, the previous owner and developer of St Mary’s Church opposite have to jump through the hoops to achieve the restoration of the building while next door gets away with the such a poor quality shopfront which in turn detracts form the church. Its very frustrating.
I feel that the issue of “ethnic shops” has been continually ignored by both the wider business community and the City Council for a long time now. Capel Street offers another view of the often chaotic nature of the shopfronts of ethnic stores. A few new shops have opened in recent months which leave very little to be desired. Ethnic shops are great – a very welcome addition to the diversity of streets, particularly the secondary streets. However they need to be engaged so that the quality of these streets is retained. Thats certainly not happening at the moment.
I see that the old art deco lampstands on D’Olier Street have been permanently removed and replaced with swan-neck replicas. The new lamps at least match the others on the street but I cant help wondering where the old lampstands have ended up. The “new” lamps have been expertly installed….in lumps of tarmac, however I presume this is because a repaving of this section of the street is being considered in the near future.
I agree that its complicated. Planning policy for the street (the sort thats implemented) also plays a part by designating retail the primary use at ground floor level. I haven’t looked too much into it but I wonder why greater use isnt made of upper floors not given over to retail. Also the proximity of streets such as Liffey St and Mary Street makes it all the more puzzling that restaurants aren’t accommodated here.
I think your point about stakeholders actively manage the street is spot on. This need to start happening. It has been encouraged in a recent report to DCBA for Capel Street. Unless stakeholder pull together then the slide will just continue, creating issues which they wont even have foreseen and ultimately damaging the attractiveness of the street.
Eh exactly..I was going to say all that but I got too depressed.
The fact remains that Dublin is still a desirable place for international retailers. In recent months, we have had Forever21, New Look and Next added to Jervis. Abercrombie and Fitch are taking the former Habitat store. Smaller boutique retailers regularly pop up on Grafton St and Exchequer St. As you rightly point out Graham, Exchequer St is one of the few city streets which feels as if it is actively managed – I wonder is it? Is most of the street owned by a single landlord. However, this attractiveness will very quickly be lost if the complete lack of planning enforcement, application of planning laws and overall vision for the city centre we see today is allowed to continue.
Some other offences to the senses:
Subway – bypassing any restrictions on new fastfood outlets in ACA and SPC areas by simply setting up shop in convenience stores, in most cases our old friend Griffiths.
Cant get your signage installed outside the premises? All you need to do here is plaster the window of the premises with signage.
Mono-use areas are an increasing problem. Henry Street may be a successful retail street but there is precious little else there. No restaurants worth the mention, limited cafes, limited bars, the market is hideous. As you say Graham, the area in front of St Mary’s Church is ideal for restaurants, although a UK tex mex chain is soon to open there – but its hardly the quality and character this little section deserves. Dame St is almost exclusively given over to bars and takeaways and tat. Very few quality businesses survive on what is the main spine of the city, the centre of the tourist city.We should also think of the pervasive effect of a lack of enforcement. Take the Starbucks and Costa example on Dame Street. Why should Starbuck, which provided a good quality frontage generally respectful to its very significant surroundings, feel it should play ball when next door Costa have pulled out all the bells and whistles, seemingly with impunity. In fact Costa can now be considered a serial offender since they took much the same approach to their former premises on Dawson Street. I wonder would they pull the same stunt on High St Kensignton?
Some other areas to those you mention Graham:
Talbot Street – a disaster area. Thankfully it retains some charm but some of the worst examples of tat are found here. Of particular interest to me has always been the row of “shops” at the corner with Gardiner Street. In fact they include the corner Georgian townhouse which has been unmercilessly hacked throughout the years. The “shops” regularly change from Polish shop to phone shop to “convenience” stores. All of the cheapest quality. Never so much as an invalidated planning application. It has been this way for YEARS! I would suggest the big ugly advertising hoardings tacked to the side of the building are also unauthorized. But why play ball when the local authority adds its own tat to the mix – see the recently installed concrete bollards at the junction with James Joyce Street which I mentioned in another thread.
Parnell Street – its gotten worse..if that was at all possible.
Marlborough Street – a complete disaster area but you only have to walk along it to feel the potential. Think about it: this street has a major college, the primary catholic church in the country, the national theatre, a govt department housed in one of the most attractive campuses of any department, a good deal of extant historic houses, and is 1 block back from the primary thoroughfare of the city and country.
Camden Street – there are two more applications in the system for super bars on this street! How many more bars can possibly be accommodated. Most places I see are half empty these days – even at weekends. Many of the buildings on this street are owned by a small number of “developers”. I dont think quality is in their dictionary.
And the last one to leave you with is a recent favourite of mine: the former XL convenience store on Parliament Street. XL got in there, defiled the shop front with a half finished lurid green paint job and a host of unauthorized signage, and went out of business after about 5 months. The ugly shop front remains as a reminder.
We are getting used to the idea that so much of what was gained over the past few years is being slowly eroded. This sad state of affairs can increasingly be seen in the city centre ( and many other town centres I imagine).
Walking through Dublin last week I couldnt help but notice the degree to which shopfronts have declines. BTs dazzling display aside, a great many shops are falling back into all the bad habits that are well illustrated in this thread.
I have heard a rumour that the City Council are now taking a blind eye approach to all new retail in the city centre. Put anything into a unit…as long as they pay rates. There appears to be no enforcement, no requirement to apply for permission to change shopfront, no application of the Shopfront Guidelines, little or no attempt to curb garish frontages. I know its Christmas etc but every shop window now seems plastered with poasters and stickers and temporary banners.
As ever, ethnic stores are the biggest offender. There seems to bean acceptance that all these operators are outside of the planning system. Some of the Polish skjeps in particular are dreadful.
Fair enough its a recession. Many of those smart boutiques and lifestyle shops are bound to close down as less money is about. And for whatever odd reasons the demand for tackarama euro shops increases.
I must get my camera out for some of the worst culprits.
Perhaps I am just a snob 🙂
I agree that we shouldnt be unduly negative. I think asking Andrew Montague to resign is rubbish! He has made a contribution to the city rarely seen among councillors. It is a pity that we didnt get more out of the deal though.
I am simply asking the question whether the scheme can be managed…such as getting bikes around stations, maintaining 5000 bikes, etc over such a wider area. Thats all.
If expanded it would certainly transform movement around the city.
From today’s IT:
Dublin bike scheme set for tenfold expansion
OLIVIA KELLYA TENFOLD expansion of the Dublin bike scheme from 500 to 5,000 bikes, which will be available to use from UCD to DCU, is planned by Dublin City Council.
The five-year expansion plan will see the number of bike stations across the city increased from just over 40 to about 300, bringing the service into the suburbs.
The expansion will take place in 14 phases radiating out from the current 41 locations. The area east of the current stations to the Docklands and west to Heuston Station will be the first areas of expansion, followed by the inner suburbs of Dolphin’s Barn, East Wall, Phibsboro, Cabra and Ranelagh.
By the end of five years, the council plans to have all areas covered out as far as DCU to the north of the city, UCD to the south, Inchicore to the west and Sandymount to the east.
The bike scheme, which has been operating since September 2009, has attracted more than 47,000 subscribers, making it one the most popular bike hire schemes in Europe. The bikes and their pick-up and drop-off stations have thus far been funded by out-door advertising company JC Decaux, which won the contract to provide the bike scheme in return for advertising space in the city.
However, Jim Keogan, executive manager of the council’s planning department, said the extension could not be funded in the same way as it would not be feasible or acceptable to allow the amount of advertising that would be required for the scale of expansion, nor could it be funded through council resources. Instead it would have to be achieved through a combination of public and private money.
The Department of Transport and the National Transport Authority were committed to assisting the completion of the first two phases to the Docklands and Heuston and private companies were “more than willing†to fund bike stations outside their premises, he added.
The expansion plans would, however, be subject to a public procurement process. Mr Keogan said he hoped that could get under way next spring and that work on the first two phases would get under way by the end of next year.
The council last April announced a small-scale expansion of the scheme to provide four new bike stations and 100 more bicycles. That was to have been completed by August, but to date only one of the stations, at Harcourt Terrace, is complete.
A new station at Smithfield will not be built until the work to upgrade the Smithfield Plaza begins; work on a site in Portobello is due to begin shortly; while plans for a new station at Eccles Street have had to be abandoned because of the discovery of a previously unidentified trunk water mains underground.
Mr Keogan said he would be reluctant to fund the expansion through an increase in charges, which would “alienate the populationâ€.
Is it really feasible to expand this to such a wide area and manage 5,000 bikes?
Its a small site beside the Fruit & Veg market. Left and straight down as you approach the Market from Marys Lane
Some new for this part of the city from today’s Irish Times
Dublin business group seeks to revive rejuvenation plans for ‘city markets’
The Dublin City Business Association yesterday published the Capel Street and City Markets report which focuses on the Capel Street and markets area as two distinct but linked districts.
OLIVIA KELLY
PLANS TO redevelop Dublin city’s Victorian fruit and vegetable markets and surrounding area that collapsed two years ago are being revived by the Dublin City Business Association (DCBA).
Dublin City Council in 2005 published the Markets Framework Plan, a €425 million urban regeneration scheme for the north inner city area surrounding the Victorian Fruit and Vegetable Market, the former fish market and the Daisy Market.
Under the plan, the wholesale fruit market was to be converted into a high-end retail food market, retaining some wholesalers and introducing restaurants. The fish market site would be turned into a civic square surrounded by shops, offices and apartments, and the Daisy Market would be developed as a three-storey sports, leisure and community centre.
In late 2007 a consortium led by Paddy Kelly, one of the principal developers involved in the regeneration of nearby Smithfield, was selected by the council as the preferred bidder for the regeneration project. Restaurateur Patrick Guilbaud and the Exchequer Street restaurant, wine bar and high-end grocers Fallon Byrne were identified as potential anchor tenants for the scheme.
However, agreements were never signed and Mr Kelly’s property empire subsequently collapsed. Earlier this year, the council sought to turn part of the site, the Daisy Market, into a waste depot and recycling facility but was blocked by councillors.
DCBA yesterday published the Capel Street and City Markets report, which it said is a strategy to rejuvenate the area as a “distinctive shopping environment†and create a “gastronomic centre for the city†without relying on property developers.
The plan focuses on Capel Street and the markets area as two distinct but linked districts. The report notes that the council has had several plans for the regeneration of these areas since the 1990s, but while nearby areas such as Henry Street have improved dramatically over the last two decades Capel Street and the markets have remained substantially run-down.
The centrepiece of the area, the fruit and vegetable market should be rebranded as “City Markets†and developed along the lines of the English Market in Cork with small businesses selling indigenous products. Unlike what the report describes as the council’s “rather grandiose plans†for the markets which are now “unachievableâ€, the markets should be developed gradually, with the small number of existing fruit and vegetable wholesalers encouraged to develop a retail element where practical.
The council, which still owns the market should upgrade it so it would be suitable and attractive for other food retailers. They in time would attract associated businesses such as restaurants, cafes and cookery schools. Capel Street would then benefit from the increased pedestrian flow of shoppers from Henry Street towards the City Markets.
Almost a quarter of the premises of Capel Street are vacant and others house “undesirable†businesses such as adult shops, or have shop fronts which are inappropriate to the architectural character of the street. The council should use its existing planning powers to eliminate these problems, the report said.
Mary’s Lane, which links Capel Street to the markets should be pedestrianised, it continued, and a new Luas stop should be located behind the markets.
DCBA chief executive Tom Coffey said the initial upgrade of the Victorian market would cost the council less than €1 million and would be a catalyst for the development of the area.
Well, I stand corrected and the main culprit on Westmoreland Street is a non functioning streetlight. IN fact you are right the street was particularly dark and foreboding last evening. However the trees are as much a problem. Look at the traffic island with Mr Moore and his assorted tatt. Despite the large streetlight the trees block out much of the light. Some winter pruning is required.
The full report by Dublin Civic Trust entitled Defining Dublin’s Historic Core is available to download from their website http://www.dublincivictrust.ie/publications.php.
