urbanisto
Forum Replies Created
- Posts
It is an absolute disgrace! I completely echo the scepticism that Archiseek and contributors express about the Conservation Plan. Fine words but thats about it. The fact is the street has been in bits for years without any attention from DCC. Now when they do feel spurred to get invloved this is what happens! I notice the Plan also calls for more sympathetic street furniture….that’ll be stainless steel bollards then. What a scandal!
Im quite supportive of these. They are in most other cities I have been in and seem to work fine. They should also lead to two positive developments – a reduction in billboards and an improvement in the provision of maps and tourist information (at least that is how I understood it – although we can’t always believe what we hear!) I would also like to see the introduction of the large advertising columns one sees on the continent. I think they can be very usuful for event promotion….something that it not very accessible at the moment.
I take your comments about the cycle lanes though….. even if DCC doesnt!
Aside from a few glitches such as the bollards issue and the running short of some granite, the standard of work to the historic paving in the City Architect’s Department new Dame Street plaza project was good, and stands in contrast to an earlier project of theirs next door – the millennium restoration of City Hall.
Hmmm I certainly dont feel happy about any aspect of the plaza and pavemnet works around this new building. 😡 Leaving aside the building itself I think the works that have been undertaken show a staggering lack of thought and design. Firstly mixing the orignal paving with a newer type looks like a dogs dinner. A similar compalint is made today on Archiseek about Hernietta Street. Why not either one or the other! And the fixtures and fitting are so bland and utilitarian – nondescript grates and bollards – what ever happened to beauty! I would also be highly critical of the way the plaza is laid out. for example why wasnt Palace Street repaved to provide a shared surface for predestrains and allow for an imporved entrance in to the Castle. This is after all the MAIN ENTRANCE! into Dublin Castle. And why are cars allowed part here. A similar decision was taken on the other side between the ‘plaza’ and City Hall. Why not completely pave this area in a unified and coherent way? I would also question the lighting and the lack of greenery. In fact the only token sob to greenery are the 4 sapling at the back to the square…surely these days we can plant semi-mature trees that at least have a presence from the beginning rather than in 20 years time!
Its a complete waste and getting the joining between some paving salbs right does nothing to redeem it in my mind.
I completely agree. Preserving this building as a NM is a nonsense. How many other more worthy sites have been sacrificed through the years without such a high profile protest. I think its make future development of this area (sorely needed as it is becoming a total kip) very difficult.
Its the classic scenario Graham where buildings simply must adapt or die. The fact is that the whole area (soon to be an ACA and Special Planning Control Area of course) requires site consolidation while at the same time maintaining the historic character and the stock of beautiful period buildings. I think, on balance, the above is a positive outcome. The curved glass shopfronts look exquisite…. they make you want to look inside. Certainly contrast with the new Dunnes Stores across on Henry Street (subject of another post by you). Its quite possible to have a strong street presence and a proportionate shopfront.
Its the new addition beside City Hall I think? (B)
And all those chaotic rooftops (A)….is it Henrietta Street by chance
Its the new addition beside City Hall I think? (B)
And all those chaotic rooftops (A)….is it Henrietta Street by chance
Whatever the merits or otherwise of this building, one positive outcome is that the Sick and Indigent Roomkeepers at least got a decent paint job out of it and looks much healthier now, A nice shiny coat on its front door (in fact a new front door!) would be the final touch.
The plaza trees are being fitted with lights today. And they look to have been more thoughtfully added.
Chirstmas lighting has been attached to all the lampposts along OConnell Street. Any idea when the lighting up ceremony is. Rumour has it that Newbridge Silver will be decorating the tree! You know your in the Land of the Celtic Tiger when you hear that!
Jez, I have to wonder why too Fennetec! It seems the best laid plans of mice and councils gang aft ary! Now let the signage pole frenzy commence!!! Oops its already started on O’Connell Bridge
A bit more detail…
Airport metro to take in Drumcondra, Ballymun
By David Labanyi Last updated: 19-10-06, 11:54From 2012 passengers arriving in Dublin Airport will be able to take a Metro into the centre of Dublin with a 17 minute journey time, under a plan published today.
The Metro North, linking Stephen’s Green with Lissenhall, north of Swords, will have 15 stops and will be able to carry 20,000 passengers an hour. The Minister for Transport Martin Cullen said trains will run every four minutes at peak time and can increase to one every 90 seconds if required.
It is anticipated that the 17km line North Metro will carry up to 34 million passengers annually from St Stephen’s Green to Dublin Airport and Swords.
The decision on the routes follows a detailed public consultation process which started with the outlining of four possible options.
Following more than 2,000 submissions, the route chosen by the Railway Procurement Agency is an amalgam of two options.
The metro will travel under the Liffey to serve O’Connell St, the Mater Hospital, Dublin City University, Griffith Avenue, Ballymun, the airport and on through Swords to Lissenhall.
Half of the line will be underground while the other half will run on street level separated from traffic.
Mr Cullen said: “Metro will offer a new travel experience for business and leisure commuters in speed, ease and comfort. With the Luas, it will undoubtedly compound this excellent start in transforming the capital’s public transport system.”
The project is part of the Government’s €34 billion Transport 21 investment programme.
The Drumcondra stop will serve the 82,000-seater Croke Park while DCU’s 10,000 students will also have their own Metro station.
The RPA said that Dublin City Council requested a stop at Parnell Square East to serve the north inner city, and it is seeking further public consultation on this.
The route includes several key interchanges with rail and bus services including a key connection with the Maynooth suburban rail at Drumcondra.
The project will have more than 2,000 park and ride spaces and is projected to cut road journeys by 100 million kilometres per year.
Mr Cullen added: “Metro North is not just an airport link. It is an important commuter link for the communities and the institutions of north Dublin city and county.
“By developing Metro North and Metro West, by extending the Luas network, by providing greater capacity on the DART and suburban rail network and by increasing significantly bus capacity, the annual number of public transport passenger journeys in Dublin will almost double.
The next step in the Metro project will involve work on progressing the design of the route and stations and the preparation of a Railway Order application by the RPA.
Neither an approximate cost or details of the cost benefit analysis have yet been released, with the Minister for Transport saying to reveal such information would undermine the Government’s negotiating position when contracts are issued.
Mr Cullen said the project would be funded by a Public Private Partnership to ensure best value for money for the Exchequer.
As part of the project a terminus will be built under Stephen’s Green. Because the Luas Green line and the Metro will not be linked, passengers will use this terminus to change trains. This terminus will also accommodate passengers on the rail interconnector.
RPA chairman Padraic White said there was a 50-person project team including international experts with experience in major transport projects like the Channel Tunnel, the Hong Kong underground, Oporto Metro, Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 5 and Munich’s S-Bahn.
Hurrah! Good news – it was….
Here are the conditions
REFUSE PERMISSION
1. The proposed development would, by virtue of its excessive height, bulk and scale constitute overdevelopment of the site, would be out of scale with the established pattern of development in the area, would constitute a visually obtrusive element in the skyline in this location and would compromise the setting of adjacent protected structures. The proposed development would therefore be contrary to the provisions of Paragraph 15.6.0 of the Dublin City Development Plan, would seriously injure the amenities and depreciate the value of property in the vicinity and would be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.
2. The proposed demolition of the stone buildings at the corner of Ringsend Road and Barrow Street and which are located within the curtilage of protected structures would result in a reduction in visual quality of the area and a loss of transitional structures between the large scale stone buildings to the smaller scale structures on Ringsend Road. The proposed demolition would be contrary to Policies H2 and H27 of the Dublin City Development Plan which seek the retention and reuse of building of architectural or aesthetic merit, would seriously injure the amenities and depreciate the value of property in the vicinity and would be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.
3. The proposed works to Blocks B and C both of which are included on the Record of Protected Structures would constitute an excessive level of intervention such as would have a significant negative impact on the character of the protected structure. The proposed development would therefore be contrary to Policy H2 of the Dublin City Development Plan which seeks the protection of the curtilage of protected structures, would seriously injure the amenity of the area and would be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.
4. By virtue of the lack of permeability proposed through the application site, the poor quality and limited civic space and a relationship with both Barrow Street and the Grand canal Dock the proposed development would be detrimental to amenity and the urban design objectives set out in paragraph 3.3.1 of the Dublin City Development Plan. The proposed development would therefore seriously injure the amenity of the area and would be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.
5. The proposed preponderance of office use together with the lack of a significant residential component and a lack of variety in ground floor uses would contravene materially the zoning objective for the site as identified in the Dublin City Development Plan (Objective Z14), ”to seek the social economic and physical development or rejuvenation of an area with mixed use of which residential and Z6 would be the predominant uses’.Pretty comprehensive I think.
This is the planning file <a href="http://www.dublincity.ie/swiftlg/apas/run/WPHAPPDETAIL.DisplayUrl?theApnID=4616/06&theTabNo=2&backURL=Search%20Criteria%20>%20Bolands Mill Development
OPW are to apply for permission to redevelop Findlaters House on O’Connell Street as a headquarters and information centre for Irish Aid. The plans will include replacing the exsiting facade with a new angular glass facade incorporating display panels. The ground floor will be used as an information centre and performance space with offices overhead.
Finally some movement on this eyesore but sadly by more or less retaining its present usage it won’t do much for footfall on the upper street.
Eircom are indulging in a phone kiosk installation extravaganza on OC street at the moment…. You better get in their quick Fenetec
The kiosks everyone (in their right mind) loves to hate go from bad to worse. Anyone noticed the shutters installed on the fronts. The original design didnt even stand up to a couple of years usage. The Theatre Festival is using one kiosk at the moment and guess what…its got uPVC patio doors! These are a disaster. A shop and a transient info desk. The other two remain unused. DCC should remove them immediately and return the bridge space to pedestrians.
One of the benches has been smashed and awaiting repair. In the meantime its festooned with red and white warning tape. The whole scheme is becoming an eyesore.
From this mornings Irish Times….
Council plans to create ‘cathedral quarter’ in heart of medieval Dublin
Frank McDonald, Environment EditorDublin City Council is planning to create a new “cathedral quarter” in the heart of the medieval city, centred on Christ Church and St Patrick’s and surviving remnants of the old city walls.
The plan envisages creating new routes through the area, following the line of the walls where possible, as well as new public spaces and a city museum on St John’s Lane, partially obscuring the north front of Christ Church Cathedral.
Other proposals in the plan, which was drawn up by McCullough Mulvin Architects, include eliminating St Audoen’s Park on the corner of High Street and Bridge Street to reinstate a sense of enclosure by building up the street frontages.
The sunken Peace Garden at the corner of Christchurch Place and Nicholas Street – installed in 1991 – is also being targeted for similar treatment, though an element of green space would be retained behind a new building on the frontage.
Implementation of the plan, which has the support of city archaeologist Ruth Johnson and heritage officer Donncha Ó Dulaing, will start with the creation of a new public space in front of the longest intact section of the city wall in Great Ship Street.
Architect Niall McCullough said the aim would be to provide a new route linking Dublin Castle with Nicholas Street following the line of the city wall, including the little-known Geneval’s Tower, off Bride Road, which is currently inaccessible to the public.
The Office of Public Works and Dublin City Council have agreed to a series of land swaps to facilitate the plan, according to the city council’s chief planning officer, Dick Gleeson, who said the aim was to “reinterpret the history and meaning of the city walls”.
He conceded that the historic core of Dublin had become “extremely fragmented”, largely due to the damage caused by major road-widening schemes that turned High Street/Cornmarket and much of Nicholas Street/Patrick Street into dual-carriageways.
“The cathedral quarter plan makes a big strong gesture towards repairing the damage done to the city core,” Mr Gleeson said. “It will also create multiple routes from St Stephen’s Green and Trinity College to bring more tourists into the Liberties.” At present, many tourists “get lost and confused in the city core, suffering a huge amount of angst crossing roads” in what Ms Johnson described as a “noisy, dirty, unfriendly pedestrian environment”. What they should be getting is a “real experience”.
Under the plan, some road space will be “reclaimed” to make more room for pedestrians. “Cornmarket is so blown apart that we have to be very bold looking at the options to reinstate it while creating a new public amenity for local people,” Mr Gleeson said.
According to Mr McCullough, the whole area needed the urban design equivalent of “mouth-to-mouth resuscitation”. The creation of new pedestrian routes would provide a “different way of going round the city that nobody has used for hundreds of years”.
He stressed that the plan aimed to “keep every fragment” of the city wall because the urban grain of the area is based on it. “We’re at the point in Dublin where you have to hang on to things like that ferociously, because there isn’t much of it left”. Asked about the potentially contentious proposal to build a city museum in front of Christ Church Cathedral, he said medieval cathedrals “should be seen over roofs”, rather than being exposed. “These roofs were there until 40 or 50 years ago,” he added.
Mr Gleeson said Dublin badly needed a city museum that would “fill out” the site of the Civic Offices.
© The Irish Times
I applied to go to this conference thinking that it would be interesting and at the very least offer some new perspectives on how the city should develop. I just got the invoice for a delegate place this morning: €477. Personally I can’t see how this is justified, is it to pay for the salubrious venue, the speakers (a number of whom are paid public representatives!), or is it simply a fundraiser for the PDs. Either way Im certainly priced out. “Be warned” anyone else who thinks they’d like to attend.
Those of you interested in this development might wish to have a look at the model on display in DCC at the moment. From what i can see the development invloves demolishing a whole section of the existing Arnotts store, not just the 1960s addition but the Edwardian section west of the tower. Also on the Abbey Street side Chapters book store also seems to have gone along with the remaining buildings cornering Upper Liffey Street including ‘aul Hector Greys (its a sad day for Dublin). Some of the new linking street look very narrow, particularly the Abbey Street links. Im not sure they’ll make such nice places. Also would like to see changes to the Pennys facade to fit in better with the GPO and Easons. One area thats not included (which I thought was) is the corner of Liffey Street and Henry Street. All the buildings at this corner are outside of the development area.
