Are they EVER Going to Clean the Spire?

Undercoverguy

Dirty
Dirty
Dirty
Dirty
Dirty
Shiny
Shiny
Shiny

Thats what the spire looks like to me and every tourist in the world.
Why the hell are Dublin City Council taking so long to clean the damb thing.
If i remember correctly back in Christmas 2004 they issued a statment saying that in the new year (2005) the spire would be cleaned fom top to bottom at a cost of EUR 200,000. They were just awaiting a crane long enough to do the job...... Is the crane coming from Pluto?

So are ya curious what 200k buy ya for cleaning?
RAGS and SOAPY water! I kid you not, NO Fancy Chemicals or Polish. Soapy feckin water.

Another thing, where are all these fancy lights and lasers that were ment to be beaming on it at night? They never appeared either.

Oh and before someone asks, Yes the Spire is "Self Cleaning" only "We havnt recieved enough rain" says the developer. As well as that the "unplanned" work on o'connel street has sent more grime into the air and hence made it more dirty.

'Unplanned'???? I remember the Spire being submitted rather late into the whole re-devlopement of the street dont you? They so bloody well KNEW!

WE HATE YOU SPIRE: http://www.channel4.com/culture/microsites/B/building/images/img_ts_01.jpg

Binomate

Undercoverguy wrote:

Dirty
Dirty
Dirty
Dirty
Dirty
Shiny
Shiny
Shiny

Thats what the spire looks like to me and every tourist in the world.
Why the hell are Dublin City Council taking so long to clean the damb thing.
If i remember correctly back in Christmas 2004 they issued a statment saying that in the new year (2005) the spire would be cleaned fom top to bottom at a cost of EUR 200,000. They were just awaiting a crane long enough to do the job...... Is the crane coming from Pluto?

So are ya curious what 200k buy ya for cleaning?
RAGS and SOAPY water! I kid you not, NO Fancy Chemicals or Polish. Soapy feckin water.

Another thing, where are all these fancy lights and lasers that were ment to be beaming on it at night? They never appeared either.

Oh and before someone asks, Yes the Spire is "Self Cleaning" only "We havnt recieved enough rain" says the developer. As well as that the "unplanned" work on o'connel street has sent more grime into the air and hence made it more dirty.

'Unplanned'???? I remember the Spire being submitted rather late into the whole re-devlopement of the street dont you? They so bloody well KNEW!

WE HATE YOU SPIRE: http://www.channel4.com/culture/microsites/B/building/images/img_ts_01.jpg

The 'design' at the bottom of it looks like they didn't take the wrapper off it properly.

Endurance Man

200k to clean the blody thing :eek: , who are the hell are they hiring, ill do it.

Rb

200K to clean the thing with soapy water and a rag?F*ck that, who is charging 200K to clean a pole?

robbie1876

Most of the 200K will go on the hiring of the crane. It's a mother of a job to get it to O'Connell St, set it up and safely operate it. I'm sure if they gave this dude a soapy rag and a good stew he'd do it for the free publicity.

holly_johnson

I thought it was also meant to be rust free, but I believe it is full of rust??

We all knew it was going to be a shambles, but I think it is a very expensive mistake

xzanti

holly_johnson wrote:

I thought it was also meant to be rust free, but I believe it is full of rust??

We all knew it was going to be a shambles, but I think it is a very expensive mistake

Yeah didnt they use some new fangled space aged metal from NASA* or something to make it???

Pigman II

I've heard he's also sold spires to Ogdenville, Brockway and North Haverbrook.

xzanti

Pigman II wrote:

I've heard he's also sold spires to Ogdenville, Brockway and North Haverbrook.

Lol

godtabh

I thought it was meant to be self cleaning? Mind you the lights were meant to last 20 years. How long did they get out of them 18 months?

connundrum

xzanti wrote:

Yeah didnt they use some new fangled space aged metal from NASA* or something to make it???

All the bits from the rockets which ended up failing the NASA missions were used in the construction of the Spike... true story It was doomed to fail even before it was erected.

Actually I remember laughing like a schoolboy when the news were covering the erection of said Spike.. they musta said erection like 20 times in 30 seconds - good times

Jumpy

Pigman II wrote:

I've heard he's also sold spires to Ogdenville, Brockway and North Haverbrook.

Spiiiiiiiire, Spiiiiiiiiiiiiire, Spiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiire, Spi...DOH!

stevenmu

rb_ie wrote:

200K to clean the thing with soapy water and a rag?F*ck that, who is charging 200K to clean a pole?

Chuck Norris, they've hired him to stand there and stare at the dirt untill it runs away screaming in terror. He estimates it'll take 17 seconds to clean the whole spire.





:v:

holly_johnson

stevenmu wrote:

Chuck Norris, they've hired him to stand there and stare at the dirt untill it runs away screaming in terror. He estimates it'll take 17 seconds to clean the whole spire.
:v:

hahahaha excellent!:v:

irlrobins

I'll think you find it's meant to be shiner at the bottom than at the top. And the lights at the top are exactly what was in the original design. Don't know where ur getting your laser idea from....

http://www.irish-architecture.com/buildings_ireland/dublin/northcity/oconnell_street/spire_competition/design_summary.html

fly_agaric

Maybe they'll wait till they finish turning O'Connell St. into a pedestrian punji trap?

Was it not supposed to be self cleaning?

Clinical Waste

ronoc wrote:

Was it not supposed to be self cleaning?

Yep, as in the same way your car is self-cleaning -RAIN!

Hitchhiker's Guide to...

was definitely supposed to be self-cleaning. think it was made by Pilkington with a new self-cleaning design ... still, the sooner it rusts away the better ... bring back Nelson

mickymg2003

LOL!!!Brilliant!!

Its always the right time for a chuck norris joke!!!

Binomate

Binomate wrote:

The 'design' at the bottom of it looks like they didn't take the wrapper off it properly.

That's a design?! I was wondering!!

connundrum

We could all stand at the bottom of it and spit-shine up as far as the tallest person could reach? Apparently there are cracks in it already, but according to the architect 'they are not of great significance'.. looks like its gonna be another millenium clock - read it here first

"Spike to be taken down due to public safety fears".. mid 2007 I predict! :rolleyes:

Arathorn

Typical negative Irish Attitude, if we had the leaning tower of pisa here you would complain it was slanty. Just needs a rub down is all. Leave the spire alone it looks cool.

DonkeyStyle \o/

Arathorn wrote:

Typical negative Irish Attitude, if we had the leaning tower of pisa here you would complain it was slanty.

Hey, weren't people complaining that the spire was slanty not so long ago?
tbh I think they should hang a giant flag on the top... make it the worlds largest sculpture* and flagpole.

*... or so they claim (or was it just in europe )

Binomate

It's not tall enough.

Devon

Is it a design or is it that the steel wasn't honed properly? It looks absolutely horrible whatever it is.

bluewolf wrote:

That's a design?! I was wondering!!

drag0n79

Undercoverguy wrote:

Dirty
Dirty
Dirty
Dirty
Dirty
Shiny
Shiny
Shiny

Thats what the spire looks like to me and every tourist in the world.

It's not dirty. It's just (purposely) shinier at the bottom. From the original description:
From its base up to about 4m, the stainless steel will be polished in an abstract design to provide a slightly higher reflective surface than the remainder of the cone.

Not sure where you got your info about 200k for cleaning it.

Riamfada

Arathorn wrote:

Typical negative Irish Attitude, if we had the leaning tower of pisa here you would complain it was slanty. Just needs a rub down is all. Leave the spire alone it looks cool.

Its a big metal spike thats supposed to be a ..........? monument?
COME ON!



The Leaning tower of Pisa looks cool. The Spike dosnt

markpb

drag0n79 wrote:

It's not dirty. It's just (purposely) shinier at the bottom. From the original description:
From its base up to about 4m, the stainless steel will be polished in an abstract design to provide a slightly higher reflective surface than the remainder of the cone.

Not sure where you got your info about 200k for cleaning it.

I dunno if you've looked at it lately but you can clearly see the brown streaks on it - it's definitely getting dirtier as time goes by.

And the bill, from what I can find is expected to be 30k. That was in July 2004 but I guess, as someone else said already, perhaps they're waiting till the work below has finished.

seriouslyme3

Ok i'm back. The cleaning bill is a minium cost stated by Dublin City Council, a large amount of that money will be for the crane used to clean it.

The fancy lights were ment to be mounted from the four corners at the intersection of the spire. So one on the GPO Corner, Another where the Cafe is, One on the Ann Summers side and Finally One on the Mc Donals Side.

These WERE in the original plans from Dublin City Council printed in the Irish Times which i hope to get scanned and posted today.

The Spire is still physically sound, Its not bending or falling over and there are no cracks. A large part of these rumors were caused by the Evening Herald and The Irish Sun on April Fools day when they both Photoshoped an Image of the spire with cracks on it. They stated on a later page that it was indeed a prank however most people didnt notice this retraction and the rumors grew.

Finally.....
The Spire is DIRTY.... Get over it.
Yes its ment to be slightly more "Shiny" at the base near where the "design" is.... and i use the term Design loosely! Visit Dublin City Centre and have a proper look during Daylight. I pass it twice a day and the thing is bloody brown.

The Spire cost alot of controversy when it was erected with people saying it was going to look Ugly..... I have a feeling all those people are saying "Told Ya So".

I posted not to long ago on another message board in the states regarding how we'd spent 131million asking computer geeks questions about PPARS and it caused uproar from members on the board. They all said it was a discrace, i then went on to post a recent picture of the Spire with the caption "6 Million Needle" to which most replies were.... Why is the bottom a different colour.

I replied: ITS DIRTY

Arathorn

Grimes wrote:

Its a big metal spike thats supposed to be a ..........? monument?
COME ON!



The Leaning tower of Pisa looks cool. The Spike dosnt

What would you have put there then another boring statue that you see in any city in the world.
Its not famous so its a nice surprise for tourists, and it marks out the centre. Its one of my favourite world monuments
because its so simple. Long live the spire

connundrum

seriouslyme3 wrote:

Get over it.

If it was green it'd be nicer.. and as previously suggested, its not nearly tall enough :v:

scuba steve

Pigman II wrote:

I've heard he's also sold spires to Ogdenville, Brockway and North Haverbrook.

ha ha!

curliq

I saw a fella cleaning it the other week! He was in a luminous yellow jacket, and had a rag and what looked like Mr.Sheen, and was rubbing it in little circles, I kid you not. I coudn't stop laughin, it looked like the way my granny used to polish her mahogany dresser!

modular

From Architect's brief:

The base of the monument
The Light Monument cone will pass through a 7 metre. diameter circular base of Kilkenny black marble. The change from white Wicklow granite to the black marble was made in order to better present reflections and the pulsed mercury, and to dive the monument a visually stronger base. We confirm the incorporation of a raised Celtic spiral machined into the marble surface. We propose that this spiral will be hand drawn and transferred as a template to the stonemasons. Mercury will be pulsed onto the surface of the marble from the perimeter, and will flow towards the cone. There will be five zones corresponding to the protective glass joints above the marble.

Now that'd be cool. Pity they didn't go ahead with that bit.

The spire's dirty, yeah. Sort of. I like it though, it's minimalistic and cool-looking.

Nightwish

I like the Spire, I pass it every day when I'm in Dublin, but it is filthy. I thought it was meant to be self cleaning too. It badly needs a rub down.

crazy angel

ah i like the spire, yea its dirty.......but the statue there before was dirty too.

ronbyrne2005

anytime im
near spire i see tourists looking at it and taking photo's,if a tourist asks for directions you usually only have to mention spire and they know where your talking about.its a focal point in centre of city,it is simple and impressive-especially at night.it only cost 6million which is nothing for sculpture for a city centre given the cost of other government projects in this country and abroad

Thomas_S_Hunterson

I'd clean it for €100K personally. Couldn't be more than a weeks work.

Tar.Aldarion

Ah the spire, great meeting point and we always end up there, it lets me know where I am, don't really care how clean it is though...

Sarsfield

I think the Spire is fantastic. It needs cleaning, but it's still a wonderful piece of work.

I see it every day and night. At night, I can even see the top of it from where I live, nearly 4 miles west.

Long live the Spire and **** the begrudgers

JimmySmith

All they have to do is go to some Japanese university and ask them if they'll build a robot to climb and clean as it goes.
I bet they would do it for free.

R0ot

/me will do it for €50