Architects' proposal to remove bridge merely 'tongue in cheek'

Yixian

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0730/1224251671423.html

A PROPOSAL by Dublin City Council architects to remove the loopline railway bridge in front of the Custom House has been dismissed by Iarnród Éireann and the council’s planners.

The proposal to remove the bridge, long considered one of the city’s biggest eyesores because it blocks views of the Custom House, surfaced yesterday at the An Bord Pleanála hearing into the proposed redevelopment of Tara Street train station.

Iarnród Éireann is proposing a 15-storey office tower as part of a €100 million redevelopment of the station. Its planning application, opposed by the council, is being considered by An Bord Pleanála under the new “fast-track” procedure for strategic infrastructure projects. According to a report from the council’s architecture division, which was discussed at yesterday’s second day of the hearing, the most significant improvement Iarnród Éireann could make in the area would be to remove the loopline bridge.

The report noted that proposals for the removal of the bridge have been made as far back as 1922.

However, Niall McDonnell, senior planner with the council, said it was not the authority’s policy to have the bridge removed.

No no no no no!! Just do it! Knock the bastard down, seriously, it's the ugliest bridge in the entire centre of town... How this thing has survived all these years I do not know, is there anybody that doesn't want it demolished? The Liffey vista would benefit more from this monstrosity being removed than any wire man >_>

Riskymove

+1

but it means getting rid of tara street station which is not going to happen

Dirk Gently

am I the only one who actually likes that bridge? Leave it be I say.

Yixian

Really obscures the view down the Liffey

I'm sure they could do something with the DART line to allow it to be dismantled, or at least completely redesigned. I'd even be alright with Calatrava having a crack at it.

Still I noticed last time I visited those terrible bilboards had been removed at least.

ANXIOUS

Yixian wrote: »

Still I noticed last time I visited those terrible bilboards had been removed at least.

Yeah i think that they we're given free advertizing space around the city, in return for taking the board down.

arybvtcw0eolkf

I like it, a lot.

If there was one bridge I'd remove its that James Joyce one.

Ugly as sin.

.

Yixian

It also has this psychological dividing effect making the docklands seem so far away when you're at O'Connells. I bet you when PV and Spencer Dock open there'll be another call for it to be torn down.

lightening

Don't like it. Blocks the city from the bay, removing it would really really bring the docks and the coast in to the city.

Yixian

lightening wrote: »

Don't like it. Blocks the city from the bay, removing it would really really bring the docks and the coast in to the city.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

P_1

While i would like to see it go, what would it be replaced with?

If the issue is with it being so high blocking off the docks I can't see how it can be replaced without causing a rediculous amount of disruption to the DART line.

Yixian

Take the DART underground at the two stations either side of the river and with the resulting real estate freed up above ground, build and lease office space to offset the costs?

Or just replace it with a very thin, very strong, modern bridge, that way the vista is only obscured when a train is actually over the river.

Then we just have to redesign the DARTs xDDD

lightening

Replace it with good engineering and architecture, glass, steel and minimum visual effect. Almost have the trains "hovering" by. Would look better than whats there.

markpb

Yixian wrote: »

Take the DART underground

The cost for that would run into billions. Tunnelling is very expensive and most of the cost is at either end so building very short tunnels is even more expensive. There's also the minor point about tunnelling under a river which is tricky at the best of times. The section of Metro North under the Liffey is expected to be 25m below ground.

with the resulting real estate freed up above ground, build and lease office space to offset the costs?

Have you seen the amount of space it would free up? It's tiny! I suppose if someone wanted to build a very long, very thin and extremely curvey building - this would be the perfect space

Yixian

lightening wrote: »

Replace it with good engineering and architecture, glass, steel and minimum visual effect. Almost have the trains "hovering" by. Would look better than whats there.

This could work perhaps? Just two long metal poles with the track for each side of the DARt built into each, running parallel across the river? Like two Spires lying horizontally across the Liffey

lightening

markpb wrote: »

The cost for that would run into billions. Tunnelling is very expensive and most of the cost is at either end so building very short tunnels is even more expensive.

Hueston and Connelly are connected already under the river by train! You are right, it would cost a fortune, just thought I would throw that useless piece of info in anyway.

Dirk Gently

lightening wrote: »

Replace it with good engineering and architecture, glass, steel and minimum visual effect. Almost have the trains "hovering" by. Would look better than whats there.

I like the look of it. It's an honest railway bridge. The heavy industrial look is not out of character for it's function and it's location at the entrance to the docklands area. I actually think it adds character to the river side. Nothing wrong with a mixture of old and new. Not everything has to be shiny and modern and cost unimaginable amounts of money to perform a mundane task. When I think of spending good money to replace it, and also the disruption it would cause to the rail line I'm stunned that anyone would even consider it outside one of those hypothetical "If you had unlimited money and you could only spend it on a railway bridge over the liffey" type pub scenarios.

Since the advertising came down and it got a lick of paint it's actually one of my favourite structures in the city. Always makes me want a pint of guinness when I walk by too. Some not so subtle advertising going on with the paint job me thinks. If anything should get a face lift it's the stretch along the quays from butt bridge back down towards o connell bridge.

Yixian

It's not even the bridge that is the biggest insult, I could live with it quite happily if it was on the other side of the city, it's its obstruction of the view down the river that is the crime and when Point Village and Spencer Dock open it's only going to be even more painful.

gibo_ie

lightening wrote: »

Hueston and Connelly are connected already under the river by train! You are right, it would cost a fortune, just thought I would throw that useless piece of info in anyway.

Not quite!!! The Phoenix Park tunnel emerges before the river and continues over the river on a bridge to Platform 11 at Heuston.
Google map reference 53.347509, -6.304017

lightening

clown bag wrote: »

The heavy industrial look is not out of character for it's function

Great points, I agree to a point, I feel the natural beauty of the river and sea horizon is nicer. I just think it makes the city "stop here" if you know what I mean. I lived near there for years and I always find the city can't stretch under it for some reason. But, yeah, there won't be a cheap fix for it!

gibo_ie wrote: »

Not quite!!! The Phoenix Park tunnel emerges before the river and continues over the river on a bridge to Platform 11 at Heuston

I stand corrected Gibo... thanks for that!

Gone Fishin

I actually like the bridge too. I think it is what it is, a bridge and its indicative of the time it was built. Its kind of timeless in a way. What throws it off is whats around it - on one side you have a fabulous Georgian building in the Custom House, two disasters in glass in Liberty Hall on one side and on the opposite side of the Liffey, those ridiculous Ulster Bank offices (what genius authorised the building of an ultra modern glass strucure like that opposite the Custom House - completely out of kilter with the area).

I don't think it cuts off the city from the bay because there are (or will be) four other bridges between it and open water. I think that if the advertising was removed from the bridge and someone either lit it in an unique or painted it in a different way, it would be come more of a feature. It is a neccesary evil for the DART but as to replacing it, forget it, costs rule that out.

Dirk Gently

lightening wrote: »

Great points, I agree to a point, I feel the natural beauty of the river and sea horizon is nicer. I just think it makes the city "stop here" if you know what I mean. I lived near there for years and I always find the city can't stretch under it for some reason

I've always thought of it more as a gateway than a barrier to be honest. The river naturally bends along that point anyway. If you look from say o connell bridge towards liberty hall the city will end at that point regardless when you compare it with the view straight down river towards the hapenny. beyond butt bridge is another nice stretch but realistically it's only the custom house which is blocked from view if you were standing west of the loop. For your sea horizon views you'd really want to be standing on Talbot, or at a push the corner of butt closest to the custom house which would negate the best view of the custom house in any case.

I must check out the views again in the next few days but I reckon you are overstating the benefit of removing loop bridge, with the exception of the custom house opening up a bit more. Sure it would be nice to see more of the custom house but I don't understand the level of negativity about loop to the point where people would consider replacing it at such cost.

kumate_champ07

a nice glass tube bridge with leds on the side that light up in sequence when trains go thru.

BendiBus

Why is everyone describing this bridge only from the O'Connell Bridge side?

I mostly see this bridge looking from the east as I cross the Sean O'Casey pedestrian bridge in the IFSC, or as I walk Westward along the Sir John Rogersons Quay.

The loop line bridge looks really good from there. And the sight of a train crossing, particularly at dusk when in silouhette, is quite impressive.

Victor

There was no proposal to knock the bridge - it was merely commented that the best thing for the Customs House would be for the bridge to be removed. This of course needs to be balanced with other needs. The CH did indeed look better without it from a photo we were shown at the oral hearing.

The "tongue in cheek" statement came from the Inspector, not the council.

Anto McC

BendiBus wrote: »

The loop line bridge looks really good from there. And the sight of a train crossing, particularly at dusk when in silouhette, is quite impressive.

Exactly, i live just off City Quay and i see the bridge a lot from this side and to be honest, it's beautiful but when there is a train travelling across it, it's breath taking. That, in my opinion is one of Dublins most beautiful sights.

I think there's a shot in The Commitments of it and it's just "wow" :cool:

Yixian

BendiBus wrote: »

Why is everyone describing this bridge only from the O'Connell Bridge side?

Because that's where people are when they see it 99% of the time.

Victor: There have been proposals to knock it down once every few years for 100 years, and there were protests against it's construction construction in the first place.

Recession means it won't be sorted any time soon but the second it's financially feasible the damn thing needs to be obliterated.. a nice, minimal bridge that doesn't obstruct the view will look just as impressive with a DART flying across it.

Masada

Its probably one of the only bridges in the area with any character. I personally thing it looks great.
Theres already far too many modern, glassey, aluminium looking meaningless structures in the city these days and id say in a few years we'll be looking at them as eyesores.

I think it would look a lot better without the electric lines but its a nice bridge all the same.

Yixian

But look what's glaringly missing in that photo

Linku

The bridge is a disgrace, and blocks one of the most beautiful buildings in the country. The Custom House has an international reputation, I've seen it featured in many books on architecture from around the world.

Anto McC

Linku wrote: »

The bridge is a disgrace, and blocks one of the most beautiful buildings in the country. The Custom House has an international reputation, I've seen it featured in many books on architecture from around the world.

Or you could just walk past the bridge and get a full unobstructed view of the Customs House.

Linku

Not from the busiest part of town, if the bridge wasn't there there'd be a view from where thousands of people pass through in Dublin a day