Idea: Sligo's O'Connell Street covered by glass roof?

Andy From Sligo

yay or nay?

it may seem like I have totally lost the plot, but what do you think? - it is do-able with modern materials these days. Steel Tubular structure with tempered glass panels (the same they use in shopping centres) with supports. - and there is not much of a span of width to cover from one premises to the other premises on the opposite side of the road - yes the length of O'Connell street it long, but maybe just parts of it could be covered or done in stages/phases.

no heating or anything like that - just to shelter shoppers from the elements (rain/snow etc..) and to allow cafes etc to have tables outside in all weathers.

I'm in no way an architect (and it shows) so i just produced this picture to show as an example (I know its very poorly done)




Or something more elaborate ...

For Forks Sake

Are you stealing Waterfords idea Andy?

Andy From Sligo

For Forks Sake wrote: »

Are you stealing Waterfords idea Andy?

ooh no, But i like that!

Andy From Sligo

could always take the cheaper (but more pretty) route:

sligojoek

Let them sort out the road surface first.

Andy From Sligo

sligojoek wrote: »

Let them sort out the road surface first.

Without doubt, but could we treat them as 2 different issues at the moment, just so i can guage if people think it would be a good idea whether it could be covered or not?

it's not a dreadful idea but it needs regular maintenance to keep it clean and I fear that's where we would fall down.

I also reckon of connell Street wouldn't be the best place for it. What do you call that other Street? the one with all the shops, mostly pedestrianised and you'd use it to go to smyths etc.? Henry Street I think? (genuinely can't recall the name).

But it's not as wide as O connell Street and is more pedestrian centric so could be a more realistic alternative option?

Would increase the amount of homeless people ten fold though.

RobAMerc

I think shop street in Galway is ideal for it. Given the fact its raining 90% of the time.
O'Connell st is wider - it might be easier to put a canopy on each side over the footpath

Andy From Sligo

[Deleted User] wrote: »

it's not a dreadful idea but it needs regular maintenance to keep it clean and I fear that's where we would fall down.

I also reckon of connell Street wouldn't be the best place for it. What do you call that other Street? the one with all the shops, mostly pedestrianised and you'd use it to go to smyths etc.? Henry Street I think? (genuinely can't recall the name).

But it's not as wide as O connell Street and is more pedestrian centric so could be a more realistic alternative option?

Would increase the amount of homeless people ten fold though.

Smyths? Henry st? ... i think you are thinking this is Dublin city and not Sligo town we are talking about?

With modern glass panes what they use on shopping centres and the like these days they more than likely will be uv treated and self maintenance/self cleaning (pilkington even do self cleaning glass for homes for years)

Andy From Sligo

Latin quarter (is that what its called where bistro bianconi is?) should consider it any way at least because that bit is pedestrianised there

Edit: Italian quarter its called...

Mint Sauce

If the traffic was removed from it, maybe would not be a bad idea. Otherwise it would just be a pollution/fume trap, people would be choked.

Andy From Sligo

Mint Sauce wrote: »

If the traffic was removed from it, maybe would not be a bad idea. Otherwise it would just be a pollution/fume trap, people would be choked.

Doesn't necessarily have to be a trap , using a design like in (my crappy) following diagram the airflow is maintained throughout because it is not totally enclosed and of course it would be open at each end to let the air/pollutants escape - with this design the rain would fall onto the top panes , then an air gap and the rain would then drip/fall onto the lower panes, then drop off of that onto the existing roof of the existing property and the surplus water collected either by the drainage of the existing properties existing roof drainage - or an extra drainage gully put in to catch the excess water. - for every problem there is a solution, but it takes an open mind and vision ....

Vlove

I think its a great idea like it would make the centre of the town more attractive and as you said, Ireland rains 99.9% of the time so it would attract more people to eat outside. The downside tho would be if it falls yknow.

sligojoek

Andy, any chance you could design a roof for the whole county?

Andy From Sligo

Vlove wrote: »

I think its a great idea like it would make the centre of the town more attractive and as you said, Ireland rains 99.9% of the time so it would attract more people to eat outside. The downside tho would be if it falls yknow.

Thanks. - it would be of tempered laminated glass panes. It would act in the same way a modern car windscreen would shatter into tiny pieces if it broke or fell on someone. All shopping centres with rooflights/skylights/glass roofs and glass shelters over entrances (like the ones outside the shop entrances in the retail par) would have to have this type of glass pain fitted by law for safety - could you imagine if it was of the old type panes of glass panel's it would be awful dangerous/ life threatening if one of those smashed over your head or fell on you :eek:

Andy From Sligo

sligojoek wrote: »

Andy, any chance you could design a roof for the whole county?

Thats an awful lot of glass!

It could be put to Leo and his cronies and see if they want to go for it I suppose and see what they reckon

But it would more than likely cost less and be a better Idea if planes were put up in the air across Ireland and physically blow the rainclouds out into the ocean... or make the planes spray chemicals that dissolve rainclouds and then lets the sun shine (down on the righteous) - but then Ireland wouldnt be that lovely green colour then would it ....

Martina1991

What about the traffic though.

Sligo is a maze of one way streets as it is. Traffic is worse now with O Connell street closed for road works.

Andy From Sligo

Martina1991 wrote: »

What about the traffic though.

Sligo is a maze of one way streets as it is. Traffic is worse now with O Connell street closed for road works.

I know its desperate isnt it. Shocking altogether . It will be a patchwork quilt when its finished as well i dare say complete with potholes. I bet people living locally as well as visitors /tourists will be glad when its all finished !

Andy From Sligo

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

Smyths? Henry st? ... i think you are thinking this is Dublin city and not Sligo town we are talking about?

With modern glass panes what they use on shopping centres and the like these days they more than likely will be uv treated and self maintenance/self cleaning (pilkington even do self cleaning glass for homes for years)

You would be absolutely correct! I had a few tabs open and two were in the Dublin forum, so i got confused.


It's a great idea and if it was done properly could be a good attraction to an area. Never realised self-cleaning glass was a thing, though? Presumably it's just sprayed/coated with a chemical every so often? (like the Rain-X type stuff you get for car windscreens?).

sligo camper

I agree with the idea. Cost and permission from the property owners to allow hold points attached to their property might be a problem though

...eg Easons,,,

Would be wonderful if it was traffic less where the eating establishments could go al fresco

sligo camper

Great idea...

Andy From Sligo

Deleted User wrote: »

You would be absolutely correct! I had a few tabs open and two were in the Dublin forum, so i got confused.


It's a great idea and if it was done properly could be a good attraction to an area. Never realised self-cleaning glass was a thing, though? Presumably it's just sprayed/coated with a chemical every so often? (like the Rain-X type stuff you get for car windscreens?).

I did read up on it once how it worked. I'm not entirely sure. I think it is a coating on the glass itself. (lifetime coating built in when manufacturing the glass) I think it gets dirty and then the combination of the rain with the sun cleans the glass. Must look it up again and if I find the info again will post it on here. Very clever Idea though. And i believe all the shopping centres with glass roof's (well the modern ones now) use this type of self cleaning glass panes now. Its not very often you see someone on top of a shopping centre glass roof cleaning the panels these days and they always seem to be spotlessly clean.

Am sure it costs a fortune this type - but I suppose if you weighed it up with other glass that have to have contractors to clean it on a regular basis then maybe it works out cheaper in the long run...

mickdw

Cabot circus bristol has a very interesting roof.
It's basically a shopping centre with open air streets within it with curved curved glass roofs. The odd area inside gets a splash of rain, by design I'm sure, but it's a nice setup.
In sligo, I think something could be considered to link the shopping centre exit onto o connell Street with the narrower pedestrianised Street roughly opposite. So you would be under cover within shopping centre, crossing o connell Street and some way down that pedestrianised Street. At least I believe it was pedestrianised when I lived there 15 years ago.

Andy From Sligo

mickdw wrote: »

Cabot circus bristol has a very interesting roof.
It's basically a shopping centre with open air streets within it with curved curved glass roofs. The odd area inside gets a splash of rain, by design I'm sure, but it's a nice setup.
In sligo, I think something could be considered to link the shopping centre exit onto o connell Street with the narrower pedestrianised Street roughly opposite. So you would be under cover within shopping centre, crossing o connell Street and some way down that pedestrianised Street. At least I believe it was pedestrianised when I lived there 15 years ago.

yes, good idea that.

Yes that Cabot Circus looks fantastic - so futuristic looking!

Andy From Sligo

sligo camper wrote: »

I agree with the idea. Cost and permission from the property owners to allow hold points attached to their property might be a problem though

...eg Easons,,,

Would be wonderful if it was traffic less where the eating establishments could go al fresco

of course yes, - everyone would have to be on board and back it 100% for it to work...

For Forks Sake

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

yes, good idea that.

Yes that Cabot Circus looks fantastic - so futuristic looking!

To be fair Cabot Circus was built from the ground up as a custom build, trying to retrofit something into an existing town centre (ever noticed all the different building heights on O'Connell St?) would be an entirely different job.

Tigger

Deleted User wrote: »

it's not a dreadful idea but it needs regular maintenance to keep it clean and I fear that's where we would fall down.

I also reckon of connell Street wouldn't be the best place for it. What do you call that other Street? the one with all the shops, mostly pedestrianised and you'd use it to go to smyths etc.? Henry Street I think? (genuinely can't recall the name).

But it's not as wide as O connell Street and is more pedestrian centric so could be a more realistic alternative option?

Would increase the amount of homeless people ten fold though.

Sligo?

mickdw

For Forks Sake wrote: »

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

yes, good idea that.

Yes that Cabot Circus looks fantastic - so futuristic looking!

To be fair Cabot Circus was built from the ground up as a custom build, trying to retrofit something into an existing town centre (ever noticed all the different building heights on O'Connell St?) would be an entirely different job.

Absolutely. You have the issues with private property ownership and unknown / unsuitable structures.
My suggestion re the narrower side street would go some way to get around this. A feature structure could likely be supported from Street level and not tie in or touch the properties to the side at all.
You would be looking for an open airy feel and wouldn't need to be fully water tight either.

Andy From Sligo

For Forks Sake wrote: »

To be fair Cabot Circus was built from the ground up as a custom build, trying to retrofit something into an existing town centre (ever noticed all the different building heights on O'Connell St?) would be an entirely different job.

yes, I see that could pose a problem. Maybe they could use 2 types of bracket. One that fits on the wall , and one that fits on flat roof and have adjusters (either hydraulic or manual adjustment) on them to the frame where the glass sits on to heighten or lower the supports to the required level on site.



if at all possible it would be better not to have all the supports going on columns all the way to ground level i think and supported by brackets at the top of the buildings

mickdw

That wouldn't be the issue as such. With today's surveying equipment, the entire Street could be survey photo realistically to 1mm accuracy in a very short time and a structure designed to fit exactly.
The problem as I see it is getting permission to attach to property and secondly knowing that any property is structurally suitable.
Any property owner would want structural assurances that the attachment was not going to impact their property in addition to assurances re property devaluation etc. As an Engineer myself, I see great difficulties there, so much so that I would be inclined to keep it independent of private property.
Imo you are therefore looking at Street level support structure and or properties being purchased to facilitate.

Andy From Sligo

mickdw wrote: »

That wouldn't be the issue as such. With today's surveying equipment, the entire Street could be survey photo realistically to 1mm accuracy in a very short time and a structure designed to fit exactly.
The problem as I see it is getting permission to attach to property and secondly knowing that any property is structurally suitable.
Any property owner would want structural assurances that the attachment was not going to impact their property in addition to assurances re property devaluation etc. As an Engineer myself, I see great difficulties there, so much so that I would be inclined to keep it independent of private property.
Imo you are therefore looking at Street level support structure and or properties being purchased to facilitate.

Yes, i see what you mean . So being independent of the buildings would mean columns all the way to the ground /road/pavement level and the water that runs off the roof to go into a separate gully/drainage system then independent of the private buildings drainage system. Thats where an idea like this could run into much more of financial outlay and more disruption as the road/pavements dug up to accept the support columns

sligojoek

They should collect the roof water and use it for flushing toilets.

mickdw

I don't agree that this would add significant cost as a mountain of issues with private property would be bypassed this way. Delays, redesigns, structural surveys on individual properties, payments to property owners etc would be where the real costs are.
In terms of drainage, the street drainage is currently draining the same hard surfaced area so the drainage infrastructure is there to handle the roof flows. Connections would be minor works.
Yes there would be Street excavations for foundations and for the connections but considering the project involves roofing a street, that is to be expected.