Childrens' Hospital Planning Refusal [PR]

FreudianSlippers wrote: »

The problem is that these beautiful houses have been let go to absolute ****. The suburbanisation brigade prefers a new build semi-d to restoring and modernising inner city buildings.

You need activity and services and money put into an area to ignite that revival. It won't happen without the mater development or something else similar.

IMO the problems of the Dorset St catchment area far exceed the capacity of one development to rectify. (For all the difference the current Mater has made!)

There's simply too high a concentration of dodgy flats and dodgy types hanging around. Prosperous restorers aren't going to take punt on neighbourhoods with substantial deprivation and a general feeling of malaise. It's hard enough to get people to commit to moving into the south inner city!

rodento wrote: »

Goota love Henietta street

Too bad it doesn't look that good

McDave wrote: »

I walk past it quite a lot. It's a cut and paste apartment building. Quite a banal building to stick on the corner of one of Dublin's most historic streets. Not a 'Pillar of Hercules' by any means!

I could have told you from that image posted that in a few months time it would look drab and discoloured. It may work in Spain or Portugal, but you have to factor in the dirt, rain and pollution in Dublin.

later12 wrote: »

What's a dodgy type?

?

Come now. Surely you can make a decent stab at answering that yourself.

later12 wrote: »

Well I don't want to derail this thread, the childrens' hospital is an important topic; but no... not at all, in fact. I was in Dublin over the weekend, I was up around Parnell Square. I wasn't aware I was being surrounded by dodgy types. Perhaps dodgy types can be identified in some way? Clothing, perhaps? Accents?

I hope I'm not detecting some sort of class hauteur.

Junkies. Drunks. Swearing. Attitude. Pyjamas. Litter.

I'm up around Dorset St, Parnell St, Parnell Sq, Capel St, Bolton St. on a regular basis. There's no getting away from the tone.

It's all very well to dismiss 'middle class' perceptions of behaviour as snobbery, but people make decisions on where they live based on neighbourhoods and the kind of people their children are likely to associate with.

I'm pretty much a middle class guy myself. I've lived in the inner south city centre for nigh on two decades now. As a resident I have no misconceptions about the atmosphere on the inner city streets. It's not all bad by any means. But it's fairly obvious to me that very few people opt to move in and stay long term in the inner south city, let alone the northern quarters.

I'm afraid that affects many of the streets directly around the Mater. Which of course is no reason to drop an aircraft carrier in the area. After all, if some of the area's past glories are retained, it may in due course enjoy positive development.

MadsL wrote: »

Always thought the other end of NCR was 'dodgier'.

Never had any serious issues living 6+ in the North Inner city..(Smithfield)

I don't find either dodgy myself, just saying that there may be a disagreement about the area (whether it is or isn't is subjective IMO) but that is at least a rumour that you hear often about the Mater area. Again, I have no problems with it whatsoever; but I understand that people may have heard that or may believe it themselves for whatever reason. I've lived half of my life on the southside and half on the almost inner northside and I'm not uncomfortable around Dorset Street or the Mater.

rodento wrote: »

I'm not concerned with the aesthetics of the project, just think that it would be better if they located it elsewhere off the M50. That site should be able to accommodate a full childerns hospital and not one with some elements in one hospital and a day treatment centre elsewhere.

But this was going to be a full children's hospital.

The mater site would be a complete traffic nightmare and all I can see is the ambulance service been turned into a taxi service as childs get sent from one hospital to another

What? Why would the child need to be sent elsewhere? Or are you meaning the children being brought into the hospital; the ambulances have these lights and make noises quite often. Doesn't seem to be an issue in any other western city that I can think of to be honest.

I honestly cant believe that anyone can try to justify this unbelievably ugly proposal. Notwithstanding any issues of practicality, suitability of location or co-location etc. its simply one of the ugliest and most inappropriate building proposals I have ever seen.

Someone mentioned Belfast City Hospital in an earlier post:



As he said, not a looker by any means and very dominant on the city skyline. Now imagine something like this looming over most approaches to the city from the north:



The National Childrens Hospital proposal was the same height and almost FIVE times longer than Belfast City Hospital. Seriously, it would have been a monstrosity by anyones standards, a massive shiny turd dropped on the North Inner City from a great height. Thank god someone finally saw sense and put a stop to what would have been the biggest ever act of vandalism to Dublin City. The scandal isnt the decision by ABP, its that such an utterly vile and ridiculous proposal ever got further than a scribble on an architects sketchbook.





Of course you will always have idiots making their enlightened argument that since the Northside is already so run down and ugly in places, it doesn't matter what effect this ridiculously overscaled piece of crap will have. Such nonsense just makes me despair at just how visually illiterate we can be.

citycentre wrote: »

I honestly cant believe that anyone can try to justify this unbelievably ugly proposal. Notwithstanding any issues of practicality, suitability of location or co-location etc. its simply one of the ugliest and most inappropriate building proposals I have ever seen.

I have to agree on the design aspect. To me it is a very ugly building. An architect can have an idea, sell it and then move on to the next project. But the city has to live with the consequences of the state-sponsored egotism of an aspiring starchitect.

Am I the only one who actually quite likes the proposed building?