Passing of scholar dedicated to Irish buildings

It is with deep regret that we learnt in the Trust last week of the passing of Rolf Loeber, one of the foremost authorities on the 17th-century architecture of Ireland.

Rolf was an atypical and unassuming acolyte of post-medieval bricks and mortar in the far flung corners of Ireland. Based in the University of Pittsburgh in the United States, he was a leading expert in the field of child psychology and problem behaviours in young people through logitudinal studies and extensive research. His interest in the pre-Georgian buildings of Ireland was stimulated by Maurice Craig’s historical tome on Dublin, which he read in Amsterdam in the 1960s. He was hooked ever since.

Rolf was a recent but much-valued friend of Dublin Civic Trust, where he was emboldened by our ongoing research into the gabled building tradition in Dublin and the identification of what still survives of the ‘Dutch Billy’ house typology and other early buildings. He was always entertained and heartened by our practical approach to identifying buildings, from climbing over back walls to using developments in online satelite tools to pinpoint early roof structures.

He is sadly missed and fondly remembered by all in the Trust who engaged with him: Geraldine Walsh, Graham Hickey, Peter Walsh and Peter Keenahan.

Rolf, who was 75, is survived by his wife of 50 years, Magda.

We post this stimulating video of Rolf from our ‘Dutch Billys’ conference, hosted in the former House of Lords, Bank of Ireland, College Green in October 2011. Fittingly, he is introduced by his long-time friend, Dr Eddie McParland of Trinity College Dublin.

Rest in peace Rolf.

The pebbledash unravels…

Work has begun to remove the cementious pebbledash from the facades at 18 Ormond Quay. This slow process involves directing chisels towards the underlying mortar joints to protect the face of the bricks. It has also made our scaffolding platforms look like earthquake victims…

Flaked sections of removed pebbledash on the scaffolding.

Below is the building immediately prior to scaffolding in late August 2017.

The dashing has come away relatively easily, largely due to the fact that the brick had been painted in the early 20th century, before the pebbledash was applied – as also evident in historic photographs of the building. This created a ‘buffer’ between the dashing and the face of the bricks, preventing an otherwise tighter bond.

First floor level with newly exposed brick, originally designed to be seen and dressed with finely ‘wigged’ pointing between the bricks.

The coatings consist of about five layers of limewashes and modern paints, the earliest of which is a red wash that was probably applied as early as the 1880s when improvements were carried out for a variety of grocers that occupied the building. This paint will be removed through a mixture of water washing and a slow, methodical process of chipping using hand hammers.

Brick with paint and limewash layers.

The brick is a good, hard yellow brick with a substantial plum-coloured component, typical of the 1842-43 construction date. Some bricks will require repair and fewer still will need replacing.

The thick cement reveals that framed the windows have also been removed, exposing evidence of the original, slim ‘feathered’ reveals of lime mortar that will be reinstated.

Exposed fragment of former lime mortar reveal, a technique known a ‘feathering’.

Once the brick is cleaned in the next week, a large sample of wigged pointing will be trialled by our contractors Nolans Group for inspection.

We’ll keep you posted!

PROJECT 18ORMOND announced

Dublin Civic Trust is delighted to launch its major new building conservation project at 18 Ormond Quay Upper in the heart of the historic city on the Liffey quays.

PROJECT 18ORMOND will involve a complete conservation and refurbishment of the fascinating set of buildings that comprise 18 Ormond Quay Upper and 67 Arran Street East on the north bank of the Liffey.

Strategically sited overlooking Christ Church Cathedral and the Civic Offices, 18 Ormond Quay Upper is an important example of a Liffey-side merchant house that is embedded with historic layers spanning over three centuries. Now in need of major structural consolidation and conservation of historic fabric, the Trust intends to undertake a wholesale refurbishment of the building as a dynamic demonstration of best conservation practice and creative reuse.

This is the most challenging and transformative building project the Trust has embarked on since its foundation in 1992 and is one of the most significant initiatives of its kind in Ireland. PROJECT 18ORMOND has the scope to demonstrate to the city and to the nation the inherent value of Dublin’s traditional buildings, and to engender a broader appreciation of the historic built environment across the country.

A few glimpses of the historic interiors:

Find out more about the project and the work of Dublin Civic Trust by visiting our new website at www.dublincivictrust.ie

Like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter to track the project’s regular construction updates!

Dublin 1830-1845

The Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt Design Museum’s online archive provides an invaluable repository of images of European domestic interiors, mainly dating from the early 19th century.

We particularly like these two watercolours, dated c.1842, which are a deadringers for a typical Dublin interior of that time, as might be found on Belvedere Place or Lennox Street in Dublin’s growing network of post-Georgian residential thoroughfares.

Stand-out features include typical bullseye chimneypieces, frothy William IV mirrors, oil-fulled chandeliers, fitted carpets and tobacco coloured joinery.

1830-1845 is a relatively unstudied period of domestic decoration, marking the transition from a spartan Georgian aesthetic to the densely packed spaces of the age of Victoriana and the Industrial Revolution.

Arguably, the era could be described as having the ‘best of both’ – when furniture was more robustly architectural than the Regency period but was allowed to express itself within relatively uncluttered rooms. All was to change with the mass production of the consumer age that subsequently ensued….

Note how the rooms are arranged with relatively lightweight furniture, allowing chairs and flip-top tea tables to be moved around the room to follow natural light from the windows or heat from the fire. Both rooms feature older hob grates, rather than more efficient register grates developed in the 1850s, necessitating furnishings that could be moved closer to the fire on colder days or in the evening.

Have a browse of the online Thaw Collection of interior prints (set amongst the same collection’s suite of model staircases!) – all available in glorious high resolution.

https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/search/collection?query=thaw&sort=relevance&sort_order=desc&page=1

Stepped houses of Belvedere Place, Dublin 1, constructed c.1840-1846

Dublin Garden Squares Day 2017

Saturday 10th June 2017

Dublin Civic Trust is running its annual Dublin Garden Squares Day – now in its eighth year – on Saturday 10th June.

Enjoy free expert walking tours of Dublin’s five main Georgian squares and associated parks and gardens in this annual staple event. Discover the history of these magnificent urban gardens, their plants and wildlife, the people who once used them and the historic buildings that embrace them.

Tours take place all day on a first-come basis, no booking is required and all events are free.
TOUR PROGRAMME

10.30am
Merrion Square – Evolution and Design Significance
Geraldine Walsh, Chief Executive Officer, Dublin Civic Trust
Meeting Point: Oscar Wilde Statue, inside the railings

10.30am
Mountjoy Square – Dublin’s ‘True’ Georgian Square
Karin O’Flanagan, Resident and Chair of The Mountjoy Square Society
Meeting Point: Steps of 54 Mountjoy Square West

12.00pm
Fitzwilliam Square – Dublin’s Pocket Square
Graham Hickey, Conservation Director, Dublin Civic Trust
Meeting Point: Dublin Bikes station on the Pembroke Street side
Directly followed at 1.00pm by a short tour of Fitzwilliam Square’s private central garden with Rebecca Jeffares, Landscape Historian

11.00am – 4.00pm
Take a rare opportunity to enjoy free access all day to
Fitzwilliam Square’s private central garden
Also traditional lawn bowling with Anne O’Herlihy from 1.00pm
Complemented with musical entertainment

2.15pm & 3.30pm
Natural History Museum, Merrion Square
‘Zoo in my Garden’ children’s tours with Catherine McGuinness, exploring critters in your garden!

2.30pm
Parnell Square – Dublin’s First Georgian Square
James Kelly, Conservation Architect & Chairman, Dublin Civic Trust
Meeting Point: Gates to the Garden of Remembrance

3.00pm
St. Stephen’s Green – From Dublin’s Renaissance to Victoriana
Dr John A. McCullen, former Chief Superindendent, Phoenix Park
Meeting Point: Fusiliers’ Arch at the top of Grafton Street

MOUNTJOY SQUARE EVENTS
To mark recent improvements to Mountjoy Square, including clearance of fencing and vegetation that allows sweeping views of the square for the first time in decades, we have arranged music and children’s events right in the heart of Mountjoy Square Park. Take the opportunity to have a look at the ongoing pioneering restoration of the square’s original wrought-iron railings, now largely complete on the south-west corner.

12.30pm
Rousing music with the Blanchardstown Brass Band

2.00pm
Art in the Park with artist Jo Callanan
Meet at the hard surface football area

2.30pm
Afro-Eire rhythm music

3.00pm
Nature Detectives with Sara Rublaca
Meet at the hard surface football area

3.30pm
Green Fingers – planting workshop for children with Rebecca Jeffares
Dublin Garden Squares Day is generously supported by:

Kamerino Catalan Shop @ 18 Ormond Quay, Dublin

Xavier Palet Sabater

Rare collectors items

Kamerino, Barcelona

The Dublin Civic Trust having acquired 18 Ormond Quay Upper is about to begin a full restoration project on the building starting in April 2017.

We are very happy to have invited the Catalan artist Xavier Palet Sabater from Barcelona to set up for one week only, his wonderful shop displaying the artform of Catalan theatrical curios.

Xavier will be giving a talk and a workshop on his collection, which is also for sale, on Saturday 4th March.  The workshop is limited to 10 persons only and begins at 1.30pm until 2.30pm. Please contact farcryproductionsltd@gmail.com to book a place. Cost €10

There will be a talk on Saturday 4th March also at 3pm.

The shop, Kamerino, will open to the public:

From Wednesday 1st March 2017 until Sunday 5th March 2017

Open: 10am-6pm daily

Adifferentkettleoffishaltogether, 18 Ormond Quay Upper, Dublin 7

KAMERINO POP-UP SHOP. Barcelona

 

Kamerino Shop, Barcelona

 

Exclusive five-day sale of a unique collection of handmade pieces from the old workshop of a historic Barcelona shop specializing in party favours and theatrical curios.

You’ll find cardboard masks, hats and instruments, genuine Japanese lanterns, paper toys and a dazzling array of other weird and wonderful objects made between 1926 and 1948.

 

Please email farcryproductionsltd@gmail.com to book a place

POP-UP SHOP KAMERINO. Barcelona

Exclusiva venta durante seis días de la inédita colección recuperada de un antiguo almacén de Barcelona dedicado a la fabricación artesanal de artículos de teatro y fiesta entre los años 1926 y 1948.

Podréis encontrar máscaras, sombreros e instrumentos de cartón, auténticos faroles japoneses, juguetes de papel y una infinidad de objetos curiosos…

Además, programaremos una charla teatralizada para dar a conocer el proyecto.

Estaremos en a different kettle of fish altogether, 18 Ormond Quay Upper, Dublín, del 1 de marzo al 5 de marzo de 2017.

Horario: 10 h a 18 h

Encontraréis más información en la página de Facebook Kamerino Collection in Dublin.

Dublin Civic Trust Christmas Booksale

THE PERFECT STOCKING FILLER

SALE DECEMBER SALE

On Friday 9th and Saturday 10th December 2016 from 11am until 5pm, Dublin Civic Trust will hold a book sale of their  many publications covering interests from the streets of Dublin to best practice in maintaining your heritage building.

These books and pamphlets will be of interest to all age groups, family friends both at home and abroad.

We are offering special reduced prices for this Christmas sale only.  The price ranges in publications range from €1 for pamphlets up to €40 euros for the latest publication.

The Maid of Erin, by Burnett, shown weeping in despair with her harp in bondage, evoking the plight of her country and its people.

Latest publication by Dublin Civic Trust on best practice tool fro conserving Dublin’s period houses.

See Dublin on Foot, one of the Dublin Civic Trusts most popular books gives a detailed guide and maps of buildings and sites of historic interest throughout Dublin city.

Reduced price for this wonderful book during this Christmas Sale.

We have a selection of specific books looking at South William Street, Capel Street, Thomas Street, Pearse Street, Dawson Street – traces the history of each street up to the present time.

The majority of the books on sale have been published by the Dublin Civic Trust.  There are however a few books on offer that have been published by others and also some rare books that are now out of print.

Sold Out

Excellent book – only one box reamaining

Streets of Dublin – Early writings of Alderman Tom Kelly when he wrote for Arthur Griffiths newspaper

For those interested in walking tours the Dublin Civic Trust also has an app – See Dublin on foot, available through our website http://www.dublincivictrust.ie or through App store.

The app deals with each area of  Dublin listing buildings and histories and also has a series of themed walks such as Churches of Dublin, Military Heritage, Museums and galleries, The Great Georgian Houses, Industrial Heritage, Medieval Dublin and Public Buildings.

 

Spot the difference…

A photograph from October 1911 showing the unveiling of the Parnell Monument at the top of O’Connell Street also manages to capture a fleeting moment in the architectural development of the busy junction with Parnell Square.

In the background, behind the Parnell Monument, lurks the National Bank (later Bank of Ireland), constructed in 1896. Unwittingly, the photograph captures the building just before it was extended in 1913. It is commonly thought that the small three-storey extension on Parnell Street alone dates to this time, but in fact the entire bulding was also doubled up onto Cavendish Row – presumably also in 1913.

This significant addition gobbled up the Georgian house to the left as originally built under the auspices of the Wide Streets Commission in 1787-1789. It is possible that the carcass of this house still survives internally. The rooftop baubles have since vanished, but arguably the building looks better with a crisp flat parapet.

As a Victorian intervention into a substantially Georgian context, it is one of the most successful in Dublin. The scale, proportions and detailing are beautifully controlled in acknowledgement of the classical context, but just florid enough to mark the corner and give distinction to a major commercial premises. The terracotta and brick colour palette is right on the money (literally…), while the original exterior roller shutters to the ground floor windows are some of the last surviving in the city.

The seamless left-hand addition is typical of many bank extensions of the 19th and early 20th centuries across Dublin, where banks doubled and even trebled their floor areas. Other examples include the former Northern Bank/Hibernian Bank (now H&M) College Green, the former Newcomen Bank/Hibernian Bank (now the Rates Office) on Cork Hill, and the present-day AIB Dame Street, which was cleverly extended in the same architectural language as late as the 1950s. Spot the joint below between the Ballinasloe and Ardbraccan limestones…

Living City Initiative Reformed

There was welcome news in the Finance Bill 2016 today, with major changes to the Living City Initiative announced which Dublin Civic Trust and other bodies have been advocating with the Department of Finance and local authorities over the past three years.

This tax incentive scheme was introduced in the Finance Act 2013 to stimulate the regeneration of older buildings in the designated areas of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Galway and Kilkenny. It had poor take-up, widely attributed to the limitations of the scheme, including a low threshold for maximum floor area for eligible properties and a requirement that certified candidates be owner-occupiers. It effectively ruled out large tracts of Georgian Dublin and Limerick, as well as most street buildings in the six cities that were not lived in by their owners. By mid-2016, only 18 applications were received in Dublin, four in Cork, seven in Waterford, two in Kilkenny, two in Galway and none in Limerick

The major revisions to the scheme, announced by Finance Minister Noonan today, include:

• Abolition of the floor area cap
• Widening of eligibility to landlords/investors
• Abolition of the requirement for properties to have been built for residential use originally
• Replacing the minimum spend requirement of 10% of market value prior to works with a €5,000 minimum spend

Other changes include a cap on qualifying expenditure, amounting to:

• Where the person who incurred the capital expenditure is a company carrying on a trade from the qualifying premises – €1,600,000
• Where the person who incurred the capital expenditure is a company who is letting the qualifying premises – €800,000
• Where the person who incurred the capital expenditure is an individual – €400,000

Dublin Civic Trust welcomes the engagement of the Department of Finance and the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs on the practical and meaningful reform undertaken. We are already aware of previously ineligible properties in Dublin city that will now qualify under the scheme, with applications forthcoming once the changes come into effect on January 1st 2017.

We are optimistic that a wider uptake of the scheme will demonstrate the scope to widen designated areas to other towns and urban areas in Ireland that are in need of targeted, sustainable rejuvenation of their historic cores.

For more details, view the Finance Bill 2016 from Page 23.