New St Stephens Green SC Interior design

[Jackass]

Whilst it's an attractive contemporary design, not everything should always be contemporary and modern. What if the Italians thought all of their old buildings needed face lifts and modernisation through the centuries?

I'm not comparing SSGSC to a renaissance building or anything, but just think some architecturally significant buildings around the city should be kept the same.

I'm a big fan of the kiosk layout at the bottom and the big glass facade. The clock in the centre is only marginally smaller than the face of Big Ben (they didn't want to make it as big for whatever reason, so it's slightly smaller).

There's great history to it.

This, along with the grey scaling of Grafton St. instead of resurfacing it in similar vein to the colouring that existed there, is basically just trying to make Dublin and the south inner city as boring and generic as possible. With each of these developments, another large chunk of the cities personality and uniqueness is killed.

Speedsie

miamee wrote: »

The area where the Asian buffet is, is completely under-utilised, it is a lovely spot with the big window walls looking out at the green and the top of Grafton Street. If it was a proper cafe/restaurant with decent food, I'd be there a lot more

The Dome restaurant that was there for over 20 years was a lovely spot - a pity it closed. Great food too.

starviewadams

Could do with lick of paint,and some more escalators maybe,but otherwise I'd leave it as is.

Like the fact that there's still some normal shops left in there,not just identikit crap like Dundrum,Liffey Valley etc.

fondue

What year did the shopping centre open in?

Speedsie

Think it was 1988 for the 'Aluminium' Year...

miamee

Speedsie wrote: »

Think it was 1988 for the 'Aluminium' Year...

Was just about to say '88 alright

I vaguely remember the name of the Dome restaurant but unfortunately I'm not sure that I was ever in it. I wonder if there are any pics of it somewhere...must google it later.

bb1234567

Aw no i love the current design its so odd and kind of ugly in its own attractive kinda way. Its just one of those quirkey little things that makes me love dublin, It would be so sad to see it go
ill admit the actual shops within the centre could be overhawled , they should probably be classier considering the prozimity to graftonst.but the design should stay.

kylith

miamee wrote: »

Was just about to say '88 alright

I vaguely remember the name of the Dome restaurant but unfortunately I'm not sure that I was ever in it. I wonder if there are any pics of it somewhere...must google it later.

Showing my naiveté here, but I thought it was significantly older than that. Like Old-old.

Speedsie

There was an upmarket grocery shop there called Smyth's on the Green there until the sixties, extensive wine vaults that went under the street.

Strahan's wood workers was also there, Brown's chemist and Rice's pub.

Around the corner was Synnott's pub (the only original pub).

The shops & private houses were bought out by the Slazenger family (owners of the Powerscourt estate at the time), and closed down. For a time it was the Dandelion market home of bohemian folk such as Jim Fitzpatrick (most famous for his iconic picture of Che Guevara), Alan Shatter (now in a different sort of market ) and buskers such as The Hive (U2)

As a child I had an afghan jacket bought in the Dandelion market. Loved it & my red wellies.....

Speedsie

Oh, and I don't think that they should make the centre into a bland identi-kit 'mall', it is unique.

Would love them to put in a cinema though - which is being mooted I understand. The last film I saw in the old 'St Stephen's Green Cinema' (where the Fitzwilliam is now-ish) was Octopussy. Underage at the time, but they turned a blind eye...

Speedsie

Here's a photomontage from Dublin City Library photo archive contrasting that corner in 1981 & 2012

Aard

Another thought is that I hope they open up the shops facing the street better. For example right now the only way of getting into Benneton is to go inside the centre. South King St could be made much more vibrant by having more shops opening onto it. The only ones I can think of that do that right now are a pub and Wagamama. There's obvious demand for that stretch with H&M, Zara, and Warehouse having opened there a few years back. Plus I think you can already see into the backs of a few of the shops through some windows so retro fitting an entrance off the street shouldn't be a big deal - and the planners would definitely be in favour of more doors onto the street.

xOxSinéadxOx

^ Yah I agree with this.

I actually love the design of it at the moment hope they don't change it.
Any foreign people I've been in there with have commented on how nice it is.

bb1234567

[Jackass] wrote: »

Whilst it's an attractive contemporary design, not everything should always be contemporary and modern. What if the Italians thought all of their old buildings needed face lifts and modernisation through the centuries?

I'm not comparing SSGSC to a renaissance building or anything, but just think some architecturally significant buildings around the city should be kept the same.

I'm a big fan of the kiosk layout at the bottom and the big glass facade. The clock in the centre is only marginally smaller than the face of Big Ben (they didn't want to make it as big for whatever reason, so it's slightly smaller).

There's great history to it.

This, along with the grey scaling of Grafton St. instead of resurfacing it in similar vein to the colouring that existed there, is basically just trying to make Dublin and the south inner city as boring and generic as possible. With each of these developments, another large chunk of the cities personality and uniqueness is killed.

yeah we have quite a knack for doing that dont we

JupiterKid

While I think that the St Stephen's Green centre needs a facelift - those plans on page 1 are hideous - just a bland modernist design like a million other shopping centres.:( I hope the planners reject these proposals outright.

The glass and open space feel of the Green centre is the main part of its appeal.

I never liked all the white framing and white and pale green walls though - what I'd like to see would be the white and green being replaced with copper, red brick and brass, many of the smaller units enlarged and something to attract people up to the currently dead third floor. The dead frontage along South King Street is a problem too - shops there should have access from the street.

I'd also like to see the glass dome at the corner replaced by a copper one.

Corruptedmorals

I love the centre, the interior decor could definitely be spruced up. Another escalator or two at the main entrance end on the first floor would be nice. It's so dead though, Boots, Argos and Dunnes and very very few other units performing in any way well- two hairdressers, Mothercare and maybe Asha and the t shirt printing place. How many people even know there's a great cafe in the middle of the top floor? The kooky shops are pretty cool but it's never going to entice people, Henry/Mary Street is winning that battle. I used to work there and I loved it, the roof, the clock and the glass units on the ground floor must stay as they are but definitely a lot of work could be done.

Really the southside needs magnets like Penneys, New Look and Forever 21. HMV building would suit one of them, and large units in the green for the others.

Aard

Corruptedmorals wrote: »

Really the southside needs magnets like Penneys, New Look and Forever 21. HMV building would suit one of them, and large units in the green for the others.

I have a feeling that SSG has the capacity to go much more upscale than that. I'd imagine that they're thinking more along the lines of Dundrum as competition rather than Jervis. For example, Apple were considering locating on Dawson St towards the end of the boom. I'd say they'd give their eye-teeth for Benneton's frontage, assuming a larger floor plate and direct street access.

Of course, the ones you mentioned too would love to set up shop there. Again the perennial issue is lack of space. Look at the Penneys in Dundrum, Henry St, even O'Connell St - there's nowhere in SSG as it stands that could accommodate a shop that size other than Dunnes. You mention HMV - it was reported that the company that bought them (Hilco) are looking for a Grafton St area premesis for a new HMV, but not their old place. SSG would be ideal.

Corruptedmorals

Yes, it's just that they are huge draws. Grafton Street with BT, BT2, Reiss, Karen Millen etc. is paling in comparison to shopping on the Northside. Many of the expensive brands are carried in Arnotts. It would be great if SSG could secure a big name tenant, it's quite a dead shopping centre. Aren't apple on the bottom of Grafton street?

Speedsie

Benneton & Mothercare have the ability to open onto the street, the doors were certainly there & open for the first few years of the centre. I imagine they were closed for 'security' purposes.

Yes, Apple is opposite the Provost's House at the bottom of Grafton Street. It's called CompuB though...

Aard

It's just a licensed reseller, like in Dundrum. I wonder too if a revamped SSG could attract some of those brands from Brown Thomas, or Arnotts as you mention. So rather than having a limited concession, those luxury shops could have their own space. There is precedent for that (locating in shopping centres as opposed to the high street), especially in the US. Afaik, that huge Ballsbridge redevelopment that never got going was going to have some luxury shops like the Louis Vuittons of this world.

I'm not saying I'd personally favour it, but if SSG could manage it (I'm sure they could) they'd go for it.

Also, fwiw, I did a quick calculation - the ground floor of the current shopping centre is only 4.5 times the size of the ground floor of Marks & Spencer on Grafton St. Puts things in perspective when there are currently at least thirty units there atm (ground floor only).

ProudDUB

Definitely think the use of the ground floor interior space needs a rejig, but not the basic concept of it, or the visuals of the New Orelans/conservatory theme. Apart from the Dunnes, there is nothing really in there to draw the shopper in, at least not much that you can't get on nearby Grafton St. The upper floors are woefully under utilized. The top floor dome space would make a perfect Bewleys or coffee shop venue, where you can sit and linger and enjoy the gorgeous views over the Green. The current set up with the all you can eat Chinese buffet is utterly souless imo.

If it could attract some of the unique or high end boutiques that are in Powerscourt Townhouse, or on the side streets behind it, the centre could become a real destination for people to go to, as those shops/boutiques are there and no where else. But those small retailers probably couldn't afford SGSC rents. It would probably get a lot more business too, if more of the shops were open to the street, but I agree, it would be a security nightmare for them if they did.

I also think they would get a lot more business if they lowered their astronomical parking charges. I don't expect it to be free or the people who work nearby would have a field day & there would be no spaces left for shoppers. But if some have sort of system in place where you get a reduced rate if you eat/drink there, or the first 2 hours are free, or if you spend X euros than you get your parking validated, wouldn't that attract more people to the centre and the area in general?

Corruptedmorals

Yes, about 30 on the ground floor. Some empty of course! Not sure if small high end concessions is the way to go, or knock them together and have large budget stores that are a big draw. I completely forgot Tk Maxx is in the centre actually, it and H&M nearby with some others in that range would be very good for business.

JupiterKid

I really hope the planners reject these renovation proposals for the SSG centre. It's just trying to emulate Dundrum and that's sad.

I think the SSG does need a major facelift but the glass, giant clock and open space is part of the Centre's character and so should be kept.

I would like the see all the white and pale green replaced by warmer colours and materials - like brass, yellow/red brick, dark green and copper. The Dome in particular would look great if clad in copper - I never liked its glassy look.

Also more escalators are needed and maybe some glass lifts for better circulation between floors - the third floor really suffers from poor footfall and is dead.

fatknacker

Desigual? Goldigga? Where's O'Carrolls, The Hat Shop and the place that sells bongs and hashpipes?

Passenger

Stephens Green SC needs something of a facelift but the image in the OP is not it. I hope the planners see this thread as most shoppers seem to want to keep the current facade as it has some personality about it for sure.

james142

Its fake! There is an apple store located there in the image.. No apple stores in Ireland.. :P

Speedsie

It's a mock up, not an actual photograph.

Cienciano

fatknacker wrote: »

Desigual? Goldigga? Where's O'Carrolls, The Hat Shop and the place that sells bongs and hashpipes?

The place that sells bongs and hashpipes is the cornerstone of the stephens green centre. I hope that stays.
I always go for a walk around the top floor of SGC when I'm in town and it starts to rain. A weird and wonderful place.
Could do with a revamp though, needs more escalators and entrances along the side

January

Cienciano wrote: »

The place that sells bongs and hashpipes is the cornerstone of the stephens green centre. I hope that stays.
I always go for a walk around the top floor of SGC when I'm in town and it starts to rain. A weird and wonderful place.
Could do with a revamp though, needs more escalators and entrances along the side

Is that not the Banana Tree?

Cienciano

January wrote: »

Is that not the Banana Tree?

Think it's called Asha. You can get AC/DC baby grows in there as far as I know.