The 1970s office blocks Castle House and Wicklow House, which are 100 metres apart on South Great Georges Street in Dublin 2, are to receive a major overhaul as part of a £25 million (31.74) plan that will transform the west side of the street.
Planning permission has been granted to renovate their concrete and metal facades which have long been regarded as an incongruous addition to the sloping Victorian street-scape.
The revamp is part of a plan to reconnect South Great Georges Street and Dublin Castle to the fabric of Dublin city linking them to Exchequer Street and beyond.
The two buildings will become three, reducing their current length and bulk and they will have new brick and sandstone frontage and will receive additional office space of over 100,000 sq ft between them. A new floor at roof level will be set back 4.5 metres, masking it from the street.
However, Dublin Corporation has refused permission for one element of the project involving a three storey over lower floor in-fill office building incorporating a new turning bay on Informer's Lane and the demolition of the Annex attached to the long range of buildings in the Carriage Office Courtyard.
Three separate planning applications were submitted in respect of the project, two by Chartered Property Holdings on behalf of Castle House, 73-83 south Great Georges Street, in which it has a major stake and Wicklow House, 84-89 South Great Georges Street, which is owned by Irish Airline Pensions Ltd.
The Office of Public Works also applied for permission for the Dublin Castle element of the redevelopment which will cost around £5 million (6.35m) .
As well as the remodelling of the two office buildings, the plan involves the construction of a two-storey high canopied pedestrian archway fronting on to George's Street on the site of the existing Informer's Lane.
As part of the Dublin Castle element, a floor will be added at penthouse level to the 1950s built Stamping Building which will receive a partial external renovation. There will be a new civic courtyard with a curved ramp for disabled access and external steps to bridge the 3.1 metre difference in street level between South Great Georges Street and the Lower Castle yard. The circular civic plaza will act as a focal point to tie the various elements of the project together.
The architect involved in the project, John O'Keeffe, says he is pleased with the decision. In respect of the in-fill office development aspect that has been refused permission - and was part of the OPW application - he said they are "still figuring out" how to proceed.
The planners felt that the historic nature of the old buildings along the Carriage Office courtyard had not been properly established. "We intended keeping the old buildings except for the add-on box-like structure, referred to as the Annex, attached to the long range of buildings.
"We will now have to see what we will do about this little carbuncle. We want to put in something that will reflect its status as an anteroom to Dublin Castle." He said he will be glad to forge ahead with the project which has been in discussion for over two years.
The OPW describe the plan as a strong piece of geometry which will use a palette of materials binding the old with the new and tie in with architectural language of Dublin Castle, which is built in a series of quadrangles.
Both Castle House and Wicklow House are occupied by the Revenue Commissioners and were built by UK firm Guardian Properties on the site of the demolished Pimms department store. The buildings are thought to have been originally intended for a greenfield site in the UK. It is hoped that the revamp will revitalise the fortunes of the street which was once a bustling shopping area. When completed in 2004, it will eliminate the need for pedestrians coming from Exchequer Street to make the circuitous journey to Dublin Castle via Dame lane. Existing shops and restaurants will continue trading.
