Barn Storming

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This afternoon.

Dolphin House, Dolphin’s Barn, Dublin 8.

Darren Craig writes:

The flats at Dolphins Barn are coming down. So many “feature walls” destroyed

Mmf.

Previously: Dublin’s Dolphgin Barn Flats To Get €16 million Retrofit (IrishTimes)

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35 thoughts on “Barn Storming

    1. ahjayzis

      Seems fairly wasteful alright.

      I live in something really similar in London, most of the flats in my area are pretty similar to these.

      New buildings don’t ‘fix’ a community.

      1. ahjayzis

        Redevelopment I think, is it not what they did in Ballymun? Move the people out, demolish, rebuild, move ’em back in?

        1. Dόn Pídgéόní

          At least they have a better chance of it being social housing, not luxury flats with a few “affordable” ones on the side (but different door of course, don’t want the poors touching us)

        2. Smith

          Yeah, but they broke up communities in the process. Lifelong friends and neighbours were separated and feel worse off and more isolated than before

          1. ahjayzis

            They’re moving back into the new development aren’t they?

            You can’t really demolish a building around a family going about their daily lives. Haven’t they been pushing for redevelopment themselves?

          2. All the good ones fly south for winter

            And the lame put down. In retrospect the council might have gone too far.

          3. ahjayzis

            In fairness I wouldn’t complain too loudly to the people building me a brand spanking new modern home! Flat/house typology might constrain who gets to live beside who. The family of six living beside the old lady on her own are unlikely to end up next door neighbours again in the new development. But this is a small site – I don’t think that’s a risk.

          4. meadowlark

            Down off that horse. He’s too tall for you anyway.

            I’m sure every man, woman and child in Ballymun is a drug dealer too. They probably are born with a criminal record.

    2. DubLoony

      They will be.
      They are knocking some of the blocks down and will build a variety of regular housing there.
      Other blocks will be stripped back to the skeletal structure and built up to modern spec.
      Where there are 6 dwellings on each landing, there will now be 4. So they will be huge.
      Also, the ones facing the canal will have balconies added. So rather than facing a concrete fortress inside, they will face out to the canal, green space with a great view of the mountains.

      Long overdue and delighted to see it.

    3. jeanclaudetrichet

      Most people try to hide ignorance. Not you tho.
      The sewage used to bubble up into the baths in that place.

  1. Paps

    Good , horrible horrible looking buildings , something more modern , energy and space efficient is sorely needed.

    1. classter

      They are not horrible looking.

      We do this in cycles – demolish, regret, demolish, regret – Dutch billies, Georgian Dublin, Victorian streetscapes – & still we don’t learn.

      The energy-efficient is patently nonsense – once you take account of the embodied energy in demolishing & rebuilding, you’ll need a ridiculously long pay-back period.

  2. kellma

    From the times article they are not doing the same as in Ballymun i.e. they are not razing it to the ground and totally building new. They are knocking it back to the skeleton and “retrofitting” (rewiring, replumbing, insulating etc) and making the units more spacious.
    Sounds good anyway

  3. Kolmo

    They tried to modernise the Dolphin Barn complex 10 years ago, poorly executed, same social problems, just with double glazing.

    1. ahjayzis

      Ugh. Double glazing + old knackered council flat = virulent black mould.

      I had to chisel the crud off when I moved into my place >_<

  4. Serv

    Could they not salvage the newish double glazing? Could be used to replace broken ones in refurbished flats etc

  5. Jimmy IN & Out

    You can take the kn@cker out of Dolphins Barn, but he’ll still be a kn@cker… or something along those lines.

  6. Snickers

    Dolphin House always had one big problem – from the days before it was built, when it was a tenement area known locally as The Hollah – extreme poverty. Better housing is good, but it could do with a really good school and a source of good jobs.

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