A view that is a step too far

It's the fault of the "Ryanair Generation" that we won't be able to climb up to a viewing gallery on top of the Millennium monument in Dublin's O'Connell Street. Because, according to the jury assessing the design competition to replace Nelson Pillar, "the aerial view is available to all who travel by air".

That's why they have decided, in their infinite wisdom, that public access to the top of the monument "is no longer a pre-requisite". Quite apart from the view of Dublin from flying over the city, "there's a lot of buildings which offer panoramic views that weren't around in Nelson's era", said one of those closely involved.

But there is a big difference between viewing a city from the air, when it appears almost like a large, lumpy carpet, and seeing it from close-up through the intimacy of viewing rooftops and streets from a height.

Also, there is no public access to most of the buildings offering panoramas; just try getting into the Central Bank, let alone to the top of it.

There is, however, one major difference these days about providing access to the top of any structure - it must be accessible to all, and rightly so. That means that a spiral of steps would no longer be adequate; a lift would also be necessary, and the two together imply a bulkier object than Nelson's fluted, Doric column.

The adjudicators are more concerned that Dublin should end up with a monument that would have the qualities of "beauty, originality and integrity" and address such issues as "materiality and interactivity . . . light and shade, day and night, detail in the design to seduce and entice" - and become a familiar, well-loved landmark.

"In a democratic age, society might expect a monument to commemorate democratic ideals and egalitarian values, by contrast to the historical role of the monument as an expression of ascendancy values or military dominance," they said. "A fractured and dysfunctional society could equally be reflected in its monuments."

According to the competition brief, any monument would need to have a "vertical emphasis" and relate to the quality and scale of O'Connell Street. The chosen materials are to be "appropriate for a civic location, durable, adaptable to new technologies and require low maintenance in the future".

The stated aim, as outlined in the brief, is to select an elegant, contemporary design for a monument to replace Nelson Pillar, something that would become in time "a new symbol and image of Dublin for the 21st century (such as, for example, the Eiffel Tower is for Paris and the Statue of Liberty is for New York)".

To decide who gets to execute this daunting task, the adjudicators sifted through 205 entries from all parts of Europe, America and Australia, even from Iran. These were whittled down to 12 and, finally, to just three - because of a pragmatic judgment that these three, of all the entries, were the most likely to be realised.

"This is not a criticism of the level of artistic input, but arises from the jury's pragmatic appraisal of the potential of the design ideas presented to fulfil the programme," said the panel. But it is known that there were some "wild ideas" among the concepts entered by architects, engineers, artists, sculptors, poets and mere ordinary mortals.

They ranged from "retrospective and nostalgic symbols of nationalism through neoskyscrapers and hi-tech towers to abstract sculptural forms and plain text", the jury said. This diversity of ideas "reflects our (i.e., society's) difficulty in defining the contemporary role of a monument to be constructed in a time of convulsive change".

All the entries were all judged "blind". When names were attached to the numbers, it turned out that only one of the three shortlisted competitors is Irish - Jonathan Bennett, a young Dublin-based architect. The other two, coincidentally, are both from London - Ian Ritchie Architects and Hunt McGarry Architects. All three of the shortlisted competitors know Ireland well. David Hunt is an RIAI member and his partner, Colette McGarry, comes from Co Roscommon, while Ian Ritchie designed a remarkable glass house in west Cork. Jonathan Bennett is Dublin-born and recently returned home from working in Australia. No images of their concepts are being released, apparently to avoid public canvassing in favour of one or another. However, one of those closely involved in the process, said they were "certainly interactive in a 21st century way and at least one of them is quite stunning. People may be surprised by what is on offer".

The three finalists are said to have adopted "diverse approaches, each one unique in concept and structure and quite unlike other monuments". According to this source, their ideas have "an individuality that's trying to capture the essence of Dublin" and any one of them could be regarded as "a different monument for a different time".

One of the shortlisted entries is believed to be based on the theme of information technology and its huge potential, the second is apparently very high (if it can be realised), while the third is said to be a "monument to the absence of Nelson" - a notion first mooted by one of the entries for the Pillar Project ideas competition in 1988.

There are no gigantic Celtic crosses, indeed nothing religious at all. This is to be a secular Millennium monument; anything else, such as a huge statue of Saint Patrick or Christ the King, would be regarded as divisive. And all of the "naive, well-intentioned and poorly-designed schemes", in the words of one juror, have been discarded.

The jury is diverse and distinguished. Chaired by Joan O'Connor, former president of the RIAI, it consists of the Lord Mayor, Senator Joe Doyle; the city architect, Jim Barrett; the deputy chief planning officer, Dick Gleeson; the managing director of Clery's, Tom Rea; the sculptor, Vivienne Roche, and the Parisbased architect, Henri Ciriani.

There have been complaints that the short list is too short, because only three made it rather than five or six. However, it is being emphasised that this was not aimed at saving money. All three have received higher premiums to engage specialist advice and a model of O'Connell Street is being made in which to place the rival monuments.

Robert McCauley, a Glenageary-based architect who entered the first stage of the competition, is dismayed by the jury's view that public access is no longer an issue. Though he had never actually climbed Nelson Pillar before it was destroyed in 1966, he said the "collective memory" of this climb had always captured his imagination.

He was also struck by the "powerful symbolism" that went with it, "not the colonial monument or the neo-classical column, but the idea of a vertical public space in the heart of the city" - a place which allowed the public in a single sweep to observe the "beautiful historic fabric and texture" of the centre of Dublin at close-up range.

In saying that such public access was no longer a pre-requisite, Mr McCauley said it was Dublin Corporation - as promoter of the competition - and its panel of adjudicators who are "confused" about the idea of a monument in the city. Thus, what finally emerged would have to be more beautiful, poetic and profound to stand on its own.

John Graby, director of the RIAI and registrar for the competition, said it was "obvious that the outcome will be the subject of intense public debate and controversy", particularly something that's new, original or striking.

However, as he noted, plans for the Eiffel Tower generated huge opposition - led by writer Guy de Maupassant.

The three shortlisted competitors must have their second-stage submissions in by November 16th, with final adjudication to follow on November 23rd and 24th, after which the winner will be announced. All 205 entries in the competition will then be publicly exhibited - probably in the concourse of the Civic Offices at Wood Quay.