Sir, - In connection with the recent correspondence on the subject of architecture I should like to add the following comments: Traditionally, the large public buildings were designed by the architect/engineer and the smaller artisan dwellings were designed and built by the artisans themselves using natural and indigenous materials in a sympathetic, practical style. Today we have an enormously complex pattern of regulations and application of new materials and techniques which necessitate that buildings are designed by teams of people working together having been given a good brief and a realistic budget by the client. Where people within this team think that they can do without one of the other team members, this is where the building will almost always suffer.
Architects spend five years being trained in the design process. During this teaching period, historical research and analysis forms a big part of the syllabus. For this reason most architects will have a good understanding of such things as historical proportioning systems, detailing etc. It is generally anathema to architects to see "Georgian style" details applied to a box in a manner which makes them ridiculous - ie plastic glazing bars "stuck" onto glass to mimic small Georgian panes; panelled doors of ridiculously skinny widths set into enormous entrance porticos.
Our design students in all spheres are considered well taught - especially by other countries coming here on recruitment drives. Are we really saying that Irish people have no interest in design? Design doesn't happen - overnight and hence can be frustrating to other professionals whose work can more easily be defined by rules and regulations. Perhaps this needs to be examined in the context of the training of all related professionals?
In the 1960s/1970s we also had a building boom - many of these buildings are hated today, with few architectural qualities, ie Lower Mount Street - I would suggest that these buildings were simply pushed ahead too fast and the architecture was not an issue.
If we are to pass on a legacy of good architecture to future generations, we need to give support to our designers in all fields. We need to ensure that traditional skills like plastering are not allowed to die because they seem uneconomic at the present time. We need to evaluate new materials and ensure that they are suitable in terms of scale, cost, durability etc.
Italy and the Scandinavian countries have always had a thriving design industry - but they receive a lot of support from both the public and governments alike. We can be proud of the quality of design in areas like Temple Bar and we need a lot more emphasis on the positive affect of good design as well as government support for design industries.
Yours, etc.
President,
Institute of Designers in
Ireland,
Dartmouth Square,
Dublin 6.