University Campus

THE AREA NEAR THE UPPER LAKE

September 18, 2023 by infomatique

I DID NOT REALISE THAT THERE ARE THREE LAKES ON THE UCD CAMPUS

I had an appointment on Roebuck Road but it was cancelled on my arrival for various reasons. As I had a camera with me I decided to take advantage of the recently upgraded Roebuck Road Entrance to the UCD Campus.

Developed in conjunction with the building of the Arts, Administration and Library buildings in the 1970s the main UCD Lake was the original focal point or the campus. It is now joined by the Upper Lake which forms a second focal point between the UCD Engineering and Materials Science Centre, UCD Sutherland School of Law, UCD Quinn School of Business, Gerald Manley Hopkins international Centre and Daedalus buildings.

The new Upper Lake acts as a natural rain water treatment facility and was built in conjunction with the UCD Sutherland School of Law Building. This constructed wetland, covering an area of 6,000m2, with a water body in excess of 9 million litres, will develop over time providing a wildlife corridor between the perimeter and central core of the campus. The length of the water body is specially designed to allow for colonisation by swans. The large selection of marginal planting includes food plants and vegetated islands for wildlife. In total approximately 22,000 new plants are being planted including 105 new trees, 2,500 woodland and hedging plants, 8,000 wetland plants and 11,500 spring bulbs.

The Upper Lake also completes the first section of the belt-walk landscape which forms part of the wider master plan for campus circulation.

The Lower or “Secret” Lakes are situated behind the UCD Veterinary Sciences Centre and UCD Conway Institute. They are part of an original water course that has been developed into reed beds and ponds to encourage biodiversity and forms part of the Millennium Oak Walk.

THIS SCULPTURE IS OUTSIDE THE BERKELEY LIBRARY

June 27, 2023 by infomatique

I DO NOT KNOW THE THE NAME OF THE ARTWORK BUT I DO KNOW THAT THE LIBRARY IS TO BE DENAMED

Note: According to a friend that was with me when I visited the Trinity Campus “dename” is not a Scrabble valid word.

I first photographed this sculpture near the Berkeley Library back in February 2018 and I could not find any information about it or the artist. It now 2023 and I still have no information but I do have some information relating to the library.

[26 April 2023] Trinity College Dublin to dename the Berkeley Library.

The name has been judged inconsistent with the University’s core values. Trinity is to dename the Berkeley Library while adopting a retain-and-explain approach to a stained-glass window commemorating George Berkeley.

Opened in 1967, Trinity’s largest library was named in 1978 after George Berkeley, the world-renowned philosopher, and former Librarian at Trinity. Berkeley published some of his most important philosophical works while at Trinity in the 1700s. He bought slaves – named Philip, Anthony, Edward, and Agnes Berkeley – to work on his Rhode Island estate in 1730-31 and sought to advance ideology in support of slavery.

When I was at school we had an American teacher/priest who was not a George Berkeley fan claiming that the man in question had constantly complained about the laziness of “our native Irish” and suggested that this laziness might be cured by a combination of eugenics and forced labour.

If you want to be confused then I suggest that you read about George Berkeley … there is plenty of information online.

THE CLOCK TOWER LOWER GRANGEGORMAN

June 19, 2023 by infomatique

ORIGINALLY THE RICHMOND PENITENTIARY

Last year [2022] The Grangegorman Development Authority appointed Tolmac Construction Ltd as the building contractor to carry out essential stabilisation works to the historic Clock Tower Building.

The Clock Tower is one of the protected structures on the Grangegorman site and these repair works will help prevent further deterioration to this 200 year old building.

Designed by Francis Johnston, the Richmond Penitentiary was part of an experiment in the early years of the nineteenth century which sought to replace transportation and aimed to reform rather than punish.

It was originally built on a radial plan, with a five-sided enclosure to the rear. This radial plan was common in penal architecture at the time. The front range, which is the only surviving aspect, makes a considerable impact on the streetscape of Grangegorman Lower. Its intimidating facade is enlivened by a sense of symmetry which is created by the central pedimented bay and projecting end-bays. Some granite dressings enhance the calp limestone facade, and are testament to the skill and craftsmanship of stonemasons at the time.

The clock-tower is of technical as well as aesthetic interest, as the original clock-mechanism of 1817 remains in use. The building remained in use as a prison for a short time only, and throughout the nineteenth century was used by the hospital in the vicinity, before being handed over to the Richmond District Lunatic Asylum in 1897.

THE EAST QUAD – TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY DUBLIN

June 19, 2023 by infomatique

MONDAY 19 JUNE 2023

Unfortunately the area at the Broadstone Gate, where the LUAS tram stop is located, is beginning to attract some low level anti-social activity and it is increasing.

The East Quad is a Cultural Hub not only for the campus but also for the city. Opened in late 2020, students can access the East Quad directly via the Broadstone Gate – a new public plaza, which incorporates the Broadstone/University Luas stop on the Green Line. In addition, a range of Arts and Humanities courses are delivered in the East Quad in Art & Design, Media, Music, Drama, Dance, Languages, Law, Social Science, Education and Social Care.

The fluid nature of the design and the vibrancy of the learning environment facilitates exhibitions of students’ visual artwork as well as dramatic and musical performances in the 340-seat Concert Hall, 80-seat Black Box Theatre and 80-seat Recital Hall, all of which will be accessible to general audiences once public health restrictions are relaxed. In addition, the design of the external spaces and landscaping outside the building will also be conducive to various uses such as performance, media projection and exhibition of sculpture.

BUILDINGS ON GRANGEGORMAN UNIVERSITY CAMPUS

May 25, 2023 by infomatique

PHOTOGRAPHED USING A SIGMA DP3 QUATTRO

Today I obtained an unused Sigma Quattro DP3 camera and, believe me, it is more than difficult to use for multiple reasons. The first problem that I had was that the internal battery was exhausted and I could not change any settings, I could not even set the date and time. The second problem was that AF would not work so I had to focus manually which was difficult without a viewfinder.

The biggest problem is that LightRoom does not recognise the RAW files and there is no point in using the JPG files and to complicate life one needs not to use any setting above ISO 100. Alto the battery life is the worse that I have encountered.

The Grangegorman site is an area of approximately 73 acres located in the Arran Quay Ward of Dublin in the district of Grangegorman. It is north of the River Liffey and south of the Royal Canal, and approximately 1.5 kilometres from Dublin’s City Centre. The Grangegorman site is bounded by the North Circular Road to the north, Prussia Street and Stoneybatter to the west, and Brunswick Street to the south.

It is unique because of its location in the core of the city and, other than the Docklands and the Poolbeg peninsula, is the last remaining large undeveloped land bank in the city.

The site is divided into two precincts known as St. Brendan’s West (54 acres) and St. Brendan’s East (19 acres), on either side of Grangegorman Road Upper. The eastern edge of the site is beside the Broadstone and Phibsborough bus depots, property used by Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann under the auspices of Córas Iompair Éireann (CIE).

Much of the site is still undeveloped and can be considered brown-field, however part of St Brendan’s West has been redeveloped and is now in use by TU Dublin. There are also large areas of public realm accessible to the community, including a children’s playground. These lands contain many mature trees together with an array of protected buildings under the current Dublin City Development Plan, all of which date from the nineteenth century or before.

There is a high boundary wall which surrounds most of the site which means access to the lands is restricted. The lands are elevated on the north eastern part sloping gently down towards the south west. The Grangegorman site has a diverse architectural, historical, and land use character, however the area is fragmented and cut off from surrounding residential neighbourhoods. These factors have served to limit expansion and to discourage the coherent development of the area.

BUILDINGS ON GRANGEGORMAN UNIVERSITY CAMPUS [PHOTOGRAPHED USING A SIGMA DP3 QUATTRO] 026