Introduction
205 Stage 1 submissions were receive by the due date of 28th September 1998. These were assessed on 5-6 October 1998 and three competitors were invited to proceed to Stage 2 (Nos. 43, 47 and 92) based on the Jury's pragmatic appraisal of the potential of the design ideas presented to fulfil the programme.
Three developed ideas were received by the due date of Mondav 16th November 1998 and these were assessed on 22-23 November, 1998 by a Jury composed as follows:
The Right Honourable The Lord Mayor Councillor Joe Doyle
Jim Barrett - Dublin City Architect
Henri Ciriani - Architect
Dick Gleeson - Dublin Corporation - O'Connell Street Project Team Leader
Joan O'Connor - Architect (chair)
Tom Rae - Dublin Chamber of Commerce
Vivienne Roche - Sculptor
Following responses to technical queries, the proposal (No. 47) prepared by a multi- disciplinary team headed by Ian Ritchie Architects was unanimously selected as the winner. The Project Team is completed as follows:
Concept and design - Ian Ritchle Architects
Lighting - Peter Fink
Engineering - ARUP
Landscape - Martin Hallinan
Quantity Surveying - Davis Langdon & Everest
Modelmakers - Amalgam
CAD Imaging - Igo Marko
Discussion
The proposal meets the objectives of the competition in its vertical emphasis: it is ttan elegant structure of 2 1 st century contemporary design which relates to the quality and scale of the O'Connell Street as represented by the late 18th century and early 20th century architecture and civic design ... the chosen materials are appropriate for a civic location, durable .... and require low maintenance in the future".
In its design development, the monument remained faithful to its original inspiration but was refined and improved in subtle ways. In its initial reports, the Jury noted that this impressive proposal, if technically achievable, would de facto become a monument to technology, with the potential for great beauty. It could be an expression of the Rossi ideal of the monument as "a primary element, a freed point in the urban dynamic".
The developed idea is unique in its time and bridges, art and technology: it soars seamless towards infinity, drawing with it our dreams and aspirations. The jury felt the monument connected dramatically with the street, bringing perspective back centre stage and making the buildings work foi- the public space. They were also drawn by its capacity for heroic image and by its power to redefine the city centre.
The proposal embodies the Platonic aphorism that "beauty of style and harmony arid grace and good rhythn depend on symplicity".
In its elegance and dynamism, the monument is proof that contextuality is in no way synonymous with timidity: this is a brave and uncompromising beacon, re-affinning the status of O'Connell Street as Ireland's principal urban thoroughfare, creating a new focus for its surrounding streets and buildings. It will in effect reinvent the cultural dimension of the urban space of O'Coiinell Street. It responds to the scale of the individual, the street and the city, tangible and eiiticine, at its base, leading the eye and the imagination upwards, tapering gracefully arid terrninating in its attractively illuminated tip.
The Jury also noted that this is a monument reflective of a confident Ireland in Europe in the 2 1 st century, legible and intelligible to the citizen and visitor alike.
In it pivotal role in recapturing the heart of Dublin, we anticipate that the people of Dublin and of Ireland will find beauty in this monument as we the assessors did and that, in time, it will become familiar and well-loved and thus acquire the status of symbol of the capital.
In the development of the detailed design, the Jury would encourage the Team to work closely with the Client body to refine the iiiateriality of the interface with the ground plane and to co-ordinate - and perhaps reflect - the monument in the design of the elements of street furniture in the precinct.
