Moore Street National Monuments 1 Contents Introduction - Foreword ...4 - Key Proposal Objectives ...5 - Decision of Title & Preservation ...6 Process - Analysis ...8 - Case Studies ...17 - Walking Tour ...24 - Collins Barracks ...27 - Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht ...29 - Visiting No.15 & 16 ...31 - 14 Henrietta & Ellen Rowley ...43 - Meeting in Ilac ...46 - Finalisation of Ideas ...47 Proposal ...49 Conclusion ...76 Bibliographyy ...77 2 “History is not what happened to other people, but a dimension of human nature, and a fundamental part of our working conditions, even in the modern age.” -WWM Architects Introduction In this section, a general backgound and outline of our proposal will be discussed alongside the demonstration of key project decisions and their reasoning. 3 Foreword Proposal Context Moore Street and its surroundings played a pivotal role in creating the Republic we know Through our proposal, “Rejecting the ideas of today. The decision to surrender in 1916 “return” and “rupture” that created a new sense of identity which we hope to create spaces ultimately led to the founding of the Irish that commemorate the condition too much action Free State in 1922. The backdrop for the final moments of the Easter Rising, a events of the Easter Rising on buildings of the past: recognized battlefield site and location of whilst evoking the various “return” in the form of statutorily protected National Monuments, Moore Street is a historically significant site charged emotions felt by restoration, and “rupture” in Dublin. Coupled with this it has a rich and in the form of important social history, with a Street thousands during its days. Market tradition that has been in place since Our design decisions are informed by a self-consciously the 18th century. The National Monuments careful analysis of the Moore Street area and are not only an insight into the Easter Rising discontinuous new the events that took place in its itself, but also a narrative of daily life prior to surroundings. Alongside the diverse input of construction. These and in the aftermath of the events. information and site visits, our proposal positions share the Brief intentions are based on the primary concern of the original ‘Route of the Irish Rebellion’, belief that history is past. beginning with the General Post Office and As part of our project objectives, we were concluding with the location of surrender. By contrast, we are asked to develop an architectural vision for convinced that history is the National Monuments at No. 14-17. This report has been prepared following the We aim to address the past, not what happened to various input of information such as site visits to the research we have carried out at present and the future. other people, but a Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street and their Museums and commemorative places such dimension of human surrounding urban context; architectural and as Collins Barracks, the National Museum, historical research into the buildings and nature, and a Glasnevin cemetery, Kilmainham and such, historical associations with the 1916 Easter are equally successful at exposing the past. Rising. We have developed a design strategy fundamental part of our However, additional to commemorating for the monuments which reflects and history, Numbers 14-17 will explore the working conditions, even acknowledges this research-based approach. active years of the building since 1916 as in the modern age.” well as media coverage and sensitivity across Additionally, through this academic the topic today. The future will be addressed module we have researched examples of -WWM Architects on Astley Castle through the multi-purpose spaces cultural centers, museums and exhibitions allocated to lectures, café, bookshop and whilst analyzing the area surrounding Moore While the monuments are deemed archival spaces, where reading evenings, Street. A record of these precedents are significant due to the events that took place school visits, family activities and such can included in the report. during the Easter Rising, we have noted happen. throughout our visit to no 15-16, that the conditions of the existing fabric show Existing Condition - No. 14 to 17 traces of each decade since 1916. Hence, they display signs of every ‘dimension of Furthermore, our investigation aims to human nature’ which could be respectfully address the treatment of the national celebrated with minimal intervention to the monuments themselves. We feel that a existing layers of history. certain mindfulness should be given to the changes being made to the built environment, and how they could be integrated into the larger context. When speaking of the existing conditions of the monuments, we refer to the following statement: 4 Key Proposal Objectives • Respecting the original route of the rebels on the site of the battlefield – no entry from Moore street, closest possible entry from Moore Lane. • A new building is introduced at the back of the monuments to accommodate necessary ser- vices and programs, due to the fragile condition of No.14-17 and the significant events that took place in them. • Articulated thresholds and circulation spaces are used as a tool for evoking emotions such as uncertainty and doubt. • Basement cellar is used to heighten the intense moments the rebels must have felt in the course of the Easter Rising. • A a new sequential tunnel leads to the basement of number 14 which evokes more feelings of mystery. • No.14-15 acknowledges life and building uses in its diverse exhibition mediums with a focus on the inhabitants of the terrace at 1916. • No.15-16 specifically concentrates on the emotional events of the Easter Rising and on the decision to surrender. • Ground floor of No.16 acknowledges all decades of ‘recent’ history such as the 21 butchers on Moore Street – evoking nostalgia. • Exit into the intimate, closed-off garden is possible from the back of No.16. This space is a tool of stimulation for resting, quiet contemplation and remembrance. • Ground floor of No.16 additionally provides an exit into the café/bookshop and archival space – for further access of historical records, resting and reflecting. • As recognized by the TU Dublin Moore Street Market research (Semester 1 Elective module 2018): a break through of the terrace is necessary to create successful permeability, however, it must be in respect of the context in order to avoid a large urban scar in the grain of this historic area. 5 Decision of Title On Preservation To Keep or Discard Throughout this project, we have spent many How does the ability to see un-altered traces “If ruination distills a building to an archi- occasions discussing the underlying essence of the past change the way we experience a tectural essence, what evaporates in its of our proposal and hence it’s title. It was a part of history? process is precisely its humanity. Ruins are difficult process and perhaps it is still very measureless, porous, hard and damp: their much open-ended. “In itself, the idea of heritage brings forth one emotional power grows proportionately as of the most fundamental aspects in man- human scale, subdivision, containment and Too many museums, visitor centres and ex- kind’s endeavor for self-preservation and comfort are erased. In many ways, there- hibitions fail to correctly live up to their ti- evolution, namely to preserve human values fore, the house is the opposite of a ruin. The tles, hence these nouns are often associated and memory. In these terms, safeguarding ruin is unhomely. To place a house inside a with negative perception or experiences. But heritage becomes an act of responsibility in- ruin threatens the essence of each. Two op- what is a museum or commemorative cen- volving equally an ethical stance, normative posite dangers present themselves: the do- tre after all? A building in which objects of policy, and technical expertise. Nevertheless mesticated ruin, which has lost its emotional historical or cultural interest are stored and ‘cultural heritage’ is hardly exhausted as a charge; or the unsettling house.” exhibited? Is it active or passive? Does it mere catalog of artifacts that show ‘out- belong to the past, present or future? And standing universal value’, mainly because -WWM Architects on Astley Castle how do we design it to be flexible in an era culture itself is embedded and evolving in of rapid change? We have settled with the the fabric of everyday practices and the liv- We have not restored No.14-17, but rather ‘Moore Street National Monuments’. It may ing memory of the community.” maintained the ruin and inhabited it with be an open-ended subject, however it allows - ‘Architectural Insertions: Building into the several narratives of history. visitors an additional layer of interpretation Historic Fabric’ by Angelos Psilopoulos and curiousity. Many museums, visitor centres, galleries and exhibition spaces look for a deeper domes- Whose museum is it? Through the visit we have taken to the Na- tional Monuments we have identified that tication or completion of works which fails the buildings contain all forms and traces of to allow the audience’s use of imagination. With the following title the proposal is de- the past. Walls, floors and ceilings are visual In other cases, museums attempt to leave fined. A National Monument is a place of diagrams of the occupancy. These walls have un-altered objects and spaces but uninten- historic, scenic, or scientific interest set aside absorbed decades of scars and mendings tionally end up touching too much of the for preservation usually by presidential proc- leading to a layering of history. original fabric. In short, we have left the Na- lamation. It is not only a place to commem- tional Monuments incomplete, unrestricted orate the Events of the Rising, but a place of and somewhat disturbing in order to gain a learning.