‘There’s a connection between dying towns and no architects’

Carole Pollard has no doubt as to the value of architects; after all, she has been practising in the profession since she graduated from the DIT School of Architecture in 1991 and recently became the third woman president of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI).

She just wishes that more public bodies, particularly county councils, placed a value on hiring architects. “Only a third of our local authorities employ architects, yet there is a connection between dying towns and the absence of an architectural vision for their renewal.”

Pollard cites some positive examples, such as Westport, where Simon Wall has been the town architect for many years. And Clonakilty, where Giulia Vallone, an Italian-born architect working for Cork County Council, was responsible for its urban design masterplan and new public spaces.

She also singles out Waterford, where city architect Rupert Maddock has been a driving force for the creation of its Viking Quarter as well as beautiful paving schemes and a transparent flood barrier along the River Suir quayside that puts to shame the crude concrete works carried out in Dublin.

What Clonakilty, Waterford and Westport have in common is that they are all “places that you know are being cared for”, as Pollard says, not least because architects hold key positions. In many other towns, engineers have the whip-hand and they take a different approach.

Pollard says Waterford also benefits from having a school of architecture at Waterford Institute of Technology, while Limerick is a winner from the involvement of its university's school of architecture in projects such as FabLab, which seeks to engage the public in discussions about the city.

“We’re trying to get people to see the value of living in a well-designed urban environment, rather than haphazardly all over the place. Those who decided they wanted to live somewhere in the midst of green fields are now realising the downsides of commuting and chauffeuring children everywhere.”

One-off houses

Pollard also believes that the cores of Irish towns are "quite capable" of accommodating new Lidl or Aldi outlets instead of having to have them spring up on the outskirts, diverting business away from town centres. "The new government should impose a ban on further out-of-town retail developments."

She is concerned one-off houses in the countryside could become unsaleable as a result of former minister for the environment Alan Kelly’s decision to exempt them from the need to be certified by a competent professional for compliance with the regulations. “Banks may not lend people money [to buy uncertified houses].”

The RIAI called for the appointment of a "Minister for the Built Environment", to oversee implementation of Government policies on architecture, sustainable communities and high-quality placemaking. What it got was Simon Coveney, as Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government.

His task, Pollard says, is not only to ensure a steady stream of social and affordable housing to relieve the current emergency, but also to provide recreational amenities and deal with flooding. This would also keep a lot of jobs in the construction industry that were “blown away” in the bust.

The Government also needs to cut the Byzantine red tape that ensnares procurement of publicly-funded projects. “It takes so long to get through it all. You have to submit big, thick, bound volumes, and then may have to do it in a completely different way for another State agency,” Pollard complains.

As a sole practitioner for many years, having previously worked for several architectural firms, she would like to see younger, smaller practices able to compete for public projects – rather than being excluded, as they often are, by “ageist” rules that discriminate in favour of established firms.

“Just because an architect may never have designed a library, for example, doesn’t mean they can’t do it. When I trained to be an architect, it took five years at college plus two in practice and, in all of that time, I learned how to design a wide variety of buildings, and the same is true of my colleagues.”

Horrific times

Pollard talks about the amazing resilience of architects and says it needs to be celebrated and promoted. "We've come through horrific times in recent years as a result of the crash, so we've had to be incredibly resilient and adaptable. I know lots went abroad, but many others stayed in Ireland. "Look at what Gráinne Hassett has done in the refugee camp in Calais or the work Helena Fitzgerald has done on land use in Blackstairs, working with local farmers. Also, the numbers of architecture students didn't fall as much as others, so we still have a lot of talented people coming through the schools."

But by comparison with other EU countries in terms of the number of architects, Ireland fares poorly. Figures compiled by the Architects’ Council of Europe show that there is one architect for every 2,100 people in Germany, one to 8,000 in France, one to 9,500 in Britain and one to 15,000 in Ireland.

Pollard would like to see a lot more architectural ideas competitions and a serious examination of why some towns are thriving while others, such as Ballyshannon, Co Donegal, are dying. "There's nothing happening there," she says sadly. "Ideas on how to re-use the street are urgently needed."

As a founder member of Docomomo Ireland (an organisation for those interested in modern movement architecture), she is passionate about the need to retain and adapt outstanding 20th-century buildings, such as the Central Bank in Dame Street, which she says is "crying out for a public use" when the bank moves out. It would make a great Central Library for Dublin.

With several threatened with redevelopment, she says it's "essential" that the work done by specialists in identifying important 20th-century buildings for Dublin City Council should be publicly available. At present, only a few such buildings are included in the city's Register of Protected Structures.

As for the building regulations, Pollard says the RIAI “stepped up to the plate” by agreeing to implement them – even in the teeth of opposition from many of its members – and registration must now be extended to building contractors. Otherwise, some of them “can run to the hills” if there are problems.