Waterford's biggest eyesore is to be given a facelift for the new millennium. For more than two decades, the government building on the Glen has dominated the skyline in one of the most prominent entry vistas to the city, and an attractive sight it is not. The pre-cast concrete monstrosity is controversial not only in local terms; it is a mess, it might be said, of national significance. "It's accepted by everybody that it's one of the ugliest State buildings we have," says Mr David Byers, assistant principal architect at the Office of Public Works.
"Waterford is a medieval city, very fine-grained in the way the streets work and relate to each other . . . but this building is way out of all proportion. Wherever you are in Waterford, it looms over the whole town."
The decision to give the property a facelift is part of a millennium project being undertaken by the OPW to improve the appearance of what it considers the three least attractive State buildings: Hawkins House in Dublin, headquarters of the Department of Health and Children, and the government building on Sullivan's Quay in Cork being the other two.
The idea with the Waterford building, says Mr Byers, is to "upgrade the facade and make it more friendly to the town, and break up the mass of the building."
OPW architect Mr Peter Rogers says the successful rehabilitation of the building requires not just modifications to the structure itself but also the enhancement of public spaces adjoining the site.
The proposed changes include the removal of the large service block on the roof.
"The proposed modifications to the pre-cast panel system will . . . reduce the apparent scale and bulk of the existing structure, particularly in relation to smaller-scale buildings in the vicinity of the Glen and Summer Hill," he says.
Waterford people will be relieved to hear that the building is on the OPW's priority list, and none more so than Spraoi Festival director Mr T.V. Honan, whose office is across the road from the site in question.
He believes the building sends out all the wrong signals about the services provided there.
"I think that at a time when government services generally have become much more people-friendly, that building is a throwback to another era. In fact it reminds me of what I would imagine the Stasi headquarters must have been like in the old East Germany."
"Given that the services within the building have moved on - and I really believe they have - it's important that that image be projected in a positive way."
The OPW hopes to apply for planning permission for the project by the end of this month.
"In the normal course of events, we would have permission within three months and hopefully we can start construction next year," says Mr Byers. "If everything goes well, we would have it finished by the end of 2000."