In 1933 the OPW reported that, as it was exceptionally valuable, any new building should be so designed as to make ‘the fullest use’ of the proposed site. The OPW produced a sketch design which estimated that the site could accommodate 36,000 square feet of accommodation at a cost of £100,000.
The OPW bought the site on Kildare Street in 1934 and was informed in July of that year by the Department of Finance that its Minister had decided that an architectural competition should be held. Exactly why such a proposal was made remains to be unpicked, but the OPW responded with relative enthusiasm, noting that ‘generally speaking, competitions of this kind often produce building schemes both attractive, novel and economical and afford opportunities to young architects to make their talents known’. This positive view may well have been influenced by a lack of capacity in the OPW as its architects were already extremely busy. The major reconstruction jobs in Dublin were progressing alongside a range of other works including a programme of reconstructing former Royal Irish Constabulary Barracks as Garda Stations and an ambitious programme of new national schools which saw completions increase from twenty-four in 1927 to sixty-two in 1937.
It took almost nine months to prepare the competition documents and agree the panel of assessors. Three architects were appointed: Thomas J. Cullen, who chaired the panel, Henry H. Hill and George P. Sheridan. There were thirty-six submissions and within a month of the submission date, 16 December 1935, the awards were published. The entries were exhibited for a week at the Metropolitan School of Art. That submitted by J. R. Boyd Barrett of Cork was placed first, with Alfred E. Jones and Stephen S. Kelly second, and third place going to E. G. Butler, a third-year architectural student at University College Dublin. In her acknowledgement of the OPW notification of her award, Butler added: ‘Kindly note my full name is Eleanor Grace Butler (Miss)’.
In their report on Boyd Barrett’s proposal the jury noted: The design presents an exceptionally straightforward, well arranged and well lighted plan. Good solar aspect has been given to practically every room, the planning of the administrative suite is compact and convenient. The layout is flexible in the sense that alterations can be made in the future to suit varying needs of the Department without involving structural difficulty.
Boyd Barrett had an extensive architectural practice in the south. Between 1928 and 1931 he had supervised the construction of the Church of Christ the King at Turner’s Cross, for Chicago architect Barry Byrne. His winning design was considered a compromise between the conservatives and the moderates on the assessment panel and led to a range of comment and criticism. Writing in The Irish Builder and Engineer ‘Wisbech’, the pseudonym used by twenty-seven-year-old architect John O’Gorman who was a strong advocate for the modern movement, stated that he ‘found it a complete mystery why the scheme by Michael Scott and Norman Good was neither placed nor commended’.
The design was developed and detailed between February 1936 and April 1937, with bills of quantities ready by November 1937. Tenders were sought in February 1938. Coincidentally, the OPW was at the same time also seeking tenders for the construction of the terminal at Dublin Airport. Tender prices ranged from £179,400 to £327,738. However, a nine-month delay to the placing of the contract saw the tender price increase. The Department of Finance insisted that all the structural steel must be obtained from Smith and Pearson Ltd, Dublin; stonecutters had been awarded a pay rise; and the contractor requested that a ‘war clause’ be added to the contract. A revised tender for £182,168 from John Sisk & Son was accepted on 28 December 1938. The contractors started construction immediately on what was their first building in Dublin, and the Kildare Street offices were to be a very important milestone in the development of the Sisk construction firm (17.4).
