Building by Government III: the New State

In mid 1934, after much procrastination, a decision was made by the Department of Finance to build a new office building to accommodate the Department of Industry and Commerce on the site formerly occupied by Maple’s Hotel, Kildare Street, and to select the design of the new building by means of an architectural competition. This would be the first purpose-built government office building erected since independence and the competition was limited to ‘architects of Irish nationality and architects of other nationalities resident in An Saorstát for the past ten years’. Thirty-six entries were received, and the winner, announced on 28 December 1935, was James Rupert Boyd Barrett of Cork.

Boyd Barrett had established his architectural practice in Cork in 1928 at the age of 24 and had built up an extensive practice in the south and west. His winning design for the Industry and Commerce Building was determined by the need to provide the largest possible amount of office accommodation on the site. The style chosen – clearly rendered in this perspective by Boyd Barrett’s assistant T. G. Nolan – was typical of the pre-War period, a dignified stripped classicism popular throughout Europe and the English speaking world in the 1930s. Construction began in January 1939 and the building was finished in October 1942.

A building adequate to house a whole Department

Angela Rolfe

The Department of Industry and Commerce was formally established by the Free State Government on 2 June 1924. The first Minister of the Department was Patrick McGilligan, who had authorised the construction of the hydroelectric scheme on the River Shannon at Ardnacrusha in early 1924. The new Department remained at the forefront of nation-building during the early years of independence. The Irish Times (1 April 1924) described in somewhat glowing terms the mood and the motives of the government at this time:

The Free State Ministers are young and ardent men, eager to lift the country uno ictu out of its ruts of economic and social stagnation… They desire to ‘get things done’ – to present the world with an outstanding proof of Irish energy and courage.

There was a severe shortage of office accommodation for the new Free State civil service due to the destruction of many public buildings between 1916 and 1922. The resources of the Office of Public Works (OPW) were stretched rebuilding and restoring the Custom House (completed 1929) (17.1), Fours Courts (17.2) and GPO (both completed 1932). The Department of Industry and Commerce was particularly ill-served, with various units spread across the city in disparate and unsuitable buildings (including in 45 Merrion Square, now the home of the Irish Architectural Archive). However, it wasn’t until 1932, with a new government, that Minister for Industry and Commerce Seán Lemass suggested that a new building be procured. He proposed that ‘from funds provided for the relief of the present unemployment and distress, moneys should be allocated for the erection of a building adequate to house the whole Headquarters staff of the Department’ and added that the new building should be located on the site of the former Maple’s Hotel in Kildare Street (fig. 17.3).

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).

The panel over the door represents Lugh, the God of Light, releasing aeroplanes to signify aviation (17.6). The carved panels on the balcony represent the main industries of the time – cement, ship building, spinning, pottery, shoe making, power generation and the tobacco industry. Unfortunately, the only woman featured is making cigarettes.

The building has a flat concrete roof, with a bitumin asphalt finish. The in-situ concrete floors have hot water pipes to provide underfloor heating throughout the building, which is still operating. Internal finishes and detailing were chosen for their durability. The original Ruboleum flooring in the building, with the curved skirting detail on the corridors, is still in place. The main staircase uses Kilkenny limestone and white and green Connemara marble, and the staircase lobbies and ministerial suites are clad with walnut panelling (17.7). The office corridors have broad doorways with curved jambs, more often seen in hospitals. The deep reveals to the doorways provide built-in storage within the thickness of the walls and clerestory lights over. The depth of the floor plate is approximately 12.5 metres, optimal for naturally ventilated work areas. The offices have high ceilings and tall windows which provide good levels of natural light.