Sub Urban to Super Rural

Last Thursday in the OPW offices, the exhibition of Ireland's 2006 entry to the Venice Biennale went on display. Entitled "Sub Urban to Super Rural" it looked to the future and how the country would look in 2030, assuming a consistent growth in population.

I was less than impressed. In fact it reminded me why I left architecture and reassured me that I had made the right decision. I remember a similar project we did in college. It was set in Dundalk and we had to come up with a proposal to cope with an 8-fold growth in population. The proposals were exhibited with DIT students who had done the same project. It might have been a competition actually. I remember speaking to one of the DIT students at the exhibition and he commented on a ridiculous proposal (I can't remember his exact words) that was just three paragraphs one each in Irish, English, Dutch. It was my project he was talking about. But I didn't own up to it at the time! The paragraphs were a response to reading MVRDV's SMLXL and I think they basically recommended leaving things as they were and making small incisions... I can't remember exactly, I'll have to dig it out! But seeing Ireland's Biennale submission brought up the same feelings in me - proposals such as ODOS' Vertical Sprawl, whereby we build up with cantileverin ramps, are ludicrous - what happens to shadows! Do the lower level people reside in perpetual greyness? Though the look of the presentation, the cartoons, are really great.
Or de Paor's suggestion that we retain the footprint of rural houses but make four families live on the plot in a tower house?! It defies the motivation people have for living in the countryside. Although the tower house itself is nice.
I liked FKL's admission that "People want to drive cars, work in town and live in the countryside" - tell it like it is!
Henchion+Reuter's high-speed train network seemed the most realistic though I did feel sorry for Donegal, Kerry and Connemara-Mayo abandoned to the realm of scenery or landcape, unspoilt beauty/difficult to access.
Dominc Stevens, as is to be expected, proposed a very naturalistic, fluid solution. Make use of the river and have facilities that move on the water to places they are required. This is a lovely slow-living suggestion assuming people are happy only going to the market on thursdays and maybe the library on mondays and are willing to forego 24-hour Tesco's.
The other architectural firms involved were: Boyd Cody, BucholzMcEvoy, heneghan.peng (I was disappointed with the notion that they believed a radial city could "become" linear) and MacGabhann. It was commissioned by Shane O'Toole and Ciarán Ó Gaora.
A great piece of work, due credit to all involved, the programme is supersized and informative but it's not my cup of tea and I'm not surprised that the general public/media aren't discussing it; Shane O'Toole expressed concern, disappointment and bewilderment at this fact in his talk. In my opinion there are very few practical, implementable ideas put forward.