An article on the Irish Times website suggests that the Central Bank could be turned into either a library or a missile silo… So what’s going down on Dame Street?
Is the Central Bank really going to be turned into a missile silo?
Well no, not exactly. It was just some good eye catching headline writing courtesy of the Irish Times this morning (you can read the article here), but yes, it actually was suggested that the Central Bank be turned into a missile silo, once the Central Bank shifts off over to where the new Anglo offices were to be located on the north quays.
Wait, so it actually was suggested?
Yes. It was suggested, but that means squat. Even the Irish Times called the suggestion ‘tongue-in-cheek’ which is their way of saying ‘a load of b*llix’, so there’s no need to worry about random missiles exploding in the middle of town.
So where, or who, did the suggestion come from?
The suggestion was made by Res Publica, a group of six young architects who met last week in a brainstorming session to come up with ideas as to what the government should do with the Central Bank building once it’s empty.
You can follow the group over on Twitter (@ResPublica_IE) and they’re only too happy to receive some suggestions on what to do with the building. You can join the debate by using the #thisisnotcentralbank or #centralbank hash tags.
Ah, I see. So what other suggestions were made?
Well there were a few fairly decent ideas thrown around, but there were also a few that came from ‘the back of the class’, so to speak. Some of them included turning the seven-storey building into a bird sanctuary, a 24-hour Tesco with a nightclub on its upper levels, or our favourite, a prison for corrupt bankers.
Some of the above ideas may seem a little out there, to say the least, but there was one solid idea that actually might come to fruition.
What was that?
The one suggestion that stood out from the rest is the idea of turning the soon to be empty offices into a public library. According to the Irish Times, this would give the building a real public use for the first time, and in fairness, it’s not bad.
Interesting… So were there any other wacky ideas?
Well one suggestion by Dublin city architect Ali Grehan was to turn the Central Bank into a ‘Tower of Wisdom’ where retired people could go and share their life experiences with the younger generations. We imagine it would be like sitting beside someone who was describing exactly what’s happening on the History Channel.
Sounds… fun.
Quite.
