Hawkins House (Dublin)

Hawkins House is a 12-storey office block in Dublin, Republic of Ireland.

Hawkins House
Hawkins House in 2017
EtymologyNamed after Hawkins Street
General information
Town or cityDublin
CountryRepublic of Ireland
Coordinates53.3466009°N 6.2582051°W / 53.3466009; -6.2582051
Completed1964
Height41.45m[1]
Technical details
Floor count12
Floor area122,000 sq ft (11,300 m2)
Design and construction
ArchitectSir Thomas Bennett

History

Hawkins House, with the Screen Cinema, was built on the site of the Theatre Royal which sat on the corner of Hawkins Street and Townsend Street. Hawkins House is on the corner of Poolbeg Street and Hawkins Street and was built between 1962 and 1964. It was the first of a set of buildings erected on this block, including Apollo House in 1969, the Screen Cinema in 1972 and College House in 1974. The building was the former Department of Health headquarters.[2]

Along with College House, Hawkins House was sold for £12 million in 1984.[3]

Architecture

The building was designed by English architect, Sir Thomas Bennett and developed by the Rank Organisation. The 12-storey block had two curtain walls with two concrete slab facades. With O'Connell Bridge House, the impact of the height and bulk of Hawkins House led to the Dublin Corporation re-evaluating the guidelines around building height in the city.[3]

Demolition

The building was considered to be one of the ugliest in Dublin,[4][5] being voted the worst building in Dublin in 1998.[6] Permission was granted to demolish the block in 2017,[7] with the demolition planned to take a year from 2020. It is the last of the modern structures on the block to be razed.[2]

See also

References

  1. "Hawkins House, Dublin | 233025 | EMPORIS". www.emporis.com. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  2. Kelly, Olivia (29 October 2020). "Hawkins House demolition begins". The Irish Times. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  3. McDonald, Frank (1985). The destruction of Dublin. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan. p. 39-42. ISBN 0717113868.
  4. Casey, Christine (2005). Dublin : the city within the Grand and Royal Canals and the Circular Road with the Phoenix Park. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press. p. 460. ISBN 9780300109238.
  5. Duffy, Rónán (3 June 2016). "'Dublin's ugliest building' is going to be knocked down and turned into this". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  6. "1962 – Hawkins House, Poolbeg Street, Dublin". Archiseek - Irish Architecture. 10 February 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  7. Kelly, Olivia (7 May 2020). "Hawkins House, one of Dublin's ugliest buildings, finally set to be demolished". The Irish Times. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
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