Institute of Art Design + Technology
Dún Laoghaire
On Show 2020
Grace Colin

For the initial project, I made a model of the pub ‘The Bernard Shaw’ that was torn down to make room for a hotel in Portobello, Dublin. I chose this because I felt it was important to capture the image and essence of a piece of Dublin culture that was being removed. This then also became the subject of discussion of my thesis. I believe that Dublin is becoming a city for tourists. In an effort to attract more tourists, the government seems to be building more hotels to accommodate them. However, instead of using un-used space and building for hotels, they are choosing to remove and replace functional and functional and favourite spots by residents. Following along with the subject of “Dublin losing culture” I wanted to make another culturally significant model for my final project. My initial project was a building that was not saved, so for my final project I decided to make a building I believe should always be preserved. Theatre is an important part of Dublin’s cultural landscape. Theatres provide the space for an audience to watch performances of plays and concerts. They are a roof to shelter self expression and acting and music. I looked at many Theatres in Dublin, and landed on the the decision to try to make the façade of the Olympia Theatre. (My concept/idea was that my model would sit on a piece of a Monopoly Board. This again ties into the idea that Dublin is being bought be all of these big companies and hotels and losing it’s culture. The idea of my model could suggest that the entire board from the game could be created with cultural spots in Dublin that could be under threat. With a little model sitting on each piece of the game.)