Adia Sisson

Adia Sisson

ARCT10090

27 September 2019

Clarke Square Observational Analysis

Clarke Square lies in Collins Barracks, seated in Dublin’s city center. On a Saturday afternoon, the square is partially shaded and nearly uninhabited, emphasizing the emptiness and scale of the large space. However, one can easily envision a bustling crowd moving through the square diagonally from building to building and congregating in the center of the square as they talk amongst themselves.

The square consists of four old, rectangular, stone buildings connected at the corners to create an empty, enclosed space. The stone of each building is nearly identical: light grey, smooth, and evenly cut, roughly a foot high and up to three feet wide, with a small degree of color variation from exposure and the location from which it was mined. Within the empty square, a few tourists, construction workers, and staff roam freely. Each building is rectangular, with a roof gabled lengthwise and cross-gable rising triangularly from the façade at its midpoint. The buildings are largely symmetrical, with central arches that act as tunnels through each building to create four entrances to the square. Each façade is littered with small rectangular windows as well as archways and small doors which line the perimeter of the square. Black drainage pipes run down each façade, accompanied by some stones stained brown from water leaks. The ground, consisting of salmon-grey pebbled concrete, is clean and smooth, higher at the center of the square than the perimeter to allow for water drainage. Around the edges of the square are grey cobblestone ditches sprouting green moss between the stones. Beneath the archways at the buildings’ bases, the ground is paved with stones of varying shades of grey. The stones appear smooth and slick, but outside the buildings’ edges, rain causes moss to grow between the stones, making them tougher and less blue in color.

At first, the buildings appear identical, but they become less similar with further observation. While the structures are largely symmetrical, each building is distinct and has its own unique character. Some have protruding façades which extend down from cross-gables in the roof, where others’ façades lay flat. Round fixtures, such as a window in the north building, clock in the south building, and vents in the east and west buildings, are set into each triangular pediment. There is a small bell tower above the clock on the south building, marking it as different from the others. Where some buildings have archways along their bases, lining smooth blue halls, others have small doors painted the same shade of blue. The north building is divided, with arches on the west side and doors on the east. In the west building, the northern arches are filled with glass rather than the empty blue hall of the southern arches. The small arches appear more worn than the façades, rounding at the edges and roughening due to exposure and wear as the stone grows closer to the ground. On the other side of a blocked tunnel through the east building, there lies a short stone wall, and beyond that, cobblestone buildings and a white tower, which we cannot reach due to construction blockades. Inside this tunnel is a bust of a man’s head in relief, coated in a green patina, mounted on the wall behind the temporary barrier. Varying numbers of stone chimneys sit atop each roof. The presence of plants growing from within the chimneys implies the hearths have not been in use for some time.

On a Saturday afternoon, the square is mainly empty apart from the vest-clad construction workers operating a noisy crane. The workmen appear to be building a stage in front of the north wall, under a sign which reads “Clarke Square”. They occupy half of the square, divided from onlookers by movable metal barricades. Inside some of the archways are tables and chairs for visitors to sit and enjoy food from the museum café. On the east side of the square, a family sits sipping coffee while they talk, but hardly anyone else remains in the near-empty square, which is now covered almost halfway in shade. Banners for Decorative Arts & History hang around the museum entrance making the scene inarguably modern, in contrast with the ambiguous time period of elsewhere in the square. New additions to the architecture, such as four tall and thin glass buildings which connect each stone edifice at their corners, also modernize the site. From the square, I can see into the thin glass structure which connects the southwest corner. Inside, people walk past, under silver letters that read “Anglo Irish Bank”. Under the sign are photographs of a public art project, next to which are chairs with people sitting and talking. Along some of the buildings are small, freshly painted signs labeling 0-100 paces in increments of 10, as well as labeling some doorways with letters A-H. These pace markers imply that Collins Barracks housed military, using the pace markings to form up in even grids for assembly and inspection. Because the signs have been painted recently, this implied military history appears important to the site.

Clarke’s square is not a monument of one specific time for one specific purpose; it is a fixture in Dublin’s history that remains relevant and comfortable for average citizens today. Its large stone edifices and wide-open square are sturdy and lasting but are neither intimidating nor dated. The café and museum draw tourists and families, who congregate in the square to enjoy a meal or day out together. Overall, Clarke’s Square is a lovely historic site in which to spend an afternoon.