Enticed by advertisements for a luxury retirement home in India, a group of strangers leave England to begin a new life. On arrival, however, they discover the palace is a shell of its former self, the staff are more than a little eccentric and the days of the Raj appear to be long gone.
But, as they soon discover, life and love can begin again, even in the most unexpected circumstances.
ISBN 9780099579038
Michael Scott’s Áras Mhic Dhiarmada and Busáras is one of the most important modernist buildings in Ireland. Built between 1947 and 1953, it was intended to be a bus station like no other, providing ordinary working people with a range of amenities including a roof-top restaurant, incredible panoramic views of Dublin, a crèche, a 24-hour newsreel cinema, and a host of shops and services. It was to be a microcosm of the city, providing dignity, comfort, and convenience to bus users.
From its inception the project was gripped in controversy, over the location, design, function, and cost. Battles were waged on the floor of the Dáil, in Dublin Corporation Committee meetings and the letters of various newspapers. Construction ground to a halt for three years as Government and opposition argued over the merits and uses of the building. In the end it became home to the Department of Social Protection and Bus Éireann’s provincial bus services. Despite receiving widespread acclaim for its architectural and design innovations, today it is a much maligned and misunderstood building.
In this exciting collaboration, writer Eoin Ó Broin and photographer Mal McCann explore the vision behind Áras Mhic Dhiarmada and Busáras, and celebrate the energy, creativity, and neglect of this incredible example of Irish modernist architecture and design.
ISBN 9781785374180