Michael Waldron
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michaelwaldron.bsky.social
Michael Waldron
@michaelwaldron.bsky.social
PhD | Curator @crawfordartgallery.bsky.social | Deputy Chair, Sample-Studios | Not the MCU guy | Art, literature, collections, diversity… oh and cats. #TransLivesMatter 🏳️‍⚧️ He/him 🏳️‍🌈🇪🇺🇮🇪
I wonder if the dedicated path to the extension was part of that €1, or just public space taking another hit…
November 18, 2025 at 9:07 AM
Yep. One of precious few green corridors in the city centre. It’s hard to process what they were thinking. Certainly not about biodiversity or climate resilience.
November 16, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Preach. We can only hope that the failed “coffee pod” outside the entrance will be removed. It’s really depressing that the library is the afterthought in all of this. I think not doing anything to the old park might have been preferable.
November 15, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Isn’t it crushingly disappointing? But everyone could see it from the plans. It’s exactly what they intended.
November 15, 2025 at 5:58 PM
The new bridge at Lambley’s Lane and Wandesford Quay / Crosse’s Green is a really great addition to the riverine landscape and urban mobility.

Now, that elusive Events Centre…
November 15, 2025 at 5:57 PM
The insertion of new levels has made the whole space less accessible, and more of an obstacle, with visual noise from the excess of railings.

Don’t get me started on the treatment of sculpture.

The overall effect is bleak. This is no longer a park. It is a low-maintenance thoroughfare.
November 15, 2025 at 5:55 PM
The ‘heart’ of this space is, in a word, bleak. Gone is a significant portion of green space, replaced by an expanse of gravel. This can be a pleasant surface in urban parks but only when in a successful ratio to soft surfaces.

Additional seating and overall colouration are positives.
November 15, 2025 at 5:52 PM
There’s an excessive use of railings internally, occasioned by the introduction of new levels. There are at least three different finishes to these, which suggests incoherence rather than shifting zones.
November 15, 2025 at 5:48 PM
The provision of access to the old city walls is a welcome addition and change from the previous treatment of this historic site. Stepped seating is also positive.

The grass capping of these walls, however, is probably going to require a good deal of maintenance (which I hope will be forthcoming).
November 15, 2025 at 5:46 PM
The repointing of the boundary wall is, well, quite something but verging on the cartoonish. They missed a spot so we have a handy comparison.

However, the removal of the old 1980s railings vastly improves permeability and has a very positive impact on Grand Parade.
November 15, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Image: Harry Clarke, The Meeting of St Brendan with the Unhappy Judas, 1911. @crawfordartgallery.bsky.social
November 12, 2025 at 8:54 PM