Sunday Times Style Magazine 13th November 2005
Milliner’s Playground
A hugh cluster of chrome orbs – 377 of them, to be exact – glistens in the central atrium of the new G hotel in Galway, Ireland. Artfully suspended from the ceiling to form a sculptural lighting feature, the combined effort is traffic-stopping. Drivers slow down to gawp through the floor-length windows at the milliner-turned-interior designer Philip Treacy’s modernist vision.
For Treacy, designing the hotel has been both a homecoming and a departure. It is hist first interior-design commission, but, having grown up in the small village of Ahascragh, 40 miles down the road, the setting is familiar.
“As children we used to come to Galway, which is on the cost, for the day every now and then,” he tells me. “ So the sea has really influenced my designs for the interiors at the G.” The references are subtle: oyster tones in the central atrium, 1960s seashell lights and shell-inspired door handles.
A host of ideas from Treacy’s life in fashion have also influenced the look of the building. “I wanted put into the hotel all the things I’ve learnt since I left Ireland not knowing who Irving Penn or even Marlene Dietrich was. So it’s actually autobiographical.”
The G project was a collaboration with the architects Douglas Wallace and the Irish entrepreneur Gerry Barrett’s fast-growing Monogram Hotel Group.
“When I met Hugh Wallace and Gerry, I explained that I wasn’t interested in just choosing a few paint colours and some cushions,” says Treacy. “For me, it was the whole way or no way. Luckily, they were fantastically open.”
Treacy’s demand for perfection has filtered through every aspect of the interiors, from the bespoke concierge desk to the artwork in every room. “I hate the banality of the hotel art you usually see” he says. “I thought it was really important to have world-class images for people to be entertained by.”
Treacy worked with fashion illustrator David Downton on 300 watercolours that immortalise the likes of Jasmine Guinness and Linda Evangelista. Evangelista’s image takes pride of place above the fireplace in the atrium. Furthermore, the presidential suite has been named after Evangelista – at her request.
For Treacy, the hotel is the pinnacle of an extraordinary year that saw him design Camilla’s stunning royal-wedding headdress. Having designed many elements in the hotel, from the bedside lamps to the banquette sofas, he has now set his sights on a much bigger challenge.
“My core business is about designing hats, and their form, function and proportion, but so is everything else, whether it’s a building or a piece of furniture. It’s all about creating that feelgood factor. I’m looking forward to designing a building next. Why not?”
By Philip Treacy
Press Releases Archive
24th November 2005
The interior of the new G hotel in Galway - designed by Philip Treacy - is extraordinarily glamourous.
The Irish Times 16th November 2005
Drogheda became one of the last big towns in Ireland to move into the modern shopping era last Thursday when the stunning new Scotch Hall shopping centre opened, marking the first phase of the rejuvenation of the rundown docklands area. The €200 million complex is one of the finest on the east coast.
Milliner’s Playground
Sunday Times Style Magazine 13th November 2005
Someone’s let Philip Treacy loose on a hotel in Ireland. Dominic Bradbury surveys the results.
Sunday Business Post 28th September 2005
The finishing touches are being put to Scotch Hall, Galway developer Gerry Barrett's €150 million retail and leisure development on the south bank of the river Boyne in Drogheda, Co Louth. The scheme, which is expected to draw customers from as far afield as Navan, Newry, Dundalk and Dublin, has been six years in the pipeline and has been under construction for just over two years.
Sunday Tribune 23rd January 2005
A 27-STOREY residential tower, part of a plan to further develop the river side area of Drogheda, could have the similar effect on the town that the Guggenheim museum had on Bilbao, according to architect Gerry Hand of Douglas Wallace.
The Irish Times 10th November 2004
The Galway property developer Gerry Barrett has bought the distinctive Victorian University Hall in Hatch Street, Dublin 2, for over €16 million.
3rd September 2004
Irish-based property company Edward Holdings has launched a new subsidiary hotel brand, Monogram Hotels.
The Sunday Tribune: 14th November 2004
It’s a €100m near sellout as the country’s wealthiest buyers splash out on Gerry Barrett’s D4 development.
The Irish Times: 1st July 2004
The final 17 apartments and coach-houses in what is the most exclusive and expensive scheme in Galway go on the market today.
The Connacht Tribune: 31st January 2003
Two international hotel chains have expressed interest in operating a 129-bedroom hotel in Wellpark which has been given planning approval by city planners.
The Connacht Tribune: 4th October 2002
Plans for a 129-bedroom hotel at Moneenageisha Cross, to replace part of an already approved office development, have been submitted to the City Council.
Drogheda Independent: 19th June 2002
Drogheda Borough Councillors have given the green light to the ambitious Scotch Hall development on the South Quay - despite an objection from Parolen Limited the developers of the Laurence Street shopping development.
Drogheda Independent: 29th March 2002
The proposed Scotch Hall development planned for Drogheda's south quay will lead to 550 jobs according to the developers.
Irish Times: 27th March 2002
The 200-year-old Bloomfield Hospital and grounds off Morehampton Road in Donnybrook, Dublin 4, is to be redeveloped as one of the city's most exclusive residential enclaves with houses costing up to £2.5 million (€4m) each.
Irish Times: 5th September 2001
Atlantic Homecare is to anchor a new retail park at one of the principal gateways to Galway city.
Drogheda Independent: 30th March 2001
Drogheda's Docklands are to be transformed by an ambitious £50 million redevelopment on the site of the Lakelands grain store.
Galway City Tribune: 12th January 2001
A multi-million pound development which will provide a specialist shopping centre and offices for high-tech companies is being planned for the Wellpark area.
Drogheda Independent: 30th June 2000
The Skyline of Drogheda may be about to change with the possible demolition and removal of the large grey metal silos in the Lakeland Dairies premises on the Marsh Road now that the company is apparently considering relocating to a more rural location.
Galway City Tribune: 14th April 2000
The new £40 million shopping complex, Edward Square, opened its doors on Wednesday morning and enjoyed brisk business all day as thousands thronged the new centre.
Galway City Tribune: 10th September 1999
Top UK retailer 'Next' have been confirmed as tenants of the £26 million Edward Square shopping complex which is hoped to open on schedule at the end of November just in time for the hectic Christmas shopping period.
Galway City Tribune: 26th September 1997
Developers should liase more with residents before lodging their planning applications with the planning authority to avoid delays, it was claimed this week.
Irish Independent: 23rd July 1997
A major new shopping scheme is on the cards for Barrack Lane in Galway City which will see a new department store, ten shops and up to 50 new homes put in place costing £22m.
