The Irish Times

Looking at the newly restored Sunlight Chambers on Dublin's Parliament Street, it is impossible to believe that when this romantic Italianate building was first unveiled at the turn of the century, a contributor to the highly influential Irish Builder magazine called it "the ugliest building in Ireland". For Lever Brothers, the Irish headquarters of their Sunlight soap empire had to be both impressive and improving. The exotic Florentine design with its red terracotta roof was clearly in contrast to the Georgian buildings it replaced, while the glazed terracotta faiences or friezes on two levels, which show the toils of man and the making of soap, fit in with W H Lever's philosopy that "good art should enrich everyday life".