THE Department of the Environment is investigating the failure of Dublin City Council to add a 19th century chapel on the grounds of St James's Hospital to the list of protected structures.
An Bord Pleanála has given Synchrony Properties Ltd permission to build a 200-bed, eight-storey private hospital on the St James's Hospital site as part of the government's co-location plan. The decision allows Synchrony to demolish St James's chapel to make way for the building.
Some 50 residents in Rialto objected to the application on the grounds that many of them use the church.
Labour councillor John Gallagher first raised concerns that a recommendation by area councillors in June 2008 to add the church to the council's list of protected structures was not brought before a full council meeting. In August 2008, in a letter to the city architects division, the acting council conservation officer said she had changed her mind about her recommendation to add the chapel to the list. She said she had reversed the recommendation "in light of arguments put forward by Mr Carter [CEO of St James's Hospital]".
Ian Carter argued that the hospital development was of such "national importance" that the demolition of the chapel was "imperative".
In January this year, Dublin City manager John Tierney said the process of listing the chapel was "halted" because the council was made aware of the private hospital proposal.
"It was felt that the councillors should consider the application for the listing of the chapel in the context of the proposed development ... However, that presentation was not made. The councillors weren't informed of this situation in error," he said.
A spokesman at the department confirmed its officials asked the city council to supply it with information regarding the decision not to add the chapel to its protected list.
"The information received is still under examination within the department," he said.
Labour TD Mary Upton said the decision to place a building on the protected list is a reserved function of city councillors. "In this case, the non-elected city council officials unilaterally made a decision not to include this item on the agenda of the full city council meeting. This is outrageous and I am calling on John Gormley to fully investigate the matter," she said.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Showing posts with label dublin city planning and development. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dublin city planning and development. Show all posts
Monday, 12 July 2010
Wednesday, 7 July 2010
Point Village dispute between Dunnes Stores and Crosbie nears settlement
A dispute between Dunnes Stores and developer Harry Crosbie over a €46 million deal related to the Point Village development in Dublin’s docklands is on the verge of settlement, it has been indicated to the Commercial Court.
After talks between the sides, Mr Justice Frank Clarke agreed yesterday afternoon to a request from Michael Cush SC, for Dunnes, to adjourn the case to today to allow an agreement between the sides to be finalised.
The case was due to open at 11am yesterday.
Both Margaret Heffernan of Dunnes and Mr Crosbie were in court.
The case arises from the Point Village agreement of February 27th, 2008, under which Dunnes, whose €23 million flagship store in the Point Village is under construction, agreed it would pay €46 million plus VAT for certain works.
Dunnes Stores claims it is entitled to rescind that agreement due to the alleged abandonment of the defendant’s plans to build a 102m “Watchtower” and the “U2 Experience”.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
After talks between the sides, Mr Justice Frank Clarke agreed yesterday afternoon to a request from Michael Cush SC, for Dunnes, to adjourn the case to today to allow an agreement between the sides to be finalised.
The case was due to open at 11am yesterday.
Both Margaret Heffernan of Dunnes and Mr Crosbie were in court.
The case arises from the Point Village agreement of February 27th, 2008, under which Dunnes, whose €23 million flagship store in the Point Village is under construction, agreed it would pay €46 million plus VAT for certain works.
Dunnes Stores claims it is entitled to rescind that agreement due to the alleged abandonment of the defendant’s plans to build a 102m “Watchtower” and the “U2 Experience”.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday, 21 March 2010
Traders want area off Grafton Street pedestrianised
The businesses have formed the South William Quarter Association, and have made a submission to Dublin City Council asking for cars to be banned from several streets off Grafton Street.
The streets involved include South William Street, Drury Street and Clarendon Street.
Fintan Smyth, the owner of interiors and giftware shop Paradise Lane on South William Street, said that the area could become an internationally-renowned district.
‘‘We believe that the South William Quarter can be branded to become Dublin’s answer to the Marais in Paris, Chueca in Madrid, the West Village or Soho in New York, but we need to get the cars off the street first," he said.
‘‘The eclectic mix of independent business and retail is what makes a city different and worth visiting.
South William Street is becoming home to various independent retailers, bars and cafes, and is poised to become one of the city centre’s most vibrant, 24hour streets."
However, Smyth said that narrow footpaths, on-street parking and loading throughout the day were creating ‘‘chaos’’ in the area.
He confirmed that a submission had been made to the council about the pedestrianisation of certain streets.
The association also wants the council to restrict loading to before 11am each morning, and to widen the footpaths.
‘‘Immediate action is needed to boost this part of the city centre and we want heads at the council to act in unison and make this happen with urgency," said Smyth.
‘‘The cost is not high, but the potential return for retailers, shoppers, the city and council is very substantial.
‘‘Many people are not coming into the city centre any more, and are shopping locally.
‘‘We believe that a new streetscape can be achieved with a very modest investment."
Sunday Business Post
www.buckplanning.ie
The streets involved include South William Street, Drury Street and Clarendon Street.
Fintan Smyth, the owner of interiors and giftware shop Paradise Lane on South William Street, said that the area could become an internationally-renowned district.
‘‘We believe that the South William Quarter can be branded to become Dublin’s answer to the Marais in Paris, Chueca in Madrid, the West Village or Soho in New York, but we need to get the cars off the street first," he said.
‘‘The eclectic mix of independent business and retail is what makes a city different and worth visiting.
South William Street is becoming home to various independent retailers, bars and cafes, and is poised to become one of the city centre’s most vibrant, 24hour streets."
However, Smyth said that narrow footpaths, on-street parking and loading throughout the day were creating ‘‘chaos’’ in the area.
He confirmed that a submission had been made to the council about the pedestrianisation of certain streets.
The association also wants the council to restrict loading to before 11am each morning, and to widen the footpaths.
‘‘Immediate action is needed to boost this part of the city centre and we want heads at the council to act in unison and make this happen with urgency," said Smyth.
‘‘The cost is not high, but the potential return for retailers, shoppers, the city and council is very substantial.
‘‘Many people are not coming into the city centre any more, and are shopping locally.
‘‘We believe that a new streetscape can be achieved with a very modest investment."
Sunday Business Post
www.buckplanning.ie
Thursday, 15 October 2009
Smithfield Plaza to be completed
Dublin City Council has secured €2.4 million in EU funding for the completion of Smithfield Plaza, 10 years after it was originally constructed.
The large open plaza was built in 1999 at a cost of £3.5 million as the centrepiece of the regeneration of the northwest inner-city area. However, the southern end of the plaza, through which the Luas line now runs, was never finished.
The under-used plaza is probably best known for its annual ice-skating rink and monthly horse market.
The council must match the EU money. Jim Keogan, executive manager of the planning department, said the money would come from development levies. Work will end in December 2010.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The large open plaza was built in 1999 at a cost of £3.5 million as the centrepiece of the regeneration of the northwest inner-city area. However, the southern end of the plaza, through which the Luas line now runs, was never finished.
The under-used plaza is probably best known for its annual ice-skating rink and monthly horse market.
The council must match the EU money. Jim Keogan, executive manager of the planning department, said the money would come from development levies. Work will end in December 2010.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Thursday, 13 August 2009
An Bord Pleanála rejects city centre 'park in the sky'
PLANS FOR a 13-storey building topped by a “park in the sky” at the heart of the proposed Carlton Cinema development on O’Connell Street have been rejected by An Bord Pleanála.
The board has directed developers Chartered Land to significantly scale back the overall plans for the development of the 5.5-acre site in the centre of Dublin city, and omit the 13-storey building, before it makes a final decision on permission.
The scheme pays “insufficient respect” to the classical form of O’Connell Street, involves too much demolition, and conflicts with several statutory plans for the area, the board has said.
Chartered Land, which is controlled by shopping centre developer Joe O’Reilly, was granted permission for the commercial and residential development, centred on the site of the former Carlton Cinema, by Dublin City Council last December.
This was subject to a large number of appeals to An Bord Pleanála, including several from groups seeking to protect the National Monument at number 16 Moore Street which was used by the leaders of the 1916 Rising. A public hearing on the development was held last April.
The board has this week written to Chartered Land seeking 16 significant modifications, which must be submitted before November 2nd. Chief among these is the omission of the “iconic building” – a 35-metre structure topped by a sloping public park, which was to be the focal point of the scheme. This element should be removed from the plans and the redesigned buildings should not exceed the height of the Arnott’s scheme – a neighbouring development for which the board has approved a seven-storey scale.
Despite having been granted permission from Dublin City Council, the board notes that the development is in conflict with several of the council’s statutory plans including the Architectural Conservation Area designation. The proposed scheme would disrupt the historic street pattern and was “over-scaled” in relation to the historic buildings around it.
The revised development should retain the original street pattern of the area, the extent of demolition should be reduced, and the existing buildings on Henry Street and Moore Street should be substantially retained.
The board also wants a redesign of the entrance to the development from O’Connell Street. The current proposals are for a 35-metre wide entrance partially fronted by a screen of thin, paired columns topped by a flat canopy, with the entrance buildings cut on a diagonal representing a funnel shape.
This entrance should be reduced to the width of Henry Street and set at right angles to O’Connell Street following “a traditional format” the board said. The entrance buildings should also use more traditional materials it said. Parking for the development should be reduced from 1,100 spaces to not more than 500.
While the letter imposes huge changes, it does state that the site is “general suitable for the type of development proposed”, suggesting that permission would be granted if the necessary modifications are made.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The board has directed developers Chartered Land to significantly scale back the overall plans for the development of the 5.5-acre site in the centre of Dublin city, and omit the 13-storey building, before it makes a final decision on permission.
The scheme pays “insufficient respect” to the classical form of O’Connell Street, involves too much demolition, and conflicts with several statutory plans for the area, the board has said.
Chartered Land, which is controlled by shopping centre developer Joe O’Reilly, was granted permission for the commercial and residential development, centred on the site of the former Carlton Cinema, by Dublin City Council last December.
This was subject to a large number of appeals to An Bord Pleanála, including several from groups seeking to protect the National Monument at number 16 Moore Street which was used by the leaders of the 1916 Rising. A public hearing on the development was held last April.
The board has this week written to Chartered Land seeking 16 significant modifications, which must be submitted before November 2nd. Chief among these is the omission of the “iconic building” – a 35-metre structure topped by a sloping public park, which was to be the focal point of the scheme. This element should be removed from the plans and the redesigned buildings should not exceed the height of the Arnott’s scheme – a neighbouring development for which the board has approved a seven-storey scale.
Despite having been granted permission from Dublin City Council, the board notes that the development is in conflict with several of the council’s statutory plans including the Architectural Conservation Area designation. The proposed scheme would disrupt the historic street pattern and was “over-scaled” in relation to the historic buildings around it.
The revised development should retain the original street pattern of the area, the extent of demolition should be reduced, and the existing buildings on Henry Street and Moore Street should be substantially retained.
The board also wants a redesign of the entrance to the development from O’Connell Street. The current proposals are for a 35-metre wide entrance partially fronted by a screen of thin, paired columns topped by a flat canopy, with the entrance buildings cut on a diagonal representing a funnel shape.
This entrance should be reduced to the width of Henry Street and set at right angles to O’Connell Street following “a traditional format” the board said. The entrance buildings should also use more traditional materials it said. Parking for the development should be reduced from 1,100 spaces to not more than 500.
While the letter imposes huge changes, it does state that the site is “general suitable for the type of development proposed”, suggesting that permission would be granted if the necessary modifications are made.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Thursday, 18 June 2009
Traders not sold on plan by Dunnes
DUNNES STORES is in a bitter dispute with neighbouring traders on Dublin’s Drury Street over plans to convert two long standing shops into a goods entrance and an ESB sub-station. The traders have warned Dublin City Council that, if Dunnes gets permission to redevelop the listed buildings, it will set a precedent for major structural changes in the Victorian shopping enclave.
The two shops at the centre of the dispute, 35 and 36, adjoin the underground car-park in Drury Street and are at the centre of a plan by Dunnes to extend its supermarket from South Great George’s Street back to Drury St. They also want to put Dunnes Stores signs on Drury Street, Exchequer Street and South Great George’s Street.
The first response from the city planners suggests that they will have none of it. They have reminded Dunnes that Drury Street is within the south city retail quarter where shops at ground floor level “create more lively, dynamic and successful places”. The removal of the shops and their replacement with a goods entrance and ESB sub-station “is contrary to this policy” and the planners recommend that Dunnes examine alternative locations.
The council also noted that the enlargement of the supermarket suggested that it would operate more as a trolley, than a basket, shopping outlet and inquired as to where trolleys would be stored and how shoppers using trolleys could access nearby car-parks.
“The difference is we’re Irish” is the Dunnes boast in radio ads. Does that give them the right to destroy a lovely shopping street?
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The two shops at the centre of the dispute, 35 and 36, adjoin the underground car-park in Drury Street and are at the centre of a plan by Dunnes to extend its supermarket from South Great George’s Street back to Drury St. They also want to put Dunnes Stores signs on Drury Street, Exchequer Street and South Great George’s Street.
The first response from the city planners suggests that they will have none of it. They have reminded Dunnes that Drury Street is within the south city retail quarter where shops at ground floor level “create more lively, dynamic and successful places”. The removal of the shops and their replacement with a goods entrance and ESB sub-station “is contrary to this policy” and the planners recommend that Dunnes examine alternative locations.
The council also noted that the enlargement of the supermarket suggested that it would operate more as a trolley, than a basket, shopping outlet and inquired as to where trolleys would be stored and how shoppers using trolleys could access nearby car-parks.
“The difference is we’re Irish” is the Dunnes boast in radio ads. Does that give them the right to destroy a lovely shopping street?
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday, 8 February 2009
O'Brien in plans for new office scheme in Dublin 4
Telecoms entrepreneur Denis O'Brien has applied for the third time for planning permission to develop an office block in Donnybrook, Dublin 4. A previous attempt to develop a 26-storey tower on the former Bizquip shop was refused permission in 2005 and a subsequent attempt to develop a six-storey office block was turned down by An Bord Pleanála last year.
Now O'Brien is planning to develop two five-storey buildings on the 0.67 acre site. The scheme would contain seven shops and nearly 6,000sq m of offices.
The last application was turned down because it would be "out of scale and out of character with adjoining properties" and would overshadow rear gardens of adjoining properties.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Now O'Brien is planning to develop two five-storey buildings on the 0.67 acre site. The scheme would contain seven shops and nearly 6,000sq m of offices.
The last application was turned down because it would be "out of scale and out of character with adjoining properties" and would overshadow rear gardens of adjoining properties.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday, 1 February 2009
Superquinn denies plans for former AIB site in Dublin 4
Struggling retailer Superquinn has denied it is planning to open its first ever store in Dublin 4.
The retailer, which recently announced it was laying off 400 staff and closing its Dundalk store, owns a stake in a company called Encap Properties, according to Companies Office documents, which is planning to redevelop the former AIB unit at Donnybrook House on Donnybrook Road into a shop, gym, restaurant and offices. However, a spokesman for the retailer denied it had a financial interest in the project.
Companies Office documents show that Encap is mainly owned by DavidCourtney and Padraig Breen, both of whom are directors of a number of Superquinn companies.
Courtney was one of the original investors in Select Retail Holdings, which bought Superquinn from the Quinn family.
A small stake in Encap is owned by a company called Melnar, which in turn is owned by Superquinn, the documents show, but Superquinn said it has no direct interest.
Donnybrook House was sold by AIB in 2006 as part of its sale and leaseback programme.
Encap Properties has applied to change the existing bank hall into retail use.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
The retailer, which recently announced it was laying off 400 staff and closing its Dundalk store, owns a stake in a company called Encap Properties, according to Companies Office documents, which is planning to redevelop the former AIB unit at Donnybrook House on Donnybrook Road into a shop, gym, restaurant and offices. However, a spokesman for the retailer denied it had a financial interest in the project.
Companies Office documents show that Encap is mainly owned by DavidCourtney and Padraig Breen, both of whom are directors of a number of Superquinn companies.
Courtney was one of the original investors in Select Retail Holdings, which bought Superquinn from the Quinn family.
A small stake in Encap is owned by a company called Melnar, which in turn is owned by Superquinn, the documents show, but Superquinn said it has no direct interest.
Donnybrook House was sold by AIB in 2006 as part of its sale and leaseback programme.
Encap Properties has applied to change the existing bank hall into retail use.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Thursday, 29 January 2009
New Bord Gais centre should add spark to the M50
When Bord Gáis was planning a new distribution centre it ran an international design competition, which was won by Denis Byrne Architects, writes Frank McDonald, Environment Editor
ANYONE WHO uses Dublin’s M50 will know that it sorely needs more landmarks to overcome an overwhelming sense of disorientation, relieved only by gantry-mounted direction signs to steer motorists through an elongated maze of traffic and construction activity.
“The M50 is like a new city wall, with the city inside,” says architect Roisín Heneghan. “This is an edge condition from which many people see the city, yet the land adjacent to the road is generally disused for noise reasons and any development is nearly always sprawl.”
The first conscious effort to provide a new landmark on the M50 was Hunt McGarry’s telecom mast for Denis O’Brien’s one-time flagship, Esat Digifone, at the Tallaght interchange.
This elegant 30-metre high mast, shaped like an inverted cone, is brilliantly lit at night by double rings of green neon so nobody can miss it.
Denis Byrne Architects (DBA) obviously considered the landmark issue when they entered an international competition to design a new national distribution control centre for Bord Gáis Networks, on a rather unprepossessing site on St Margaret’s Road at Dubber Cross, just south of the M50 near Finglas.
This will become the nerve centre for Bord Gáis Networks, which is responsible for constructing and extending the gas network in Ireland. The services it provides include pipeline service laying and modification, safety and emergency response, and meter installations and alterations across the State.
Bord Gáis wanted a building that would reflect its declared commitment to environmental protection, energy conservation and sustainable development that would simultaneously “sit in harmony with its physical context” as well as being flexible in its internal planning to accommodate the main functions.
Inevitably, the competition produced a very wide range of proposals – from a multi-storey tower block to a single-storey complex covering the entire site. However, a number of competitors misinterpreted it as a corporate headquarters rather than an operational hub carrying out a variety of functions.
In all, 56 entries were received for the competition, which was organised by the RIAI (Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland). These were whittled down to a shortlist of eight, who were invited to make presentations, including Glasgow-based Nord Architecture and VMX Architects from the Netherlands, where Cork-born Don Murphy is a partner.
What DBA proposed was a compound in a reconditioned landscape, with a projecting tower inscribing Bord Gáis in large capital letters.
Arguably, this unique selling point persuaded the competition jury to award the €17.5 million project to DBA, ahead of such luminaries as Bucholz McEvoy and Heneghan Peng.
As the assessors noted, Bucholz McEvoy’s design “advanced considerably” between stages one and two and “fully took into account the comments raised by the jury” following stage one.
“The curved geometry of the building showed potential for the development of strong internal social and working spaces.”
Heneghan Peng, who have won numerous competitions, had “a very clear design concept which met aspects of the brief well. It projected a simple yet compelling linear form well integrated with the site, developing a good landscaped solution against the bank. Internal planning was fluid and flexible.”
DBA’s winning entry took its inspiration from industrial buildings rather than swish corporate office blocks, to provide a home base for a diverse range of activities both within the building and for mobile staff checking in and out. A layer of perforated metal wraps the building in a light and permeable yet robust protective skin.
“Organised over two levels with gardens and circulation woven to an informal fabric of flowing internal and external spaces with meeting and social areas interspersed, the building promotes an inter-departmental, multi-disciplinary approach to staff interaction and organisation.” And that’s as it should be.
According to DBA, “the integrated sustainable design approach combines microclimate, landscape, transport and a compact building volume with low-energy design to establish a service facility that humanises and civilises the environment of the corporate workplace [and] provides acoustic shelter from the nearby M50.
“In terms of energy use and environmental control, the building is equally responsive to its users’ needs, employing a system based on the principles of thermal mass, natural ventilation and water-borne radiant cooling and heating supplied by a combined gas-fired heat pump and chilling device.”
The assessors, who included award-winning architects Louise Cotter and Niall McCullough, said the winning scheme “offered an innovative and achievable work of modern architecture” and also scored very highly on sustainability. It also used the site well, locating the required car-parking behind the building.
“The amorphous external form with projecting tower (which would be visible across the M50) was innovative; the internal layout studded with natural ventilation courtyards was flexible and interesting, offering cross views to the landscape” while also providing “the sense of a common working environment”. John Barry, managing director of Bord Gáis Networks, said environmental protection and sustainable development were critical in choosing the winner.
“The standard of entries was exceptionally high, but we are looking forward to working with Denis Byrne Architects on this exciting and innovative project.”
DBA won an Architectural Association of Ireland award in 2004 for a wonderfully successful infill apartment building at the lower end of North Great George’s Street. Dubbed the Cigar Box, it was hailed by the AAI jury as an exemplary urban intervention in a very specific place with no resort to (gutless) pastiche.
The relatively small practice is based in a Georgian house on the opposite side of the street, which was splendidly refurbished and converted into offices and apartments in 2007 at a cost of €2.4 million. Denis Byrne himself lives doors away in another Georgian house which he restored as a large family home.
Recently completed projects include a double-height car showroom for KC Motors in Cornelscourt, while one of the most interesting projects in the pipeline is a housing scheme for Killenaule Co- operative in south Tipperary, which would provide 35 four-bedroom detached houses and 12 “zero energy” houses on a greenfield site.
Also in Killenaule, DBA’s Roland Bosbach headed a team that designed a 60-bed nursing home and 48 sheltered housing units – all timber-clad – for the co-op.
Bosbach was also involved in designing a new viewing gallery and changing rooms for Tolka Rovers in Dublin.
A flat-roofed house in a rural setting in Co Westmeath won an Opus award in 2005 because of how DBA had responded to the site contours with “an attention to detail and a craftsmanship rarely found in similar settings or building types”.
Indeed, it was rated as being “well above the bungalow blight of most single houses”.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
ANYONE WHO uses Dublin’s M50 will know that it sorely needs more landmarks to overcome an overwhelming sense of disorientation, relieved only by gantry-mounted direction signs to steer motorists through an elongated maze of traffic and construction activity.
“The M50 is like a new city wall, with the city inside,” says architect Roisín Heneghan. “This is an edge condition from which many people see the city, yet the land adjacent to the road is generally disused for noise reasons and any development is nearly always sprawl.”
The first conscious effort to provide a new landmark on the M50 was Hunt McGarry’s telecom mast for Denis O’Brien’s one-time flagship, Esat Digifone, at the Tallaght interchange.
This elegant 30-metre high mast, shaped like an inverted cone, is brilliantly lit at night by double rings of green neon so nobody can miss it.
Denis Byrne Architects (DBA) obviously considered the landmark issue when they entered an international competition to design a new national distribution control centre for Bord Gáis Networks, on a rather unprepossessing site on St Margaret’s Road at Dubber Cross, just south of the M50 near Finglas.
This will become the nerve centre for Bord Gáis Networks, which is responsible for constructing and extending the gas network in Ireland. The services it provides include pipeline service laying and modification, safety and emergency response, and meter installations and alterations across the State.
Bord Gáis wanted a building that would reflect its declared commitment to environmental protection, energy conservation and sustainable development that would simultaneously “sit in harmony with its physical context” as well as being flexible in its internal planning to accommodate the main functions.
Inevitably, the competition produced a very wide range of proposals – from a multi-storey tower block to a single-storey complex covering the entire site. However, a number of competitors misinterpreted it as a corporate headquarters rather than an operational hub carrying out a variety of functions.
In all, 56 entries were received for the competition, which was organised by the RIAI (Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland). These were whittled down to a shortlist of eight, who were invited to make presentations, including Glasgow-based Nord Architecture and VMX Architects from the Netherlands, where Cork-born Don Murphy is a partner.
What DBA proposed was a compound in a reconditioned landscape, with a projecting tower inscribing Bord Gáis in large capital letters.
Arguably, this unique selling point persuaded the competition jury to award the €17.5 million project to DBA, ahead of such luminaries as Bucholz McEvoy and Heneghan Peng.
As the assessors noted, Bucholz McEvoy’s design “advanced considerably” between stages one and two and “fully took into account the comments raised by the jury” following stage one.
“The curved geometry of the building showed potential for the development of strong internal social and working spaces.”
Heneghan Peng, who have won numerous competitions, had “a very clear design concept which met aspects of the brief well. It projected a simple yet compelling linear form well integrated with the site, developing a good landscaped solution against the bank. Internal planning was fluid and flexible.”
DBA’s winning entry took its inspiration from industrial buildings rather than swish corporate office blocks, to provide a home base for a diverse range of activities both within the building and for mobile staff checking in and out. A layer of perforated metal wraps the building in a light and permeable yet robust protective skin.
“Organised over two levels with gardens and circulation woven to an informal fabric of flowing internal and external spaces with meeting and social areas interspersed, the building promotes an inter-departmental, multi-disciplinary approach to staff interaction and organisation.” And that’s as it should be.
According to DBA, “the integrated sustainable design approach combines microclimate, landscape, transport and a compact building volume with low-energy design to establish a service facility that humanises and civilises the environment of the corporate workplace [and] provides acoustic shelter from the nearby M50.
“In terms of energy use and environmental control, the building is equally responsive to its users’ needs, employing a system based on the principles of thermal mass, natural ventilation and water-borne radiant cooling and heating supplied by a combined gas-fired heat pump and chilling device.”
The assessors, who included award-winning architects Louise Cotter and Niall McCullough, said the winning scheme “offered an innovative and achievable work of modern architecture” and also scored very highly on sustainability. It also used the site well, locating the required car-parking behind the building.
“The amorphous external form with projecting tower (which would be visible across the M50) was innovative; the internal layout studded with natural ventilation courtyards was flexible and interesting, offering cross views to the landscape” while also providing “the sense of a common working environment”. John Barry, managing director of Bord Gáis Networks, said environmental protection and sustainable development were critical in choosing the winner.
“The standard of entries was exceptionally high, but we are looking forward to working with Denis Byrne Architects on this exciting and innovative project.”
DBA won an Architectural Association of Ireland award in 2004 for a wonderfully successful infill apartment building at the lower end of North Great George’s Street. Dubbed the Cigar Box, it was hailed by the AAI jury as an exemplary urban intervention in a very specific place with no resort to (gutless) pastiche.
The relatively small practice is based in a Georgian house on the opposite side of the street, which was splendidly refurbished and converted into offices and apartments in 2007 at a cost of €2.4 million. Denis Byrne himself lives doors away in another Georgian house which he restored as a large family home.
Recently completed projects include a double-height car showroom for KC Motors in Cornelscourt, while one of the most interesting projects in the pipeline is a housing scheme for Killenaule Co- operative in south Tipperary, which would provide 35 four-bedroom detached houses and 12 “zero energy” houses on a greenfield site.
Also in Killenaule, DBA’s Roland Bosbach headed a team that designed a 60-bed nursing home and 48 sheltered housing units – all timber-clad – for the co-op.
Bosbach was also involved in designing a new viewing gallery and changing rooms for Tolka Rovers in Dublin.
A flat-roofed house in a rural setting in Co Westmeath won an Opus award in 2005 because of how DBA had responded to the site contours with “an attention to detail and a craftsmanship rarely found in similar settings or building types”.
Indeed, it was rated as being “well above the bungalow blight of most single houses”.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday, 21 December 2008
O'Reilly's €1bn O'Connell Street scheme gets green light
Plans for a €1bn retail scheme at O'Connell Street in Dublin have been given the go-ahead by Dublin City Council. Joe O'Reilly's Chartered Land has been told it can develop its Dublin Central scheme, which will cover a site stretching from O'Connell Street to Moore Street and Henry Street to Parnell Street. John Lewis has already been secured as the anchor shop for the development by letting agent Bannon.
The council granted permission subject to 32 conditions, including a stipulation that there be free public access to the proposed 'Sky Park' and that only 769 parking spaces be provided.
O'Reilly will have to pay the council nearly €9.5m in contributions before work is allowed to proceed and will also have to pay nearly €2.3m towards the construction of Metro North. He will have to pay €50,000 to the council to carry out a "comprehensive traffic study on the operation of the proposed car park in city centre street network". This study will take place about six months after the opening of the development.
The council decided to allow the development after Chartered Land submitted changes to its original plans in October, one of which was that the Sky Park would actually face the sun rather than away from it. The height of the building was also reduced, along with the heights of other buildings.
O'Reilly's assets include stakes in Dundrum Town Centre, The Pavilions in Swords, the Ilac Centre in Dublin 1 and the new retail scheme at South King Street in Dublin 2. He is also developing offices in the city's south docks. Through his holdings in Castlethorn Construction, he is involved in the Adamstown development and the Rathborne scheme at Ashtown in west Dublin.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
The council granted permission subject to 32 conditions, including a stipulation that there be free public access to the proposed 'Sky Park' and that only 769 parking spaces be provided.
O'Reilly will have to pay the council nearly €9.5m in contributions before work is allowed to proceed and will also have to pay nearly €2.3m towards the construction of Metro North. He will have to pay €50,000 to the council to carry out a "comprehensive traffic study on the operation of the proposed car park in city centre street network". This study will take place about six months after the opening of the development.
The council decided to allow the development after Chartered Land submitted changes to its original plans in October, one of which was that the Sky Park would actually face the sun rather than away from it. The height of the building was also reduced, along with the heights of other buildings.
O'Reilly's assets include stakes in Dundrum Town Centre, The Pavilions in Swords, the Ilac Centre in Dublin 1 and the new retail scheme at South King Street in Dublin 2. He is also developing offices in the city's south docks. Through his holdings in Castlethorn Construction, he is involved in the Adamstown development and the Rathborne scheme at Ashtown in west Dublin.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday, 14 December 2008
Development row sees council sued for millions
PROPERTY developer Bernard McNamara is seeking damages of tens of millions of euro from Dublin City Council after it turned houses that McNamara wanted to develop into protected structures.
McNamara has taken a high court challenge against the council's decision last July to preserve the 19th century terraced houses in South Dublin.
In an application for a judicial review of the decision, McNamara and his business partners argued that the decision to list the houses at Llandaff Properties on Merrion Road was "ultra vires", meaning beyond the powers of the council, and therefore has no legal effect.
The case involves Radora Developments which is owned by McNamara, Jerry O'Reilly and David Courtney.
The Llandaff properties – made up of a short terrace and, at its northern end, Llandaff House – are situated between the Tara Towers Hotel site and McNamara's Elm Park Development.
The application argues that there was no material before the councillors to allow them to conclude that any of the Llandaff properties were of special architectural, or other, interest.
The decision "flew in the face" of the advice of the council's conservation officer, independent conservation consultants, an executive at Dublin City Council, and an architect and historic building consultant engaged by Radora, it added.
A number of councillors, according to Radora, appeared to have acted "from an improper motive" – to prevent the demolition of the properties without first considering whether the statutory criteria were met for designating them as protected structures.
As a result of what the application alleges was a "misfeasance [the improper or unlawful execution of an act] of public office by the elected members", McNamara and Radora had suffered "a significant financial loss and damage".
Around €10m had been spent buying the houses. Plans to develop the properties, along with the adjoining Tara Towers Hotel site had been halted and the company was incurring financing and running costs of €750,000 a year. The site development was expected to yield a profit of around €40m, the application said, but the listing of the Llandaff Properties had "significantly impaired" Radora's ability to properly develop it.
In the application, McNamara and Radora argue that two conservation reports from consultants engaged by Dublin City Council and the report of the council's Conservation Office were not before the elected members at the full council meeting when the decision was made to list the houses.
The councillors, it adds, failed to have regard to certain "relevant considerations", many of which were contained in the various conservation reports – such as the extent of damage to the internal fabric of the houses, the alteration to external features including the presence of modern PVC windows and the absence of "any outstanding architectural features".
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
McNamara has taken a high court challenge against the council's decision last July to preserve the 19th century terraced houses in South Dublin.
In an application for a judicial review of the decision, McNamara and his business partners argued that the decision to list the houses at Llandaff Properties on Merrion Road was "ultra vires", meaning beyond the powers of the council, and therefore has no legal effect.
The case involves Radora Developments which is owned by McNamara, Jerry O'Reilly and David Courtney.
The Llandaff properties – made up of a short terrace and, at its northern end, Llandaff House – are situated between the Tara Towers Hotel site and McNamara's Elm Park Development.
The application argues that there was no material before the councillors to allow them to conclude that any of the Llandaff properties were of special architectural, or other, interest.
The decision "flew in the face" of the advice of the council's conservation officer, independent conservation consultants, an executive at Dublin City Council, and an architect and historic building consultant engaged by Radora, it added.
A number of councillors, according to Radora, appeared to have acted "from an improper motive" – to prevent the demolition of the properties without first considering whether the statutory criteria were met for designating them as protected structures.
As a result of what the application alleges was a "misfeasance [the improper or unlawful execution of an act] of public office by the elected members", McNamara and Radora had suffered "a significant financial loss and damage".
Around €10m had been spent buying the houses. Plans to develop the properties, along with the adjoining Tara Towers Hotel site had been halted and the company was incurring financing and running costs of €750,000 a year. The site development was expected to yield a profit of around €40m, the application said, but the listing of the Llandaff Properties had "significantly impaired" Radora's ability to properly develop it.
In the application, McNamara and Radora argue that two conservation reports from consultants engaged by Dublin City Council and the report of the council's Conservation Office were not before the elected members at the full council meeting when the decision was made to list the houses.
The councillors, it adds, failed to have regard to certain "relevant considerations", many of which were contained in the various conservation reports – such as the extent of damage to the internal fabric of the houses, the alteration to external features including the presence of modern PVC windows and the absence of "any outstanding architectural features".
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Tuesday, 2 December 2008
Ballsbridge house decision challenged
DEVELOPER DEREK Quinlan has brought a legal action to overturn a decision by An Bord Pleanála that a house on Ailesbury Road, Dublin, which was bought by him for €8.5 million may only be used as an embassy.
Mr Justice Peter Kelly admitted the action to the Commercial Court yesterday and listed it for hearing on February 17th. The case relates to 43 Ailesbury Road, a protected structure used as an embassy since 1964. It has served as the Mexican embassy and the German embassy.
Mr Quinlan bought the house in October 2007 and within days applied for permission for refurbishment and extension of the existing offices in the premises.
His applications sought approval for, among other matters, removal of a brick pergola at the rear of the property and of gates at the side; construction of a single-storey extension at the rear; replacement of all facing bricks on front and side elevations and reslating of the roof using existing slates and matching replacements.
Mr Quinlan said the acquisition of the property cost him €8.5 million, plus €765,000 in stamp duty. The estimated costs of the works for which planning permission was sought was a further €1.67 million, excluding the cost of furniture and fittings. In an affidavit, he said he had intended to use the premises as offices and the premises represented "a very significant investment" by him.
On January 16th, Dublin City Council indicated it would grant permission on certain conditions, including that the entire premises "shall be solely for use as an embassy". Its reason for that condition was "to control development, to protect the amenities of this residential conservation area as zoned in the current development plan and to facilitate the zoning objectives of that plan".
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Mr Justice Peter Kelly admitted the action to the Commercial Court yesterday and listed it for hearing on February 17th. The case relates to 43 Ailesbury Road, a protected structure used as an embassy since 1964. It has served as the Mexican embassy and the German embassy.
Mr Quinlan bought the house in October 2007 and within days applied for permission for refurbishment and extension of the existing offices in the premises.
His applications sought approval for, among other matters, removal of a brick pergola at the rear of the property and of gates at the side; construction of a single-storey extension at the rear; replacement of all facing bricks on front and side elevations and reslating of the roof using existing slates and matching replacements.
Mr Quinlan said the acquisition of the property cost him €8.5 million, plus €765,000 in stamp duty. The estimated costs of the works for which planning permission was sought was a further €1.67 million, excluding the cost of furniture and fittings. In an affidavit, he said he had intended to use the premises as offices and the premises represented "a very significant investment" by him.
On January 16th, Dublin City Council indicated it would grant permission on certain conditions, including that the entire premises "shall be solely for use as an embassy". Its reason for that condition was "to control development, to protect the amenities of this residential conservation area as zoned in the current development plan and to facilitate the zoning objectives of that plan".
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Friday, 28 November 2008
DCU to create indoor version of Croke Park
DUBLIN CITY University have announced audacious plans to create an indoor version of the Croke Park pitch at their north Dublin sports facility, St Clare's. By replicating the parameters of the GAA's main field, and with a grass surface and transparent roof, the university will be in demand from all intercounty teams seeking to prepare for high summer championship visits to the Jones' Road.
That this venture is fronted by former GAA President Peter Quinn adds serious credence to the venture. Quinn, a brother of Ireland's wealthiest businessman, Seán, and a respected financial advisor in his own right, played an instrumental role in the crucial stages of the redevelopment of Croke Park during his term of office between 1991 and 1994.
Quinn revealed the plans in a speech at the announcement of Bank of Ireland's five-year sponsorship deal with the DCU GAA academy in Dublin yesterday.
The cost for DCU's new state of the art indoor facilities is conservatively estimated at €15 million. A completion date of 2013 and capacity of 10,000 were also tentatively mentioned by Quinn.
"Its primary use will be for testing and training and that sort of thing but matches will be played on it. We would hope to host inter-county challenge matches."
The initial stages of planning have been submitted to Fingal County Council with a hope to begin construction over the next 24 months.
"We would like to think it will be finished in five years but a lot will depend on the planners and our ability to raise the funds," Quinn continued. "We will obviously be looking for some support from the Government. I'm glad we're not going for it this year.
"Indications are fairly positive in relation to planning but until you actually have the green form in your hand and it is signed you can't be sure. In any sort of construction project like this and particularly one in north Dublin at the moment with the Luas (A DCU stop is planed for the new Metro North route, with an unconfirmed completion date also of 2013) and issues like that involved we have to be a little careful about being too specific about when the project is going to start, but the reality is that we are in a position to start raising the funding as soon as we are sure the project is ready to start.
"The funding will be significant. It will be double digit millions but, you know, we will get a project that will definitely be value for money."
DCU Professor for Health and Human performance Niall Moyna was keen to note the technological and self-sufficient advantages of such an indoor arena.
"Hopefully we'll have a backdrop where we can mimic different grounds in the country," said Moyna. "Let's say, if you're taking a free you can actually see Hill 16 and the crowd noise, we can mimic wind patterns, rain. These are some of the visions that we have for this centre. So if an inter-county team wanted to come up and train for the weekend at the end of it they'd get a full review of what each and every player had done.
"In the current economic climate maybe we're going to have to sit back and say well, hold on, we just can't do everything we wanted to do but you have to have that vision, a bold vision to do something that nobody else has done before and bring it to a whole new level."
The Dublin footballers will be working with Moyna on the DCU campus for the 2009 season but Quinn dismissed any potential conflict with the Dublin County Board plans to build their own centre of excellence on the 25-acre site in Rathcoole, which recently received a planning permission green light but must still go through An Bord Pleanála's objection process.
"It will effectively be an indoor stadium with the exception that it has a (transparent) roof and therefore it has a limit to the height the ball can go," Quinn explained. "Clearly, that might not be appropriate for championship football but we would have said 10 years ago that playing under floodlights wasn't appropriate for championship football and now half the county club championships in the country are played under floodlights on Saturday night. The provincial stages of the All-Ireland club championships are played under lights as we saw last Sunday for example.
"So, what was impossible 10 years ago and might be impossible today may not be impossible 10 years from now. We just have to see how the game develops and how the facility will develop.
"Certainly, we will have a facility that will be playable 365 days a year with an extra day in the leap year, and 24 hours a day.
"It will be made available to the local community as well. There are a number of clubs in the area around it but we are thinking more in terms of community, but clubs can use it too."
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
That this venture is fronted by former GAA President Peter Quinn adds serious credence to the venture. Quinn, a brother of Ireland's wealthiest businessman, Seán, and a respected financial advisor in his own right, played an instrumental role in the crucial stages of the redevelopment of Croke Park during his term of office between 1991 and 1994.
Quinn revealed the plans in a speech at the announcement of Bank of Ireland's five-year sponsorship deal with the DCU GAA academy in Dublin yesterday.
The cost for DCU's new state of the art indoor facilities is conservatively estimated at €15 million. A completion date of 2013 and capacity of 10,000 were also tentatively mentioned by Quinn.
"Its primary use will be for testing and training and that sort of thing but matches will be played on it. We would hope to host inter-county challenge matches."
The initial stages of planning have been submitted to Fingal County Council with a hope to begin construction over the next 24 months.
"We would like to think it will be finished in five years but a lot will depend on the planners and our ability to raise the funds," Quinn continued. "We will obviously be looking for some support from the Government. I'm glad we're not going for it this year.
"Indications are fairly positive in relation to planning but until you actually have the green form in your hand and it is signed you can't be sure. In any sort of construction project like this and particularly one in north Dublin at the moment with the Luas (A DCU stop is planed for the new Metro North route, with an unconfirmed completion date also of 2013) and issues like that involved we have to be a little careful about being too specific about when the project is going to start, but the reality is that we are in a position to start raising the funding as soon as we are sure the project is ready to start.
"The funding will be significant. It will be double digit millions but, you know, we will get a project that will definitely be value for money."
DCU Professor for Health and Human performance Niall Moyna was keen to note the technological and self-sufficient advantages of such an indoor arena.
"Hopefully we'll have a backdrop where we can mimic different grounds in the country," said Moyna. "Let's say, if you're taking a free you can actually see Hill 16 and the crowd noise, we can mimic wind patterns, rain. These are some of the visions that we have for this centre. So if an inter-county team wanted to come up and train for the weekend at the end of it they'd get a full review of what each and every player had done.
"In the current economic climate maybe we're going to have to sit back and say well, hold on, we just can't do everything we wanted to do but you have to have that vision, a bold vision to do something that nobody else has done before and bring it to a whole new level."
The Dublin footballers will be working with Moyna on the DCU campus for the 2009 season but Quinn dismissed any potential conflict with the Dublin County Board plans to build their own centre of excellence on the 25-acre site in Rathcoole, which recently received a planning permission green light but must still go through An Bord Pleanála's objection process.
"It will effectively be an indoor stadium with the exception that it has a (transparent) roof and therefore it has a limit to the height the ball can go," Quinn explained. "Clearly, that might not be appropriate for championship football but we would have said 10 years ago that playing under floodlights wasn't appropriate for championship football and now half the county club championships in the country are played under floodlights on Saturday night. The provincial stages of the All-Ireland club championships are played under lights as we saw last Sunday for example.
"So, what was impossible 10 years ago and might be impossible today may not be impossible 10 years from now. We just have to see how the game develops and how the facility will develop.
"Certainly, we will have a facility that will be playable 365 days a year with an extra day in the leap year, and 24 hours a day.
"It will be made available to the local community as well. There are a number of clubs in the area around it but we are thinking more in terms of community, but clubs can use it too."
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
New plan for Harcourt Terrace Garda station
A SUBSIDIARY of the Durkan Group has submitted a new proposal to redevelop Harcourt Terrace Garda station.
The planning application by Harcourt Terrace Ltd to Dublin City Council is looking to demolish the 1950s Garda station, old film censor's office and other buildings on site, and build a four-storey residential block facing onto Harcourt Terrace. A seven-storey office block with setbacks fronting Charlemont Place is also part of the proposal.
The proposal is smaller in scale than one refused planning permission by An Bord Pleanála earlier this year. This time around the developer is asking to build 24 apartments in a four-storey block compared to a more ambitious 43 apartments in two blocks rising to nine storeys last time around.
The office element proposed is 10,413sq m (112,084sq ft) compared to 12,714sq m (136,854sq ft) last time.
In April the board ruled that the apartment buildings would fail to respect their context opposite Regency period buildings and adjoining Victorian houses. It said the blocks would not be of the standard required to justify the removal of the Garda station building on the site while the main office block would be visually obtrusive and impact on adjoining homes in what is a residential conservation area. In 2006, in return for the development rights to the site, Durkan agreed to provide over 400 affordable homes in new housing schemes in west Dublin, which have been handed over and occupied.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The planning application by Harcourt Terrace Ltd to Dublin City Council is looking to demolish the 1950s Garda station, old film censor's office and other buildings on site, and build a four-storey residential block facing onto Harcourt Terrace. A seven-storey office block with setbacks fronting Charlemont Place is also part of the proposal.
The proposal is smaller in scale than one refused planning permission by An Bord Pleanála earlier this year. This time around the developer is asking to build 24 apartments in a four-storey block compared to a more ambitious 43 apartments in two blocks rising to nine storeys last time around.
The office element proposed is 10,413sq m (112,084sq ft) compared to 12,714sq m (136,854sq ft) last time.
In April the board ruled that the apartment buildings would fail to respect their context opposite Regency period buildings and adjoining Victorian houses. It said the blocks would not be of the standard required to justify the removal of the Garda station building on the site while the main office block would be visually obtrusive and impact on adjoining homes in what is a residential conservation area. In 2006, in return for the development rights to the site, Durkan agreed to provide over 400 affordable homes in new housing schemes in west Dublin, which have been handed over and occupied.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday, 9 November 2008
Redevelopment of Liberty Hall
On 2 November, 2008, you carried a report that the redevelopment of Liberty Hall has been postponed because of the property slump and harsh economic climate. This is not the case. The redevelopment project is on course, with the architects Gilroy McMahon having recently presented their outline design to the National Executive Council and to the internal Consultative Group as part of the agreed consultative process. The architects are on target to complete their design early next year taking into account the need for further and ongoing consultation. It is then hoped to proceed to the planning application stage.
SIPTU has not postponed the demolition of the existing Liberty Hall, as reported in the Sunday Tribune, for the simple reason that there is no point in demolishing the existing building until such time as planning is assured, as to do so would incur unnecessary costs in relocating staff when the design is still at the outline stage. When there is any significant development to report to the media, you can rest assured we will do so.
Tony Walsh,
Head of Property Development,
Liberty Hall, Dublin 1.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
SIPTU has not postponed the demolition of the existing Liberty Hall, as reported in the Sunday Tribune, for the simple reason that there is no point in demolishing the existing building until such time as planning is assured, as to do so would incur unnecessary costs in relocating staff when the design is still at the outline stage. When there is any significant development to report to the media, you can rest assured we will do so.
Tony Walsh,
Head of Property Development,
Liberty Hall, Dublin 1.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Wednesday, 5 November 2008
Carlton site plan revised by developer
PLANS TO redevelop the Carlton cinema site on Dublin's O'Connell Street have been substantially revised by Chartered Land to meet concerns expressed by city council planners - particularly about a "park in the sky".
Responding to a request last June for further information on the €1.25 billion scheme, which would cover an area of more than five acres, the development company has reduced the overall height of several buildings and reorientated the proposed park.
As originally envisaged, this sloping park would have faced northeast on top of a building with a height of 50m. But under the revised plan, the building's height has been reduced to 35m and the park reorientated to face south.
There has been a corresponding reduction in the height at the corner of Henry and Moore streets, from an 11-storey tower to a four-storey building comparable in scale with Debenham's, although it would project outwards. In addition, a residential block on Parnell Street has been reduced in height from nine storeys to seven to address concerns raised by the planners and others about its potentially obtrusive impact on views from the Rotunda Hospital and Parnell Square.
High-level restaurants are to be relocated to ground level on the O'Connell Street and Moore Street frontages of the site. The number of restaurants proposed for Moore Street has been doubled with the aim of turning it into a "food destination" area.
But the principal revision by Dublin Central Architects - a partnership formed by BKD, Donnelly Turpin and McGarry Ní Eanaigh - involves turning around the rooftop park and providing a "grand civic staircase" (supplemented by lifts) leading up to it from Moore Street.
The apartment building on which it would be laid out has been reduced to a maximum height of eight storeys, so as to protect sightlines from O'Connell Street and preserve the existing parapet lines of buildings along the west side of the street. The proposed staircase would rise from a new public space at the rear of four buildings on Moore Street, which were designated as a national monument because of their link with the 1916 Rising. The character of this street would also be "reinforced".
Another significant change involves the splayed opening on to O'Connell Street which, at 35m, was regarded by the planners as too wide. Under the revised plan, it would be fronted by a "screen" of thin, paired columns topped by a flat canopy.
Michael McGarry of Dublin Central Architects said this contemporary portico was designed to maintain the continuity of the "wall" and was on a scale "echoing the great civic gestures, such as the GPO, that are part of the unique character of O'Connell Street". Dominic Deeny, chief executive of Chartered Land, said the latest plans "take full cognisance" of Dublin City Council's request for additional information and respect the council's development plan and its future intentions on density and height.
"We have also taken the opportunity to address many of the observations made by third parties. I believe we have been able to preserve the integrity of our overall plan, while looking at how we are treating the historic nature of the overall site."
It includes a total of 12 protected structures, including the art deco facade of the former Carlton cinema, which would be relocated 40m north of its current position to create a new public space off O'Connell Street that would be open day and night. The revised plans also see the preservation and restoration of the facades of numbers 43-45 O'Connell Street as well as the full conservation and restoration of number 42, which is the only original Georgian house on the street to survive intact.
Although parts of the site have been derelict for nearly 30 years, Mr Deeny said Chartered Land was "committed to delivering this scheme which will create a vibrant new urban quarter on O'Connell Street and reinstate it as the city's premier thoroughfare".
Subject to planning permission being granted, the scheme - called "Dublin Central" - would incorporate two new streets and three new squares under a "rainscreen" canopy as well as 69 apartments, 17 restaurants and more than 100 new retail outlets.
Chartered Land, controlled by low-profile developer Joe O'Reilly, is one of Ireland's leading commercial property firms. Its portfolio includes shopping centres in Dundrum and Swords and a half-share in the Ilac Centre on Moore Street.
It also developed the new five-storey block of offices and shops beside the Gaiety Theatre on South King Street and is building the 2,000-seat Grand Canal Theatre in Docklands and two adjoining office blocks, all designed by Studio Daniel Libeskind.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Responding to a request last June for further information on the €1.25 billion scheme, which would cover an area of more than five acres, the development company has reduced the overall height of several buildings and reorientated the proposed park.
As originally envisaged, this sloping park would have faced northeast on top of a building with a height of 50m. But under the revised plan, the building's height has been reduced to 35m and the park reorientated to face south.
There has been a corresponding reduction in the height at the corner of Henry and Moore streets, from an 11-storey tower to a four-storey building comparable in scale with Debenham's, although it would project outwards. In addition, a residential block on Parnell Street has been reduced in height from nine storeys to seven to address concerns raised by the planners and others about its potentially obtrusive impact on views from the Rotunda Hospital and Parnell Square.
High-level restaurants are to be relocated to ground level on the O'Connell Street and Moore Street frontages of the site. The number of restaurants proposed for Moore Street has been doubled with the aim of turning it into a "food destination" area.
But the principal revision by Dublin Central Architects - a partnership formed by BKD, Donnelly Turpin and McGarry Ní Eanaigh - involves turning around the rooftop park and providing a "grand civic staircase" (supplemented by lifts) leading up to it from Moore Street.
The apartment building on which it would be laid out has been reduced to a maximum height of eight storeys, so as to protect sightlines from O'Connell Street and preserve the existing parapet lines of buildings along the west side of the street. The proposed staircase would rise from a new public space at the rear of four buildings on Moore Street, which were designated as a national monument because of their link with the 1916 Rising. The character of this street would also be "reinforced".
Another significant change involves the splayed opening on to O'Connell Street which, at 35m, was regarded by the planners as too wide. Under the revised plan, it would be fronted by a "screen" of thin, paired columns topped by a flat canopy.
Michael McGarry of Dublin Central Architects said this contemporary portico was designed to maintain the continuity of the "wall" and was on a scale "echoing the great civic gestures, such as the GPO, that are part of the unique character of O'Connell Street". Dominic Deeny, chief executive of Chartered Land, said the latest plans "take full cognisance" of Dublin City Council's request for additional information and respect the council's development plan and its future intentions on density and height.
"We have also taken the opportunity to address many of the observations made by third parties. I believe we have been able to preserve the integrity of our overall plan, while looking at how we are treating the historic nature of the overall site."
It includes a total of 12 protected structures, including the art deco facade of the former Carlton cinema, which would be relocated 40m north of its current position to create a new public space off O'Connell Street that would be open day and night. The revised plans also see the preservation and restoration of the facades of numbers 43-45 O'Connell Street as well as the full conservation and restoration of number 42, which is the only original Georgian house on the street to survive intact.
Although parts of the site have been derelict for nearly 30 years, Mr Deeny said Chartered Land was "committed to delivering this scheme which will create a vibrant new urban quarter on O'Connell Street and reinstate it as the city's premier thoroughfare".
Subject to planning permission being granted, the scheme - called "Dublin Central" - would incorporate two new streets and three new squares under a "rainscreen" canopy as well as 69 apartments, 17 restaurants and more than 100 new retail outlets.
Chartered Land, controlled by low-profile developer Joe O'Reilly, is one of Ireland's leading commercial property firms. Its portfolio includes shopping centres in Dundrum and Swords and a half-share in the Ilac Centre on Moore Street.
It also developed the new five-storey block of offices and shops beside the Gaiety Theatre on South King Street and is building the 2,000-seat Grand Canal Theatre in Docklands and two adjoining office blocks, all designed by Studio Daniel Libeskind.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
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