1968 – Unbuilt Wood Quay Competition, Dublin

In 1968 proposals were invited for a new Dublin Corporation office block at Wood Quay in Dublin. Instead of an open architectural competition, the Corporation invited developers to submit entries. The brief called for the provision of 300,000 square feet of office space in “an efficent layout and form reflecting the importance of the buildings in the life of the city.” Six entries were selected and displayed at City Hall without any supporting material or drawings. This caused further outrage when the Corporation announced that they would select the winner – after pressure from the RIAI a panel of assessors was appointed. Eventually Stephenson Gibney was selected.

“The civic offices must satisfy one very important need, 3500 citizens including mothers and old people will visit the building daily and will want to meet the right official as easily as possible. Our solution assists of a large central hall with perimeter contact points between the public and the eight wings. This is efficient and inexpensive for both the corporation and the public, and we think results in a dramatic and characteristic building form in scale with its historic waterfront location.” Brian Hogan, RTE ‘Wednesday Report’, 29 October 1969.

Photo Credit Thorp Architectural Modelmaking Archive at AUB