Re: Re: Dublin skyline

@markpb wrote:

Super high-rise should never be needed in Ireland because of our size and population but there’s no way Dublin can continue to grow outwards that way it is at the moment. The cost of not building up, in terms of transport, utilities, ameneties and community spirit, are huge.

Raising a child in a high-rise block might not be ideal but raising one when you’re commuting up to two hours each way is equally bad, if not worse. Living in an area where everyone is isolated because everyone commutes, or where the nearst shop is a drive away because densitiy is so low are bigger problems IMHO than having a shortage of play areas.

Well built high rise apartments with decent floor space could mean better local facilties, better mass transport and less commuting. With enough children living in a block, there is added pressure on the developers or the LA to provide playground facilties nearby.

I disagree, unless you have almost dictatorial control over the planning it is very hard to get it right. Witness the ifsc, sure it’s nice and all , but it is simply dead . gated communities of single people who don’t trust a soul . In order for high rise to work, the planning authority need to have a level of power where they can demand a school, a park, so many shops in this configuration. This can only eat at the money available for architecture. And it is not at all clear that any authority would divest such power in a good way.

Just one specific point if you live on floor thiry of x building and there is a nice park fifteen minutes away , you are going to spend 25/30 getting there with your small children, same with a shop. You simply replace driving with long walks. (environment improvement ok – but it is not nicer to live in). And any sense of community is flushed down the toilet.

I lived in high rise for a time , and although i am single , i could see many issues. In a semid your car is just outside , on the thirtieth floor you car is ten minutes away. Trying to do basic things is just as annoying as in an estate.

In any event there is just so much space with the city limits that is not being used that there isn’t a need for high rise. A dramatic change in the organisation of planning yes.

Amsterdam pursued a very successfull medium rise system. 4/5s storey lets you pack em in and yet if cleverly done give every one plenty of space.