Re: Re: Height of the 2 chimney towers, Dublin

Wow – I never realised they were that tall. Perhaps the fact that they are both narrow, slender and isolated twins with only The Irish Sea for a background gives them a distorted sense of scale when seen from most places in Dublin.
For example, place either chimney (207 Metres high) next to The Spire (120 M) in O’Connell St and its obvious which comes out on top (literally). You could even plonk The Spire on top of Liberty Hall (59 M) and still the Chimneys win out on height by at least 28 metres.
Anyway Its silly to compare industrial chimneys to skyscrapers. While they may compete for heigth, the bulk and scale of inhabited buildings will always attract more attention in a way that masts and slender chimneys do not. The Tour Montparnasse in the middle of Paris is a perfect example and its only 3 metres taller than our red and white friends in Poolbeg. Montparnasse is often referred to as one of the ugliest buildings in Europe. Why? Possibly due to its awkward location in the middle of a city of beauty and the way it seems to give one big middle finger to the (grotesque) Eiffel Tower nearby. If Montparnasse was built out on Le Defence few people would notice it amidst the anonymity of all the other buildings there trying their best not to be anonymous, (Grande Arche excepted). However if the same tower stood on the Poolbeg site it would probably command respect as a statement, landmark building and one of the boldest in Europe due to its commanding location. What a difference 3 metres makes between a skyscraper and a pair of smokestacks.
Finally, I’d gladly give Paris our Spire but they probably wouldn’t give it planning permission.
Having said that, they did allow that awful Eiffel oil rig. Yuk.