linda

Sorry but I am not trying to cause tension. I was just thinking that if you were to build say a 100 storey skyscraper in place of Liberty Hall just an example mind, you would be able to squeeze in just as many people, if not more than a much wider building. Take the Irish Life Centre, if that were taller there would be more space to put in another building of lesser height beside it if not several. Building out all the time seems to be causing problems. I am not trying to agrivate anyone. I am just stating a viewpoint. My comments on highrise have certainly cause a stir. I am so new to this site and have obviously said wrong. I would hate to see a building of that height here in Ireland though. Our island is too small for that. It gives me great comfort to see that the likes of Luxembourg and Iceland are the same as us in a way. :confused:

Eh, to tackle urban sprawl for a start. Do you want to see our beautiful countryside destroyed by urban sprawl? Field after field being taken over? Ireland has been described as one big building site. Dublin is growing out all the time and our population is growing too. So many people coming into Ireland. To remove traffic off the roads. To provide more employment in a way. To move along with the changing times. To provide more space in a small area so I can work where I live… I would much prefer to live in a highrise building in the city and work in that same area. The higher the building the more people you can fit in. A commute of 2ish hours to work AND back every single day is a pain and believe you me I know. I have lived in another country by the way. I lived on the 45th floor and found it a lot easier to travel down in a lift than sit in a car all day. I have better things to be doing. Having said that if a 100 storey building were to be built in Dublin somewhere resembling that of Hawkin’s House, Apollo House or Millennium Tower I would be furious. I like buildings to look well whether they are big or small. I am a firm believer of good architecture. That is just my opinion which I am entitled to. Everybody is entitled to their opinion ctesiphon just like you. I have never single out a person and knocked them for expressing their opinion. The people that propose highrises are really being knocked though. Nobody has answered my question. Why does any counrty go highrise??? If highrises don’t work out they can be torn down. It is not the end of the world building up. I have said it before and i will say it AGAIN, I do not want them just for the sake of it. Urban sprawl is obviously a big issue as we have a thread on it. I am not trying to upset anybody here. Someone did mention that Dublin takes up a huge area. It does. So many buildings are on hold. All the ones I have mentioned before. I can’t understand why. They aren’t even large highrises. These delays at building between 16 to 19 storeys is crazy. A few people have said that 8-10 storeys with the odd 20ish storey building would be ok but we can’t even seem to do that. So many buildings delayed. It is very frustrating. We shouldn’t delay on these. I also agree with proper context and location. Enough said. 🙂

@deza wrote:

I’m going to be greedy here and choose ugly buildings!!

Personally I think that the Quays west of O’Connell bridge on both sides of the liffey should be mostly levelled. On the Northside everything up to and beyond the four courts should be destroyed and rebuilt as something more befitting a city and not that of a provential town. They are an embarrassment to an otherwise architecturally impressive city. Of the Southside quays I’d destroy practically everything. This area has no achitectural merit what so ever. The buildings are bland and falling to pieces and when you compare this area with say college green or O’Connell street they have a decidedly provencial feel to them.

And before the “Dublin’s the capital of a small country” and “buildings should reflect that” brigade start banging on, Dublin with a third of the population of the Republic of Ireland is completely different and in many ways alien to the rest of the country in temrs of its urbanity. Belfast isn’t even half the size and locals refer to it as a big place. I think a lot of this attitude is a throw back to Dev’s identification of urbanity as being alien to the Irish ethos and thus explains the need some people feel to play down this unigue urban identity.

Well said. I am refering to the last paragraph.

Rjajc and ihateawake, I totally agree with you both. People complain about the least little thing these days. There are far more important things in life to worry about than bricks and mortar! All you have to do is watch the news to see that.

Hi everybody. Linda here. Can anybody tell me why Ireland will not embrace skyscrapers? For crying out loud it is 2005. I know Heuston Gate was approved but they won’t go to construction for another 2 years! That is long enough for it to be cancelled in my opinion. This country is far too slow at building highrises. Why can’t they build highrises as fast as they build other buildings here? It is so depressing. I am not saying build them all over the place but do build several. We have no skyline to be proud of. I have visited many countries and I must say I find Skyscrapers very appealing. Alto Vetro has delays. Montevetro has delays. Tara Street has delays. U2 Tower has delays. Merchants Gate has delays. Plus several other buildings have been approved yet we are still waiting for them to be built. What is the problem with building them here? Is it that the majority don’t want them. I am so envious of London. They have their historical building too yet they seem to be able to incorporate both. Ugly urban sprawl is right. Comments?