Planning permission has been granted by An Bord Pleanála for a landmark 96-metre "skyscraper" at Sir John Rogerson's Quay, in Dublin. If built, it would be the tallest building in Ireland. The tapering glazed structure, significantly higher than Liberty Hall's 59 metres, would rise up from the former Hammond Lane metalworks at the confluence of the Liffey, the Dodder and the Grand Canal.
Designed by OMS Architects for Dunloe Ewart plc, the tower would form the centrepiece of a major development consisting of 26,446 square metres of offices, 3,158 square metres of retail space and 231 apartments.
The tower is seen by OMS as a "signature building" that would relate to the city and not merely its own site. It would be a "dynamic-looking object" with a "sculptural massing" and "elegant, tapered form".
Specific provision for a landmark building on the Hammond Lane site was made in the Dublin Docklands Development Authority's planning scheme for the Grand Canal Docks area, adopted in December 1999.
In granting permission, subject to 11 conditions, An Bord Pleanála was ruling on an appeal by two individual objectors - one of them a Galway resident - against Dublin Corporation's decision to approve it last July.
The board said it had taken into account the zoning of the site as a rejuvenation area, its "prominent gateway location" and the provisions of both the Docklands area master plan and the Grand Canal Docks plan.
The decision, which was signed by Mr Michael Wall, one of the two architect-members of the appeals board, requires that the colour and texture of all external finishes must be agreed in advance. Other than that, the conditions are fairly standard, covering water supply and drainage, archaeology, car-parking, traffic management, créche provision, developer contributions and future maintenance.
Dunloe Ewart's chairman, Mr Noel Smyth, said yesterday he was "thrilled" by the board's decision. "I really feel like a million dollars," he declared.
Asked if Dunloe Ewart would build the scheme, he said he had bought the site five years ago and had "a real ambition to build it out". His "next trick will be to persuade the (company's) board to go ahead with it".
Mr Smyth said he would be instructing OMS Architects, which is jointly headed by his younger brother, Mr John Smyth, to divide the site into quadrants with a view to proceeding with one of the apartment blocks. But it would be at least two years before even the shell of the proposed tower was built, assuming he could convince his board.