The architect who designed the controversial Spencer Dock development said yesterday he would be prepared to lower the height of its buildings.
Mr Kevin Roche said: "I'm not a height freak. I've always wanted to keep this as low as possible." The tall nature of the buildings was "not an absolute vital feature of the design. I would be happy to concede," he said.
However, Mr Roche said he did not consider the proposed buildings on the development, some as high as 95 metres, to be high-rise but small- to medium-rise. He added that the buildings were relatively small "in terms of footprint on the ground".
Mr Roche said that while the development was criticised for its similarity to American-style building design, "Dublin is already a victim of the worst kind of Americanism, urban sprawl". He said high density was necessary for a sustainable community.
He said he "couldn't believe the commuting time people put up with", that Dublin was "suffering from absolute gridlock which is worse than Manhattan".
Regarding the controversial podium, which would be raised two storeys above the ground, Mr Roche said it had been "misrepresented because of unsuccessful precedents". He said the podium would provide a space for children from nearby apartments to play without their parents worrying about "the conflict of traffic".
He said the raised podium would also allow more sunlight into the area. It was designed to cover an area close to the National Conference Centre.
Mr Karl Kent, a Bord Pleanala inspector, asked if the podium being lowered to ground level would create a difficulty, given the proposed parking spaces underneath it. Mr Roche said the raised podium was "not driven by a parking concept".
He said that the idea of open space was paramount. The 3.6 acre park proposed would be fully accessible to the general public, he said.
With regard to the proposed National Conference Centre, Mr Roche said that while other conference centres tended to be closed, people would be aware of its activities from outside the building because of its glass facade and shape. He said the intention of the design of the National Conference Centre was to support the Government's desire to make Ireland a more international society. "It is not any old development anywhere in Europe. It is the international centre and it must have an international style of architecture," Mr Roche said.
Mr Paul Keogh, an architect representing the financier Mr Dermot Desmond, asked Mr Roche if "the biggest public building, the most important building built since independence" should be tied in with the entire Spencer Dock development. Mr Roche said that was a matter for the Government.
He said the fate of Campion's Bar, a listed building in the vicinity, was under consideration. The pub "would be right on the front door of the National Conference Centre" if maintained where it was presently.
In order to preserve the listed building, it might be "put on wheels and literally moved east beside the railway station".
The project would make minimal impact on the "Georgian mile" as it was too far away from the view on Fitzwilliam Street, Mr Roche said. He added he was dismayed by what had happened to Georgian Dublin.
"It is important that the gate be closed now, but it should have happened 50 years ago," he said.
The impact on nearby residents would be relatively minor. but houses on Mayor Street were a much more immediate problem.