Dublin's Tallest Proposed at the Digital Hub

Manor Park Homes have revealed their plans for the tallest and second tallest buildings in the Irish capital of Dublin. The project will be the central point of the Digital Hub proposals that occupy a 2.5 acre site in Thomas Street, Dublin 2.

The scheme will consist of two towers, 171 metres and 124 metres, that's 48 and 33 floors respectively. The taller tower will be made up of a mixture of a hotel on the lower floors with 360 rooms of accommodation whilst the shorter building will be almost entirely office space. The towers will be joined by a central podium 4 floors tall.

The whole scheme has been designed by local firm, de Blacam & Meagher Architects who based their plans on the Renzo Piano designed Aurora Place in Sydney.

The developers are substantially exceeding anything that has been successfully proposed in Ireland before, let alone the tallest buildings in Dublin that come in at only 60 metres.

The developers however believe that the area is suitable for tall buildings even though it is not in a zone designated by local planners for them. Manor Homes director, John Moran, points to the nearby approval of a 12 floor 'tower', a quarter of the height of the tallest one in this scheme, and claims that as a result of this building having been approved "we're not the ones who broke the glass".

Even more contentiously is the location of the towers with regards to the topography of Dublin, they will be built on a hill that will make them even more visually prominent and visible from almost anywhere within the city.

The scheme is unlikely to progress in this form - tall buildings are still a contentious issue in Dublin as the city is fairly low-rise and left wing politicians see them as symbols of elitist development that are not cohesive to an inclusive community.

The extreme height of the proposals in relation to everything around them and the fact that they are not in a tall building zone smacks of a developer taking an aggressive opening stance with the proposal of tall buildings that will be haggled down to something the council will approve. Expect 20 floors to be lopped off at the very least before the scheme is allowed to go ahead.