Density in Dublin - Up or Out

According to wiki Dublin has only the 8th tallest building on the island. That is a great shame when you think that it is by far the largest city. Bad that Windsor House is the tallest on the island too - terribly ugly building.

• Windsor House, Belfast*, 80m
  
• Belfast City Hospital Tower*, 74m
  
• The Elysian, Cork, 71m (81 with spire)
  
• Cork County Hall, 67m (formerly 64m)
  
• Hilton Hotel, Belfast*, 63m
  
• BT Riverside Tower, Belfast*, 62m
  
• Divis Tower, Belfast*, 61m
  
• Liberty Hall, Dublin, 59.4m
  
• Riverpoint, Limerick, 59.2m
  
• One George's Quay Plaza, Dublin, 59m
  
• Clarion Hotel, Limerick, 56m
  

There seem to be a number of taller buildings going up in Belfast.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/6277933.stm

Belfast is an interesting place in relation to density. It would seem that the Planning Service there intend to force 60% of all new development into the Greater Belfast Met. Area. I have my doubts about how well this is thought out, but this will force up density.

There is actually some very nice open space around Belfast and here is their version of the bird perch sculpture.
http://www.discovernorthernireland.com/image.aspx?ImageID=15080&Width=380&Height=0

Yea that is down beside the bridge by the Waterfront Hall. I like it.

I quite like Belfast as a place. The people tend to be friendly enough and there is decent craic up there.

The Wiki List of London Skyscrapers

There they are in all their glory and they're getting bigger and more of 'em too AND they are in the middle of an old city not unlike Dublin. AND they don't look that terrible beside the old structures at all. Canary Wharf is also going to double in size within the next dozen years, so there's no credit crisis in London City it seems.

The Wikipedia page is a labour of love and your man made his own model of the proposed and existing structures too - the tallest one is the "Shard" and it's due to be located next to the Tower.



London will look really cool and amazing soon and Dublin will still be nowhere near a world city ...

Some of the skyscrapers in London do fit in very well. There is nothing I enjoy more than wandering around the square mile and looking at the mix of old and new. However, it is not all plain sailing. Recently planning permission was granted for a new skyscraper which is going to destroy the current unobstructed view of St Paul's Cathedral. That is a travesty in terms of planning and hopefully it will not go ahead.

London is one of my favourite cities .

unaligned wrote:

Sorry about the layout of the post...I tried to fix it but it hates me.

I would agree emphatically with you, unaligned. We do have a beautiful city here. The Garden of Remembrance, O'Connoll St, St Stephen's Green and SC, the Powerscourt Building, the Philips Building on Dame St, parts of Temple Bar, our Museums, Shelbourne Hotel, the College Green axis, Alto Vetro, Grand Canal Square and Government Buildings are all terrific examples of Dublin architecture.

I have to disagree with you on the Garden of Remembrance, it does nothing for me as an architectural park. Perhaps it is more because it has declined and is in need of a facelift more than anything. I agree with you on most of the others. I love the Powerscourt Centre for lunch, particularly when the pianist is playing. I'll probably go there this afternoon .

Whatever about density, we should really be making better use of the canals for mass transit. It would be alot cheaper than other proposed methods and we have routes directly into the IFSC on the northside and LawyerLand (grand canal dock area) on the southside.

Away with the cars - more trees, wider footpaths, more buses, more bridges more river taxis and much more pedestrians- Dublin's pedestrians rock!

My best day ever in Dublin was a sunny Saint Patrick's day that was car free.

I used to love Smithfield Market with its medieval madness. What about open air (under cover) book sales along the river like in Paris?

Motorists suck!

Then again, alot of people are forced to live miles out with no proper public transport. I'm lucky that in the morning I can generally walk in to town quicker than I can get the bus and I can definately cycle in quicker than either. Walk takes about 40 minutes, cycle takes about 10.

Cities should be moreso for people than people's automobiles. One big failing of this government during the boom was why a metro wasn't priced for the city with a high-density plan co-ordinated alongside it which would get people around between different centres like Tallaght, Blanchardstown, Liffey Valley, Dundrum, the airport, the city centre, the Dart lines ... I'd love if the city centre had more pedestrianisation too - Dublin would be a lot more palatable to me if it was - maybe ye don't want me there

I've a feeling this will never happen in Dublin though and largely because of the disinterest in higher density which is necessary for the viability of a metro-like system underground because you need to want to move a rake of people regularly over mid-distances. At the moment you're talking about a metro system stretching out into half of Leinster...

Auditor #9 wrote:

Cities should be moreso for people than people's automobiles. One big failing of this government during the boom was why a metro wasn't priced for the city with a high-density plan co-ordinated alongside it which would get people around between different centres like Tallaght, Blanchardstown, Liffey Valley, Dundrum, the airport, the city centre, the Dart lines ... I'd love if the city centre had more pedestrianisation too - Dublin would be a lot more palatable to me if it was - maybe ye don't want me there

I've a feeling this will never happen in Dublin though and largely because of the disinterest in higher density which is necessary for the viability of a metro-like system underground because you need to want to move a rake of people regularly over mid-distances. At the moment you're talking about a metro system stretching out into half of Leinster...

I agree - we need shiny electric buses shooting along bus lanes by the hundreds (covered bus shelters, real time information). Much more flexible and realistic in Dublin. Soon we will be able to charge them with wind powered electricity or tidal from the Liffey estuary.

johnfás wrote:

I have to disagree with you on the Garden of Remembrance, it does nothing for me as an architectural park. Perhaps it is more because it has declined and is in need of a facelift more than anything.

Well I like the designs on the railings, the poem up on the wall behind the great piece of metal sculpture and the tranquillity of the place. I do agree it could do with some TLC to restore it to former glories.

Quote :

I agree with you on most of the others. I love the Powerscourt Centre for lunch, particularly when the pianist is playing. I'll probably go there this afternoon .

Indeed. It has an appealing labyrinthine quality. I also like the front of Arnotts, the view from St Stephen's Green SC's restaurant level, the sweep of buildings up Westmoreland Street and across the river to O'Connoll St and Croke Park - I went to the Museum up there last week and I'd heartily recommend it.

I like the Hugh Lane and Croke Park - especially on the same day

Were you at Croke Park Museum for Culture Night, Ard? I was there too! Seemingly alot of people I know were there but we were all on different tours and none of us saw each other.

I like Dublin Castle. It's not nearly used enough, well by the public.

Also the Iveagh Gardens.

johnfás wrote:

Were you at Croke Park Museum for Culture Night, Ard? I was there too! Seemingly alot of people I know were there but we were all on different tours and none of us saw each other.

Actually, no, I was there on Wednesday last week and it was brilliant. I was at the Ardcomhairle, Canal End, the changing rooms, the corporate boxes and the museum itself. You can also try your hand at Gaelic Games in the Park Live section which is good interactive fun.

cookiemonster wrote:

I like Dublin Castle. It's not nearly used enough, well by the public.

Also the Iveagh Gardens.

I like Dublin Castle for the Chester Beatty, the nice garden outside it, and also for the Tribunals, that have given me many an enjoyable moment.

cactus flower wrote:

cookiemonster wrote:

I like Dublin Castle. It's not nearly used enough, well by the public.

Also the Iveagh Gardens.

I like Dublin Castle for the Chester Beatty, the nice garden outside it, and also for the Tribunals, that have given me many an enjoyable moment.

Indeed. It is quite a versatile and useful building and well worth a visit.

Have you never been down the country recently Ard-Taoiseach? I wouldn't blame you as we're awful savages but Limerick and Cork have skyrises now you know .. worth a visit for a few hours and then head back.

Auditor #9 wrote:

Have you never been down the country recently Ard-Taoiseach? I wouldn't blame you as we're awful savages but Limerick and Cork have skyrises now you know .. worth a visit for a few hours and then head back.

I'm not saying the rest of the country isn't great, it's just that Dublin is better. I wouldn't move from the beautiful Mother City of the Gaels.

I do like Cork and Galway. I like the city of Cork and I like the nightlife of Galway. Traffic in Galway is worse than Dublin though and not a proper public transport system in sight.

johnfás wrote:

I do like Cork and Galway. I like the city of Cork and I like the nightlife of Galway. Traffic in Galway is worse than Dublin though and not a proper public transport system in sight.

They're still Dublin's poor relations, eh, johnfás?