Irish Architecture News

Sustainability vital for Ireland's architects

2009-06-23

Ireland's architects must embrace the sustainability agenda and keep the environmental impact of their buildings at the front of their minds. This was the central message of Environment Minister John Gormley when he spoke at the RIAI Irish Architecture Awards 2009. He launched his speech with a quote from John Ruskin, "When we build, let us think that we build forever", saying the phrase succinctly conveys why form, function and sustainability are central to successful architecture.

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Life for the boom's dead spaces

2009-06-30

Even during the boom, it was difficult to see some of the things we were building and imagine them as a success. Enormous luxury golf and spa hotels in the middle of nowhere, shoe-box apartment blocks in small towns, ghost estates where no houses were ever sold, and massive out-of-town retail and industrial parks � all these have blighted the landscape, and now stand in various stages of construction or dereliction, mocking us with the question: what should we do with them? Some ways out of such waste have already been proposed: turning the hotels into nursing homes is one example. Or we could look to SoHo in New York, where inner-city factories and warehouses became, first, artists� studios and then ultra-desirable loft apartments.

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O'Donnell + Tuomey to design new �21.5 million Students' Centre at the London School of Economics

2009-06-30

O'Donnell + Tuomey has won an international design competition for a new �21.5 million Students' Centre at the London School of Economics. The Irish firm beat a strong shortlist in a RIBA design competition of David Chipperfield, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, de Rijke Marsh Morgan and 3XN. The new facilities on LSE�s Aldwych campus will include a student union reception, bars, entertainment venues, media facilities and offices.

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Sean O'Casey Community Centre short-listed for Lubetkin

2009-06-11

The Sean O'Casey Community Centre, in Dublin Docklands, by O'Donnell + Tuomey Architects, is one of six schemes shortlisted for the Royal Institute of British Architects' (RIBA) prestigious Lubetkin Prize for architecture. The other projects vying for the prize - for the best international building by an RIBA member - include the National Stadium in Beijing by Herzog & de Meuron, Foster and Partners' Beijing Capital International Airport Terminal, the British High Commission in Colombo by Richard Murphy Architects, Museum Brandhorst in Munich by Sauerbuch Hutton and the Watercube, National Swimming Centre in Beijing by PTW Architects.

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An extension to the pain

2009-06-06

Job losses that would make headlines in other sectors are happening every day in Irish architectural practices � and it's not over yet. Architects and interior designers Douglas Wallace went into liquidation last month, and this sad news was reported in a three-paragraph short in the business section of The Irish Times. Had it been a factory closing down with the loss of 300 jobs, as the firm sustained in its heyday, it might even have made the front page.

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Fake architect prosecuted � for the second time

2009-06-02

A man who falsely called himself an architect has been fined �1,500 and ordered to pay 4,500 in costs after being pleading guilty to misusing the title architect. It is the second time David Grant of east London-based Inspire Design has been successfully prosecuted for breaching Section 20 of the Architects Act, having been fined �200 and ordered to pay 1,300 costs at a previous hearing in September 2006, also brought by the Arb.

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More appointments to the Registration Board

2009-06-02

The RIAI has announced that the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has appointed Richard Humphreys as Chairperson of the Admissions Board and Cliona Kimber as Chairperson of the Technical Assessment Board. The RIAI has proceeded with the appointment of the six remaining members (three ministerial nominees and three RIAI nominees) of each Board.

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International Conference "Benedict XVI on Church Art and Architecture" to be held in Cork

2009-06-02

"Benedict XVI on Church Art and Architecture" at The Sheraton Hotel, Fota Island, Cork, Ireland on Sunday-Monday 12-13 July 2009. The Conference will be chaired by Professor D. Vincent Twomey, S.V.D. The Conference Key Note Address will be made by His Eminence Cardinal George Pell, Cardinal Archbishop of Sydney.

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Architects may complain to Brussels over design contest

2009-06-02

The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) is considering a formal complaint to the European Commission over rules set by the ESB for an architectural competition to redevelop its headquarters on Dublin's Fitzwilliam Street. The RIAI maintains that criteria for entering the competition, such as that practices had to have an annual turnover exceeding �2.5 million, were "unneccessarily exclusionary" and would effectively debar most Irish architects from taking part. The closing date for expressions of interest in the competition was last Wednesday, and an ESB spokeswoman said 45 entries had been received.

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New wind turbine park opens in Dublin

2009-05-28

A new public park which will generate its own electricity from wind turbines has been opened in north Dublin. The 52 acre Fr Collins Park in Donaghmede has been described as Ireland's first sustainable park. It will derive all its power from five wind turbines which have been installed at a cost of 1.2 million. The five turbines will generate about 250KW an hour when the wind is blowing or the equivalent of 400,000 worth of electricity a year at full price, though the actual figure will be less than that.

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Convention Centre Dublin recognised as First Carbon Neutral International Convention Centre

2009-05-27

The Convention Centre, Dublin (CCD), announced it is the first carbon neutral international convention centre as the net impact of the building's construction on the environment is zero. This landmark, which is still in construction, can be considered carbon neutral due to the use of low carbon cement throughout the building and through offsetting all unavoidable carbon emissions by investing in carbon credits in accordance with the Voluntary Carbon Standards (VCS). Validation and verification of the venue was conducted by UN accredited auditors SGS.

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Four Irish winners at 2009 RIBA Awards

2009-05-21

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced the winners of the 2009 RIBA Awards. RIBA Awards for architectural excellence will be presented across the UK today with 103 buildings in the UK and Europe winning awards (97 in the UK and six in the rest of the EU). Two projects in Ireland were honoured: Burren House, Dublin by Niall McLaughlin Architects; and Wexford Opera House by Keith Williams Architects.

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40m contract for NUIG engineering building approved

2009-05-18

Building work is set to start on a new 40 million engineering building in the National University of Ireland, Galway, after the Minister for Education and Science, Batt O'Keeffe TD, approved the contract for the project this week. The new 14,000sq/m facility, which is expected to be finished in early 2011, will accommodate 1,100 students. Designed by award-winning architects RMJM (Scotland) in partnership with Taylor Architects of Castlebar, Co Mayo, the new engineering building will be located to the north of the Quincentennial Bridge.

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Liffey crossing a bridge too far for residents

2009-05-17

In a week that saw the new Beckett bridge float into the capital, a slightly more controversial River Liffey crossing was also given the green light. A report on a footbridge for the river at Chapelizod � estimated to cost around 2m � was circulated last Monday at Dublin City Council, as news of Beckett's arrival was announced to fanfare. Beckett's smaller cousin, a 40-metre structure, was first mooted in 2004 and quickly attracted objections from local residents who branded it a "bridge to nowhere".

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Arts Council announces recipient of Kevin Kieran Award

2009-05-13

The Arts Council and the Office of Public Works are pleased to announce architect Orla Murphy of Simon J. Kelly and Partners Architects, County Mayo as the winner of the Kevin Kieran Award 2009-2011. The award is a partnership between the Arts Council and the Office of Public Works, offering an emerging architect an opportunity to develop and deliver a research project worth 50,000 over two years, and subsequently to design and run a building contract for the Office of Public Works.

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The wait is over

2009-05-13

Crowds watching Dublin's newest bridge make its journey along the Liffey erupted into applause as it squeezed through its final hurdle with only inches to spare. Dozens of engineers oversaw the massive operation of expertly lining up the Samuel Beckett bridge so it could manouvre through the East Link drawbridge. The bridge made the final leg of its journey to Sir John Rogersons Quay, West of Macken Street this afternoon after Dublin City Council postponed the earlier attempt due to bad weather.

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Developer's bid to turn embassy into offices fails

2009-05-14

Developer Derek Quinlan has lost his High Court challenge to a planning condition stipulating a protected property on Dublin's Ailesbury Road bought by him for 8.5 million may only be used as an embassy. Dismissing the challenge on all grounds yesterday, Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne ruled the condition was necessary and relevant to the permitted development and proper planning of the area and was also reasonable.

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God, Oh We're Waiting for Beckett

2009-05-11

The Docklands Authority has welcomed the arrival of the main structure of the new Samuel Beckett Bridge which arrived in Dublin Port by sea from Rotterdam on Monday morning 11 May, 2009. It will be transported through the Eastlink Bridge during high tide tomorrow morning, Tuesday, at 2 am and will be moored on a pontoon alongside the south quayside for the next few weeks before being put in place across the river in June. �10 million of the total cost of the project has been provided by the Docklands Authority. The Bridge is being constructed for Dublin City Council by an Irish/Dutch joint venture consortium Graham-Hollandia Contractors.

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Luxury hotels included in 'significant buildings' list

2009-05-10

A string of luxury hotels, including the Castlemartyr Resort in Cork and Carton House in Kildare have been listed as "significant buildings", allowing their owners to claim generous tax relief. Castle Leslie in Monaghan and the Lough Rynn Castle in Co Leitrim, which is owned by the Hanly building group, are among those entitled to the relief, because their buildings are judged to be of "scientific, historical, architectural or aesthetic" interest.

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Planner who improved Belfast living conditions

2009-05-09

Bob Strang, who has died aged 77 after a long illness, was an influential architect and town planner whose work over 40 years made a lasting impact in Northern Ireland. In particular he will be remembered as one of the original team which designed the city of Craigavon; as the planner of Poleglass in west Belfast; and for his work on inner-city housing redevelopment in Belfast in the 1980s. Robert Andrew Strang was born in Glasgow, educated at Allen Glen School and the Royal College of Science and Technology, which later became Strathclyde University.

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Village people go green

2009-05-09

I have little in common with Scarlett O�Hara, the feisty protagonist in Margaret Mitchell's chick-lit-on-the-plantation tome, Gone With the Wind . Unlike me, Scarlett had a waistline with the circumference of a runner bean and fancied the pants off a bloke with a moustache. Okay, I had a waistline, once, but, I swear, the nearest I've been to full-blown whiskers is opening the tin for the cat.

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Douglas Wallace Architects goes into liquidation

2009-05-08

Douglas Wallace Architects confirmed yesterday that Mr Ken Fennell of Kavanagh Fennell has been appointed liquidator of the firm. This follows a period in examinership during which the firm were unable to establish an appropriate scheme of arrangement to meet its obligations. Douglas Wallace Architects, established in 1982 has been a pioneer in Irish architecture and design. With offices in Ireland, the UK and Europe the firm has worked on high profile projects across Ireland, Europe and the UK.

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Hackett Hall McKnight Architects win Meath competition

2009-05-07

Meath County Council has announced that the winner of the Masterplan & Offices for Meath County Council & Navan Town Council Competition is Hackett Hall McKnight Architects. The open, two-stage architectural competition was for the development of an indicative master plan and for the design of a new Headquarters Building. It is Meath County Council�s intention to develop this site as a focal point for civic activity within the town that will serve to link the town centre to the proposed park and to the walks along the Blackwater River. Due to the current economic climate, the council is not in a position to appoint the winners of the competition at this time.

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Construction starts on new Research Building at NUI Maynooth

2009-05-08

The ground-breaking ceremony to mark the start of construction of a new �15 million Interdisciplinary Research Building at NUI Maynooth took place earlier this week. The state-of-the-art building, to be completed in 2010, will house 350 students and 200 academic staff and researchers, including three of the University�s world renowned research institutes.

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Limerick changing for the better, building for the future

2009-05-07

To hear and read grim news about murder and mayhem in Limerick these days, you might think that the city was lost. After the recent slaying of innocent businessman Roy Collins, the Sunday Tribune asked, in bold capital letters over a two-page spread: "Can anything save Limerick now?" Yes, actually. There are lots of things hopefully pointing the city in a new direction � such as the bold redevelopment of Thomond Park, within shouting distance of Moyross, as a spanking new stadium by architects Murray O�Laoire and structural engineers Michael Punch Partners.

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Stormin Norman retreats from Dublin

2009-05-07

Architectural firm Foster+Partners has closed its Dublin office as part of a redundancy process worldwide. The first sign that the Dublin office�s days were numbered came in a fax sent to management at the firm, calling for redundancies that very day, leaving staff in shock. The Berlin and Istanbul branches of the starchitect�s firm, which had 17 offices worldwide, have also closed.

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White House architect returns to Dublin

2009-05-01

Lord Mayor Eibhlin Byrne launches a new exhibition 'James Hoban, Architect of the White House', at City Hall, Dame Street at 10am on Friday 1st May. The exhibition looks at the life and work of the Irish-born architect who designed the White House. It runs at City Hall until 31st May and admission is free. The exhibition has been prepared by the White House Historical Association and Dublin City Public Libraries arranged for it to come here.

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Hanover Quay architect presented with award

2009-04-28

Architect James Pike, who has been in practice for more than 40 years, was presented last night with Ireland's premier housing design award for a mixed-use development in Dublin's Docklands. The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland Silver Medal was awarded to O'Mahony Pike Architects for Hanover Quay, described as a model for integrated, high-density urban regeneration.

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heneghan.peng.architects and Mittelrheinbruecke

2009-04-27

heneghan.peng.architects win competition to design a bridge over the Rhine on the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Rhine valley. The design for the new crossing takes a relatively simple approach, minimize the total visual impact along the river corridor; create a structure as low, as horizontal and as thin as possible.

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Shortlisted projects designed for variety of uses

2009-04-22

Social housing and innovative private sector schemes feature on the shortlist for Ireland�s premier housing design award, the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) Silver Medal, to be presented next Monday. Architect Derek Tynan, who chaired the jury, said all of the shortlisted projects were socially, economically and environmentally sustainable and demonstrate the benefits of architectural design in delivering quality housing and environments.

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Shelbourne Development First to submit plans for Clonburris

2009-04-22

Shelbourne Development has submitted planning application for Kishoge, a unique sustainable property development at Clonburris, Ireland�s first designated eco district. The application seeks permission for a medium density mix of generously proportioned homes built around a variety of play areas and parkland. Kishoge will incorporate landscaped parks, a brand new railway station and newly opened primary school, cr�che and business opportunities complimented by unique facilities such as availability of allotments and a car sharing scheme.

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Carlton site plan would be a 'gross overdevelopment'

2009-04-22

The proposed redevelopment of the Carlton cinema site in Dublin city centre would constitute gross overdevelopment and could have an adverse impact on many protected structures, An Bord Plean�la has been told. The appeal hearing on the project heard that the �1.25 billion scheme would be highly obtrusive and could damage the visual amenity of the area. Orlagh Cawley, on behalf of the National Graves Association, said the design of the project marks a stark contrast to the prevailing building heights and densities.

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Carlton cinema site development 'could undermine character of O'Connell Street'

2009-04-21

The proposed 1.25 billion redevelopment of a 5.5 acre site centred on the former Carlton cinema on O�Connell Street, could "serious and irreversibly" undermine the character of Dublin�s main street, An Bord Plean�la has been told. The appeal hearing on the development which includes a four-storey "park in the sky", a branch of British department store John Lewis, almost 100 shops, 64 apartments, and 2,868sq m of offices was opened by An Bord Plean�la yesterday.

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ESB competition for world-class redesign of HQ

2009-04-20

The ESB intends to use the opportunity provided by the redevelopment of its head office in Fitzwilliam Street, Dublin, which it announced last week, to create a "world-class example of sustainable and innovative headquarters". According to documentation issued last Friday by the ESB, one of the key criteria for a design contest for the new complex will be "the participants� proposals for a solution to the aspect of the Lower Fitzwilliam Street facade".

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A House by FKL Architects

2009-04-18

Dublin architects FLK have completed a residence called A House in Dublin, Ireland. "The house is an exploration of diagonal space within an orthogonal form and the possibilities of integrating environmental concerns at a fundamental level," says Diarmaid Brophy of FLK. "A concrete tube provides the structural and spatial organisation and encloses the public areas of the house," Brophy continues. "Divided by joinery elements, the tube of space is twisted between ground and first floor to allow a relationship to the garden and daylight from above."

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Call for Papers: The Politics of Architectural Destruction

2009-04-18

Whether inflicted intentionally or collaterally, whether wrought by invading forces or internal factions, and whether upon civic, domestic, or sacred buildings, architectural destruction and the destruction of built environments has always been an important, highly charged aspect of political, religious, ethnic, ideological, and other forms of conflict. And yet, until recently, little systematic analysis has been devoted to the meaning of architectural destruction in the context of conflict.

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Proposals recast Dublin and its traffic

2009-04-16

The busy traffic route in front of Dublin�s Custom House could be turned into a pedestrian plaza and the city's quays made a no-parking zone under a new 12-year traffic plan from Dublin City Council. The City Centre Transportation Plan is a framework document which sets out a "vision for movement" for the city centre until 2020. The plan, which will be put before councillors for the first time tomorrow, concentrates on measures to reduce traffic congestion by restricting private car access to the city and creating new opportunities for walking, cycling and public transport. The city's canals and historic bridges, which are protected structures, have a "limiting" effect on the number of vehicles which can enter or leave the city each day.

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Derry Peace Bridge Unveiled

2009-04-10

GRAHAM has been awarded an �8.7M contract to design and construct a new pedestrian and cycle bridge across the River Foyle in Derry / Londonderry. The new bridge is part of a programme of regeneration for the area and will connect the historic city centre on the west bank of the Foyle with a proposed mixed-use development on the site of the disused Ebrington Army Barracks on the east bank

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"The Fusion of Neo-Classical Principles" conference at National Gallery

2009-04-07

This conference "The Fusion of Neo Classical Principles: Scholars, artists, architects, builders and designers in the Neo Classical period" brings together a prestigious multi-disciplinary panel of scholars who combine a range of approaches to the study of the neoclassical period in Irish and European art and architecture.

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Croke Park wins Gold Medal

2009-04-07

The designers of Croke Park Stadium were awarded the highest honour which is given to a building of exceptional merit. President Mary McAleese presented the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland's (RIAI) Gold Medal to the architectural practice Gilroy McMahon.

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Submission date for Draft Poolbeg Planning Scheme extended

2009-04-06

Following requests from interested parties, the Docklands Authority has extended the date for submissions, comments and questions on the Draft Poolbeg Planning Scheme to 4pm on Friday May 8th. Copies of the Draft Poolbeg Planning Scheme and the related Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will remain available for inspection at the Docklands Authority�s office until noon on the 8th of May 2009.

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Planners veto Treasury's plans for Spencer Dock hotel

2009-04-05

Plans for a �300m 35-storey hotel next to Convention Centre Dublin in Spencer Dock have been turned down by An Bord Plean�la. The Shay Cleary Architect-designed building was to have 440-bedrooms and was expected to be operated by Mariott's Ritz Carlton. "We have just received the decision from An Bord Plean�la and we will studying their report," said Dermod Dwyer, chairman of Convention Centre Dublin.

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The last hurrah: awards celebrate Irish architecture

2009-04-02

Never before in the 24 years of the Architectural Association of Ireland (AAI) Awards have so many architects received recognition � and for such diverse projects, ranging from Bocconi University's awe-inspiring Faculty Building in Milan to the Light House cinema in Smithfield and several cutting-edge houses. "One would be hard-pressed to find this density and level of architectural quality being produced in a year in any federal state in Germany with Ireland's population," says Wilfried Wang, former director of the German Architecture Museum and now professor of architecture at the University of Texas. But Wang, one of the AAI's foreign assessors for the 2009 awards, said all of the individual buildings, as excellent as they might be, "will only be regarded in the historical context as fiddling while countrysides burn" unless architects in Ireland and elsewhere recognise their responsibilities to curb urban sprawl.

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400 jobs lost in Northern Ireland architects' practices

2009-03-31

An estimated 400 jobs have been lost in architect practices in Northern Ireland over the last 12 months The figure represents 20 per cent of the workforce, with staff either being made redundant or not replaced since the downturn in the construction industry began. One hundred and twenty were architects and the rest were administrative and technical staff. A survey by the Royal Society of Ulster Architects surveyed every architect in Northern Ireland, with 30 per cent saying there was not enough work.

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Croke Park up against pumphouse for architects' Gold Medal

2009-03-27

A school in Co Galway, civic offices in Co Meath and Co Offaly, a library in north Dublin, two university buildings and a pumphouse in Clontarf are competing with Croke Park for the most prestigious award in Irish architecture. The eight building projects � all completed between 2001 and 2003 � have been shortlisted for the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) triennial Gold Medal, to be presented by President Mary McAleese at a ceremony on April 7th.

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Removal of D�il car park opposed by some members of commission

2009-03-27

The temporary car park in Leinster House, which covered a historic lawn when it was created nearly a decade ago, is to be removed this summer, the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission decided this week. However, the decision to restore Leinster Lawn was not easily made, according to sources, and a number of members of the commission opposed the motion proposed by Fianna F�il TD Michael Mulcahy.

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Celtic Tiger era earned some architectural stripes

2009-03-26

So what have we got to show for all the money we had - and spent - during the boom? The construction industry was in overdrive for a decade, churning out several hundred thousand new buildings across the length and breadth of Ireland, but is there much we can be proud of as outstanding architecture? Not much is the answer. We're left with housing estates all over the place - as bad as anything built before, in many cases - a countryside littered with vulgar "McMansions", big-box retail sucking the life out of town centres and far too many tax-driven hotels with not half enough "bednights" to fill them off-season.

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Landmark Dublin church converted to offices

2009-03-25

When conservation architect James O'Connor first entered St George's Church in Hardwicke Place, Dublin, at the beginning of his restoration project it felt as if he had stumbled into the aftermath of a party that had come to an abrupt halt. Half drunk glasses of beer still stood on ledges of the building whose decorative palette comprised black and blood-red paint, all very goth and suited to the nightclub that this former church had become.

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Work set to start on Galway's 4m arthouse cinema

2009-03-24

Galway City Council's planned cultural quarter has taken a step forward with confirmation that construction is due to start shortly on a 4 million arthouse cinema. The 350-seat cinema is being developed on Merchant's Road, close to the docks. The project has been initiated in partnership with Solas, comprising Galway Film Society, Galway Film Fleadh, Galway Film Centre and Galway Arts Centre. Initial works will begin next month and construction is due to begin in June just after the departure of the Volvo Ocean Race.

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Room for optimism as hotel developer bets on Belfast

2009-03-24

Opening a new five-star hotel in the middle of an economic downturn takes more than a sliver of courage. Combine this with the fact that the five-star hotel in question is located in Northern Ireland � where according to latest research the hotel sector is experiencing a sharp downturn � and it raises the question who would be brave enough to embark on such a venture. Step up June Burgess, the Co Down businesswoman who has just put the finishing touches to her �27 million (�28.8 million) labour of love in the heart of Belfast city centre.

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Decision due on �850m plan for Cork docklands

2009-03-23

A decision on the largest planning application ever lodged in Cork city will be made this week. Howard Holdings are looking for permission for an 850m development in the docklands that would include a 5,500-seater events centre, a 27-storey apartment complex, 10 storeys taller than the Elysian in the city centre, and a hotel and conference centre. The location of the proposed development is on the old Ford Distribution site on the Centre Park Road.

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Treasury may yet bullet the blue sky with U2 tower entry

2009-03-22

One of the losing entries in the U2 tower design competition may actually be built � but on the north side of the Liffey. Treasury Holdings, the property development company owned by Johnny Ronan and Richard Barrett, has resuscitated its Zaha Hadid-designed scheme and is planning to develop it on a site on North Wall Quay next to the O2 concert venue.

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Centre of Contemporary Irish Culture, Kenmare by Niall McLaughlin Architects

2009-03-19

The Centre of Contemporary Irish Culture will contain exhibits showing how Irish contemporary culture is rooted in the deep order of the landscape and the local environment. Its vocation will be to contextualise the cultural output of our time in relation to older traditions of craft and design. These, in turn, have their origins in the particular qualities of locality that allow certain kinds of activity to emerge through history.

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Archaelogist to assess historic Capel Street site

2009-03-18

Property developers planning a major scheme in Dublin city will have to carry out an extensive archaeological study of the "historic" site. Dublin City Council has ordered the move following concerns expressed by the Department of the Environment. The site is located on Capel Street and surrounding roads where development company Glenternan Ltd has applied for permission to build the mixed use, ten-storey project.

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Road and rail links to meet at new Metroplaza

2009-03-18

An elaborate complex of steel, glass and concrete could bring up to 7,000 jobs to Swords as part of the Metro North project. The Metroplaza will be the centrepiece of the new rail infrastructure straddling the old N1 Dublin to Belfast road. It was estimated at �4.58bn in 2004 but may now cost less because of the building sector slump. It will include a metro platform, a major road bridge, a canopied curved pedestrian bridge and bus interchange.

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Judge says integrity of planning process a 'vital national interest'

2009-03-12

A High Court judge has said the courts should never lose sight of the fact that the integrity of the planning process is a "vital national interest". Bad planning decisions "sentence generations to live with the consequences" and, in interpreting the planning legislation, the courts should never lose sight of the overarching national interest in the integrity of the planning process, Mr Justice John Hedigan said.

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Killarney building project given go ahead

2009-03-12

A major town centre redevelopment in Killarney which will see the relocation of the existing Penneys and the demolition of well-known Killarney commercial premises is to get under way in April, following an An Bord Plean�la decision. The move by Penneys to a 30,000sq ft store in High Street, across from its current smaller location, is expected to be completed late next year. It will be part of a development involving car parking, and office space, taking in the High Street, Hilliards Lane area.

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Brakes are on and plans are on hold, but Treasury says it's in it for long haul

2009-03-06

Twenty years after it was conceived as a project and following three competitions for the tender to build it, the National Conference Centre (NCC) is well under way at Spencer Dock, on a pivotal Liffeyside site controlled by developers Treasury Holdings - and it looks as if the massive building will be completed on schedule by September 2010. Richard Barrett and Johnny Ronan, who own Treasury and its multiplicity of subsidiaries and who control two publicly quoted companies - Real Estate Opportunities (REO) and China Real Estate Opportunities (CREO) - are old hands at the property game and show no signs of cashing in their chips at this stage; they're in it for the long haul.

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High flyer still optimistic despite bleak outlook

2009-03-05

The cancellation of a lavish lunch for 500 guests at Punchestown racecourse last April - to celebrate Ballymore Properties' 25th anniversary - was the first indication that even Se�n Mulryan was feeling the pinch; some of the company's staff were being laid off and it just wouldn't have been appropriate to be quaffing champagne. Before then, Ballymore was flying high as one of Europe's largest developers, with a development programme worth �15 billion in Britain, Ireland and central Europe.

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Landscapes of desire: parks, colonialism and identity in Victorian and Edwardian Ireland

2009-03-04

A Research Assistant is sought for a 15 week period to work on 'Landscapes of desire: parks, colonialism and identity in Victorian and Edwardian Ireland', a research project funded by the Heritage Council (Archaeology Grant Scheme 2009) and based in University College Dublin School of Archaeology. This project forms the first part of a phased program of research exploring the role of public parks in shaping class, gender and colonial identities in nineteenth and early twentieth century Ireland.

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Tough year for man once lionised as a 'wizard'

2009-03-04

It has been a tough year for Bernard McNamara - much of it in the public eye. Indeed, he ended up taking all the flak over the collapse of public-private partnership (PPP) schemes to regenerate five run-down social housing estates in Dublin, even though another developer - Castlethorn's Joe O'Reilly - was also involved. O'Reilly (Dundrum shopping centre, Swords Pavilions, big plans for O'Connell Street in Dublin) kept well under the radar, as he always does. But McNamara put himself in the spotlight and must have found the negative feedback quite traumatic - especially for a man more accustomed to being lionised as a "financial wizard".

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Top name in urban renewal is now virtually idle

2009-03-03

Liam Carroll's development work is virtually at a standstill. Once the principal engine of urban renewal in Dublin, churning out shoebox apartments all over the inner city, as well as Ireland's most unlikely corporate raider, bagging control of Dunloe Ewart and substantial shareholdings in Greencore and Irish Continental Group, Carroll is now virtually idle. The first sign of a crack in Carroll's armour was the revelation last July that he had lost an estimated � 20 million on the sale of shares in Aer Lingus.

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Ambitious park plan loses bridge

2009-03-03

Belfast City Council has lost out on EU money to help build a �7m M2 motorway footbridge to its planned Giant's Park. The council applied to the European Union's Peace 3 programme for �5.8m but this was turned down. The park is to be built on a former landfill site on the northern shore of Belfast Lough. Councillors hope the park could become the site of a new stadium and sports village developed by two soccer clubs, Crusaders and Newington. The scheme proposed by the clubs includes a 4,200-seater stadium, along with other pitches for a variety of sports, players accommodation, a hotel and cinema and other commercial elements.

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