November/December 2020 69
I
F YOU liked Eohan Murphy for ‘boutique
hotels’ co-livin units and housin
delivery, just wait until you see his hih-
rise architectural leacy.
Since the building of Liberty Hall (60
metres) and O’ Connell Bridge House in the
1960s the Georgian core of Dublin has been
protected from incongruous high-rise devel
-
opment, by planning control policies. Outside
of Belfast the same applies to the other Irish
historic centres. The country’s tallest building
from the twentieth century was Cork County
Hall: to the west of the centre and a surprising
-
ly well-considered interface between city and
county, with its Council Chamber at roof level.
The legislation for Protected Structures and
Architectural Conservation Areas, integrated
with the 2000 Planning and Development Act,
has largely prevented inappropriate develop
-
ment in our historic urban centres since then.
Under the guise of solving the housing crisis
by Ian Lumley
The housing-starved populus seem bored with
all that old city-centre human-scale.
ENVIRONMENT
but following much suspicious lobbying from
the property development world for commer
-
cial tower blocks, then Housing and Planning
Minister Eoghan Murphy pushed though his
pet ‘Urban Development and Buildings Height
Guidelines for Planning Authorities (BHGs)’ in
2018, doubtless thinking they made him and
his party look well-travelled.
Ocial Ireland, the media, Chambers of
Commerce seems in the housing-starved last
few years to have actively rejected Ireland’s
age-old city aesthetic, a unique selling point,
in favour of a rush to the sky, particularly in
historic cores where high rise does most dam
-
age.
The fact that this will have no benefit in de
-
livering aordable housing seems to be of no
concern. The dissent from conservationists is
portrayed as cranky. An Bord Pleanála which
used to show critical judgement on urban
design and architectural heritage is rubber
The sky’s the limited
thanks to Eoghan Murphy
A put-upon John
Ronan is seeking
to increase the
height of his
‘Waterfront’
scheme beside
Dublin’s Eastlink
Bridge, to 40
and 44 storeys
(155 metres -
Liberty Hall is 55
metres).