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PLANNING PERMISSION HAS been given for the tallest office building in Dublin.
Construction of ‘The EXO’ – a 73-metre high structure that will sit alongside the 3Arena in Dublin’s Dockland – has today been given the green light by Dublin City Council and An Bord Pleanála.
The commercial building will bring a total of 224,500 sq. ft. of new office space to the centre of Dublin, with enough room to accommodate up to 2,000 workers.
Its planning application has been funded by Nama as part of its commitment to deliver a new development within the Dockland’s Strategic Development Zone (SDZ).
Speaking today, Stephen Tennant – one of the joint receivers from Grant Thornton – said:
The SDZ process introduced by Dublin City Council and An Bord Pleanála has enabled us to secure approval for The EXO in just over 6 months, which proves the initiative is working.
The building has been designed by Irish architectural practice Shay Cleary Architects and has been built to keep in harmony with the wider design of the docklands.
Construction is set to take place over the next two years and around 350 jobs will be created while this is underway. Overall, development of the building will cost around €80 million.
Commenting about today’s sale, chairman of Savills Roland O’Connell – who are acting joint letting agents in the sale – said:
The Point Village has witnessed a significant increase in footfall over the past few years. As a result, numerous high-profile office occupiers and retailers have been enquiring about accommodation at the Point Village.
The design is awful
Yeah, not great in those pics but we can hope it will look better in real life.
It’s a good precedent tho and I am hoping we lash up lotsa tall buildings down that way and get in proper living spaces too.
It’s not the worst, but it’s pretty bad. Very unimaginative. But at least, finally, we’re getting something close to high-rise in an area where it is most suitable.
Unimaginative = cheap.
We’re not truly happy unless we’re complaining about something are we?
This deserves to be complained about though, Jack. The design is awful, not nearly slender or tall enough
What makes it worse is that it’s on the site of the Watchtower
Nothing to do with either being happy or complaining jack and more to do with frustration at the total inability to embrace some well designed modern structures for our city
Meh, I’ve seen a lot worse in Dublin. The point itself is no oil painting so at least it won’t be dragging the area down in appearance.
Anyway I thought that one across the river. …at 23 floors was supposed to be getting built soon?
I mean come on folks this is a city whose population became distraught at the thought of removing the ugly poolbeg chimneys! We’ll take this new building with open arms!
Yeah piling has commenced st the Capitol Dock site across the river. That’ll be 23 residential floors (79 metres). Hopefully this will also be surpassed by the Tara Street tower in the near future.
There’s nothing wrong with building up. The Obel tower in Belfast sticks out like a sore thumb but still looks good. There’s the opportunity to create a bit of a cluster in Dublin around Tara St & Hawkins house. Building up is the best way to relieve congestion and makes it easier to use public transport. It’s also contributes to bringing down the price of housing
The Tetris in the Detritus.
This article makes no sense. At one stage it’s already built and at another it’s not built but already sold. Who wrote this piece ?
https://twitter.com/SueKirk/status/643705878118572032?s=09 Sue got it right back when this buildings plans were announced.
Horrible looking building.
Happy now Jack you whinger?
That was good Diarmuid!
Looks like a solar panel in the pic. Horrific.
https://luxpalace.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/21.jpg <<< would suit Dublin much better.
Ugliest building I’ve seen in a long time – really dreadful – the new Hawkins House. Sad to see approval for this eyesore
At least the sun’s shining, like it does regularly in Dublin.
The Obel tower is a disaster and has had to be completely refurbished five years after it was built. Complaints galore about the cold, the noise, the traffic. No thanks. Tall buildings are fine as long as they are kept away from the city centre.
Away from the city centre?!? Back to planning school for you
The diagonal design of the curtainwall looks terrible. It should be more like the Bow, in Calgary, Canada.
It would have been an informative piece if the journal told us how many floors a gazillion metres is ?
Look like the back of a giant bill board
240ft. Can we just sack the decision makers in An Bord Pleanála. They are holding back the city of Dublin with their low rise crap. Dublin doesn’t have the space to spread outwards, so buildings must go up. They can’t use the argument of proper high rise buildings ruining Dublin’s skyline, as it doesn’t have a skyline to begin with.
It’s usually An Taisce that wheel out that line
So much rubbish in one single post.
It’s the most hideous monstrosity green-lighted in Dublin since Hawkins House.
Looks better than Cork’s county hall and one would be forgiven for thinking the Cork’s county hall has been transplanted into this picture, given a minor facelift, and an awful box extension.
My thoughts exactly smeg
Cork county hall is an architectural masterpiece compared to this.
They are probably modelling it on the county hall so as to smooth its planning process. It looks awful and dated and will look horrendous in a decade.
Oooohh 17 storeys, calm down DCC….
It looks hideous
Boring and uninspiring.
Missed chance to make the Liffey approach to Dublin more attractive.
Totally agree with you for a change Diarmuid
When looking out at the Docklands from the city it will look like a gigantic L for Loser. Hideous, the only reason for this can be corruption.
Hopefully when this is finished and the apartments beside the new central bank they will finally get some shops to open in the Point Village shopping centre. That place is such a waste.
Filled by yuppies by day, surrounded by junkies at night
You’re chirpy sort of a fella
Very very unimaginative. You can see they opted for square footage over aesthetics. We should have looked to our nearest neighboring world city for ideas and expertise. That’s what you get when left hand gives right hand planning permission.
Does anyone get a sense of deja vous?
Oh monsieur! you are really spoiling us with all this deja vu!
Belfast?
Boomy
Busty
Lusty
Soon to be rusty
I think we need homes for people than more office space.
I think you can get partial credit. Dublin is actually scarily short on office space right now but there is a similar situation in housing except there’s nobody too keen on building them for some reason so we might as well address one shortage.
We need homes, but that doesn’t mean every single building has to be a home. There’s a taller residential tower being built across the Liffey from this
Offices = jobs = homes for people who get the jobd.
Hopefully it looks better than the pictures. Because that’s horrendous..
“wider design of the docklands” – Ugly generic boxes..
A great design…if you’re into lego
Excellent another unimaginative box for our city. Will match well with all the other unimaginative boxes in Dublin
A hideous design.
The 70s called, they want their design back.
Giant sim card.
It look like stacks of containers in glass
….and watch the new glass cages that spring up along The Quay…. Pete St John was right, and that was nearly 40yrs ago
It’s an office building… It will be as dull and unimaginative as the jobs of the people that work in it. Not all buildings are opportunities for great landmark sculptures. Some are just an efficient place to work in. I’d love to see the architecture portfolios of some of the complainers here.
Not to mention that when people do spend some money designing buildings… The mostly receive the same negative commentary saying it was money wasted.
I don’t need an architectual portfolio to be able to look at a picture and see that it’s an ugly looking yoke.
You don’t need anything except the ability to open your mouth to pass judgement.
That’s the point.
I’m sorry if I hurt the unborn building’s feelings by judging it, but yje vast majority of people who are going to pass it every day are not archiecrs either and they’ll still hace ro look at it. it’s their city too.
An awful looking building. Looks nasty.
Boring, boring, boring. We are now in a position, a place where we have not been for years, when we should be adding spectacular buildings to the Dublin skyline. We should not be just saying yes to any developer including NAMA who want to build. This is a sad day for Irish Architecture…….
Where will Eat to the Beat park when that goes up!?? Great curry chips
I just wonder why there’s planning approved for an offices building but not for homes/appartments?? Surely no one needs a home!!
There’s a massive development of new homes next door to it just started and across the Liffey from it , major redevelopment down there for the next 5 years
If you check Dublin planning applications you fine many a nice office tower were planed some even granted but with such a long time to get there by that time the recession had started. Wonder those objected are even still around and was it worth the votes of a few to ruin our country.
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1865474
Been such a new country and what we do and achieve over seas, our country could of been so much better for all.Learnt from the mistakes of other protected our greenness, build in balance instead of sprawl.
Not only is this ugly, it’s a ridiculous location to ram a building in.
Given that it’s commercial, and there are many empty commercial buildings within spitting distance of this, it maddens me. Fill what is available before lumping up new eye sores.
And to the person saying that they are building apartments nearby- yes, this is true- but the people in desperate need of housing won’t be buying those new apartments.
What a horrible design. No creativity at all. As though a builder came up with it.
Lego designer building, truly jaw droppingly ugly.
It’s like feckin’ Tetris fell onto Docklands.
Man that’s ugly.
Horrible looking yolk
Liberty Hall 2
looks exactly liberty hall with another liberty hall flat on the ground coming out of it.. ah lads
It looks so out of place typical Irish planning throw a large building amongst smaller & in Arse of no where , if point village was as busy as stated why is point village shopping ctr empty no units let out at all
They used to say even the dumbest of planners was at least assured of a civil service job.
This building looks crap. The conference centre looks stupid.
There’s plenty of smart office blocks and apartments and some impressive buildings in the Docklands area. It’s quite pleasant really, but it’s so dreadfully sterile. Maybe in time.
I genuinely don’t understand people being worried about the design. This building is a magical work of art in comparison to Liberty Hall. Ugliest building in Dublin by a mile!!!
Wait a minute! Pleanalla refused the New Children’s Hospital due to the sight of it on the City landscape and yet they pass this building and the height of it. Something very wrong here.
Shouldn’t be too out of place beside all the stacked up cargo containers in Dublin Port. Best thing I can say about this development is that it will have a great view over Dublin 4.
Good grief that is an ugly building
I’ve read that capital dock will be 79m and isn’t it already under construction?
I believe that the ground work is already done for this and it’s ready to go. They done it when the whole place was getting redeveloped
Yeah I was down there a few weeks ago. My point is that it will likely be built first and it will be taller so the headline is incorrect (if I’m right about the height).
April fools
It’s a horribly unimaginative design and building up is all well and good if ur not living right beside and loosing ur light and ur view.
Looks like a building from the eightys cheap and functional looking architecture. we may be broke now but a little style goes a long way. Also it’s a very pretty stretch in the capital and that box does not fit in a round hole if ya know what I mean
Have a look these Dublin box developments….sheer genius….but ignore the architectural beauty in between https://goo.gl/maps/x9TH9gXbgv82
I bet you the planners would describe them as ‘a nod to Dublin’s Georgian heritage’.
do they not already have enough crap they dont use up there?
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