U2 Tower, Dublin, Ireland
for
role
status
year
GSA
Principal
Competition Entry
2003
In the early 2000’s the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA) was established to regenerate some of the undeveloped sites at the mouth of the Liffey River. The Irish rock band U2 became involved with the project after the DDDA had taken possession of its old recording studio in the Grand Canal Dock in the process of assembling viable development parcels. The conflict that ensued between the band and the DDDA was eventually resolved with the launch of a design competition with U2 being designated to acquire the top two stories of a new landmark mixed-use tower for a new recording studio. The tower would also carry the band’s name as part of its iconic identity.
The proposal for the site consists of a brick and glass-clad 15 story tower with a 3-story base. The project adopts a primarily brick façade with interspersed brick screens to resonate with the predominant façade material of this formally industrial area. By way of contrast and to take advantage of the unique orientation, the south facing glazed facades incorporate integral translucent solar voltaic in varied patterns to maximize the potential for solar collection while allowing views across the city. These south facades, together with a sequence of public spaces; the outdoor south amphitheater and lawn, the green roof of the base a Level 4 and the tower roof form a continuous green band of publicly accessible space that rises from street level to the top of the tower.
Programmatically, the base houses commercial office space is flexibly configured to be able to respond to market demand. An interior 3 story atrium brings natural light into the center of the building and functions as a “mixing chamber” to hold social events as well as informal meetings. The ground floor cafeteria/food court is conceived so that it can be operated with varying configurations of outside vendors so as to create diversity and a sense of urban vibrance.
The tower above consists of apartments at the north with a triangular workspace volume projecting at the south. The compact 120sm workspace at this level, with its double-glazed wall for preheating is ideal for a studio, showroom or an early stage startup. It’s adjacency to residential makes it also attractive to residential occupants seeking a live/work loft type experience.
Finally, the upper three stories of the tower are dedicated for use by U2. They consist of at Level 13 two 2 bedroom apartments for guests and a 50 person amphitheater for private outdoor performances; at Level 14, a state of the art recording studio with panoramic views across the city; and at level 15 a pub for dedicated use by U2 however with the potential to be accessible on an on-demand basis by the other inhabitants of the building.
Toward the goal of designing a high-performance building with the smallest possible ecological footprint, the design conceives of the site and all the uses, subsystems and parts of the building as working together to achieve energy-efficiency and reduce environmental impact.
