Permission for refurbishment of former bank HQ

The redevelopment of the former Bank of Ireland headquarters on Baggot Street has been given the go-ahead by An Bord Pleanála. The building is one of the few 20th century buildings to have protected structure status.

Built over three blocks, the modernist office complex was designed in the 1960s by Ronald Tallon and Peter Doyle of Scott Tallon Walker and constructed in two phases between 1968 and 1978.

It was bought in late 2012 by beef baron Larry Goodman for a sum understood to be more than €40 million.

However, this was a small sum compared to the 2006 deal whereby a consortium led by Derek Quinlan, Paddy Shovlin and hotelier brothers Anthony and Patrick Fitzpatrick bought the bank building for €212 million.

Disrepair

The consortium sought planning permission to redevelop the site but were refused. Receivers took control of the premises at the start of 2012 on behalf of Bank of Scotland (Ireland), Danske Bank and Rabobank. The buildings have been unoccupied since the bank vacated them in 2008 and have fallen into disrepair.

The Record of Protected Structures focuses on protecting the city’s Georgian and Victorian architecture and only includes buildings of the late 20th century if they are considered “exceptional”.

The bank was added to the record in 2010 because it was judged to be “Dublin’s finest example of the restrained and elegant Miesian style” by Dublin City Council’s conservation department.

Refurbishment

This is a reference to modernist architect Mies van der Rohe on whose 1958 Seagram Building on New York’s Park Avenue Tallon and Doyle modelled the bank.

Remley Developments, the property arm of Mr Goodman's empire, engaged Scott Tallon Walker to design the redevelopment of the complex. The scheme involves a refurbishment of the buildings as well as some extensions and alterations and and a small amount of demolition.

Only the facades of the buildings and the plaza formed by the three blocks are protected. The interiors need extensive work to bring them up to modern standards, particularly in terms of energy consumption and facilities such as bathrooms and lifts.

The bronze-cladded facades have weathered over the years to a grey-green patina in places and the ground- floor level has been painted over. Under the refurbishment plan, the paint will be removed and the evidence of weathering stripped back and “re-patinated” so that it will look just as it did in the 1970s.

The granite paving of the forecourt and podium will be relaid, and the main entrance enlarged. The complex is to be renamed the Miesian Plaza.