The overall mass of the current scheme for the Spencer Dock development is too great at the perimeter, a leading urban design consultant told the An Bord Pleanala hearing yesterday.
Mr Michael Lowe, director of Arup Associates, architects, engineers, quantity surveyors and urban designers based in London, was invited by the city architect at Dublin Corporation to help review the proposals.
Mr Lowe said the requirement of the scheme was to generally respect the character of Dublin but recognise there was a new opportunity in the docks. The initial impression of the proposal was that its scale and bulk were not wholly within the context of Dublin, a low-rise city with a relatively intimate character.
The conference centre, at 48 metres high, set the general tone for the scale of the development. Mr Lowe said this height must be reduced adjacent to the low existing historic buildings on North Wall Quay and also the existing buildings east of New Wapping Street and north of Sheriff Street Upper.
"The current scheme proposes buildings ranging from 17 to six storeys high with a general average of approximately 12 in these sensitive locations. Whilst it is recognised that the existing surrounding areas will redevelop over time, the overall mass of the current scheme is too great at the perimeter," Mr Lowe said.
If a significant landmark building was incorporated, it must be slender and elegantly designed, which implied even greater height, he said. Mr Lowe told the hearing that high layers of density could be created without going too high.
Asked by the planning inspectors if he had ever come across a development on this scale close to a city centre, Mr Lowe replied that the only other he knew was Canary Wharf in London, but it was environmentally less sensitive.
"The general view is that high buildings in European cities are not really appropriate," he said. Even if a very beautiful, elegant building could be considered, there was always a risk.
Referring to the possibility of a railway station on the site, Mr Lowe said currently access to the station was via an existing historic warehouse. The opportunity to create a unique image using a railway station canopy structure visible from the Liffey and Dublin was lost. If a rail line and station could be placed below ground, any issues about dealing with a rail viaduct and bridge over the Liffey would be eliminated.
On car-parking, Mr Lowe said a total of 2,000 spaces was the figure calculated by Dublin Corporation officials. This allowed for a single, below-ground parking level to accommodate all the cars without resorting to a raised podium.
Mr Lowe referred to urban housing and said it was appropriate that buildings within the south site could accommodate apartments with occupants pursuing an "urban lifestyle".
He called for a design control document to be put in place to ensure that cohesive and visual continuity was achieved over time.