(12-16-2007) U2 defend Dublin skyscraper plans*

[Anu]

U2 defend Dublin skyscraper plans

By Alex Fletcher, Entertainment Reporter

U2’s The Edge has defended the band’s plans to build a skyscraper in central Dublin.

The guitarist has claimed that the building, which has been dubbed the U2 tower, will create a boom for the local economy.

In a statement, he said: “It will have positive influence on the perspective of Dublin internationally and encourage further financial investment in the city centre. It is also the intention to build Europe's most sustainable hotel in the heart of Ireland's capital. The design is environmentally as well as architecturally progressive.”

The tower will reportedly include a penthouse studio for the group.

Environmental groups complained about the plans earlier in the month, claiming the building would be a “incongruous blot on the skyline.”

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/showbiz/a81628/u2-defend-dublin-skyscraper-plans.html

 

[Carek1230]

I am all for it and agree with the Edge. Building another across the waterway where when entering the great city of Dublin from the waterway (or the sky for that matter) you'd be greeted by not one but TWO of such glass high rise spiers would book more balanced and welcoming. It's an interesting city, Dublin is.....can't wait till the controversy is done and the high rise and hotel actually built.

 

[Pinball Wizard]

I am all for it and agree with the Edge. Building another across the waterway where when entering the great city of Dublin from the waterway (or the sky for that matter) you'd be greeted by not one but TWO of such glass high rise spiers would book more balanced and welcoming. It's an interesting city, Dublin is.....can't wait till the controversy is done and the high rise and hotel actually built.

Yes, adding a substantial amount of mass in one concentrated area to a harbor front that is potentially susceptible to sinking and uneven settlement is a backseat point to making a cool tower. It's funny that The Edge uses the phrase "sustainable" when describing a skyscraper... seeing as the idea of a sustainable tower, ecologically speaking, is almost as paradoxical as the concept of environmentally-friendly oil extraction. Granted, the hotel and studio would probably be sustainable from the vantage of tertiary industry. However, the intensity of land use in the proposal implies that the focus of the building is to deliver profit over any cultural or environmental pursuit.

 

[Shaliz]

That quote from Edge sounds almost like he's talking about the redesign of the Clarence rather than the U2 Tower....I wonder if they got their "controversial building projects" mixed up?

 

[last unicorn]

Yes, I think the media is generally mixing up those two projects. They don't care, as long as the word "controversy" is in the headline.