Dublin City Council were seeking expressions of interest from parties wishing to engage in a competitive dialogue for the redevelopment of its key site at the junction of Drury Street and Stephen Street Lower which presently contains a multi storey car park and ground floor retail units”. So ran the EU notice issued in July 2007.

Dublin City Council had proposed a strategy to enliven the area, as set out in their document “Developing the Retail Core” which proposed expanding the existing retail core along Grafton Street to include the “South City Retail Quarter Architectural Conservation Area”. The strategy involved opening up a number of passageway routes across the parallel routes of Grafton Street, South William Street, Drury Street through to South Great Georges Street .These passageways were to be formed by linking up backland spaces between the streets, utilising existing open areas and passageways connecting onto the streets. Dublin City Council was of the opinion, backed up by retail strategists, that there was a need for a “magnet “ type development to lead the market investment into the area. The brief was to develop a scheme which would be of such significance that it would tip the balance towards this goal..

BCDH Architects and Urban Planners, in conjunction with MOSTON Construction Ltd, submitted a proposal for a visually striking infill design, utilizing the concept of a vortex to set out an attractive landscaping “bait” in Johnson’s’ Place , leading into the building , up the atrium and spilling out onto a rooftop terrace overlooking the city. The proposal held a fritted or textured glass skin along the building line over set back retail facades at ground level. This skin was peeled back at the corner entry point exposing the hidden cavern (Aladdin’s cave?) within. Surfaces internally were to be moulded fluidly emphasising the upward “current” of the vortex leading to upper shopping levels and culminating with the south facing roof terrace café.

The building layout anticipated retail outlet at basement, ground, first and second floors based around a twisting atrium, with independent office space on three floors above. Also included in the development was retention of a public car park providing an equivalent number of car parking spaces to the existing structure.

Due to speculative development funding issues across the marketplace in spring 2008. it was decided to withdraw from the continuing dialogue with Dublin City Council, although we had been advised that the project had advanced to a select shortlist of bids. We understand that .Dublin City Council did select a development partner, however, an application for Planning Permission has not yet been lodged.