The Irish Times

A lot of money has been gambled by developers on the prospect of re-creating Ballsbridge, the heart of "Dublin 4". Seán Dunne paid €54 million an acre for the Jurys Hotel site, and €60 million an acre for the Berkeley Court, but even these record prices in autumn 2005 were soon trumped by other developers. Now, hot on the heels of Ray Grehan's ambitious scheme for the former Veterinary College site on Shelbourne Road, Mr Dunne is putting it up to Dublin City Council's planners - and perhaps the council itself - to decide whether they share his vision of a high-rise, mixed-use development on the two hotel sites. The proposal unveiled yesterday has undoubted architectural quality. As designed by Henning Larsen Architects, a noted Danish firm with an impressive portfolio of work, it is clearly intended to make a major statement - with a landmark 37-storey tower that would be more than twice the height of Liberty Hall. This irregularly shaped tower, dubbed "One Berkeley Court", is described by Ulrik Raysse, Larsen's director of design for the project, as having "its own special geometry and materiality. It is cut like a diamond". He also conceded that it would be "quite difficult to build something with so many sides to it".