After deciding against the original proposal, the new winning design for the U2 tower has been revealed, and it’s this fine-looking effort from Norman Foster (although I’m always wary of the artist’s drawing since the Spire was initially made out to be an orgy of spotlights rather than the dim candle that it is).

According to Frank McDonald in today’s paper:

The sensational new scheme has the rock band’s eggshaped recording studio suspended beneath a battery of vertical wind turbines and a huge solar panel at the top. This “energy centre” will raise the overall height from 130m (427ft) to 180m (591ft).

The tilted triangular tower, designed by Foster + Partners, will include a public viewing platform offering panoramic views over the city and Dublin Bay. This will be located just below U2’s “pod” studio, which will be separated from the structure for acoustic reasons.

And:

In addition to the tower, which will largely comprise luxury apartments, the scheme includes a five-star hotel in a flanking building to the south, oversailing a block of 34 social and affordable apartments, which comprise 20 per cent of the overall residential content.

The area certainly need a landmark building. For all the redevelopment, there’s been nothing to stop you in your tracks - as does, say, Newcastle’s Sage concert hall, which I saw a couple of months back and realised just how naked Dublin’s docklands are in comparison.