Sir, - I was amazed to read Frank McDonald's article (Property, January 22nd) on the proposed apartments scheme at the gasholder off Barrow Street. Such a blatant piece of cheerleading for Zoe Developments is hard to stomach from your normally coherent Environment Correspondent.
Firstly, the article concentrates on only part of the scheme - the 205 apartments in the gasholder - to the virtual exclusion of the other 450 apartments in assorted towers of seven, six, five and three storeys scattered over the remainder of the site. Not to mention the "nine or 10 storeys high hotel", the exact height of which either isn't clear to anybody at this stage or is obviously not important enough for your correspondent to concern himself with. I would also urge Frank McDonald to seek out the external spaces shown on the planning permission drawings between the new buildings and see if he can find the same sense of "inspiration" he seems to find in the filling in of the gasholder.
With regard to the numerous references to the concerns of loss of light and the loss of privacy no matter how "clever" the architect is with his louvres, frosted glazing and UCD Research Group, common sense tells us that nine storeys (proposed) will always overshadow two storeys (existing).
There are other issues of this elephantine scheme that Frank McDonald might normally have commented on: the failure to respect building lines (Barrow Street); the failure to reinforce the existing streetscape/pattern; the lack of real respect for adjoining one- and two-storey houses; the security fencing that will inevitably enclose what green open space may be provided; and the sheer size (18 1/2 acres of floorspace) of the proposed development.
If your Environment Correspondent wishes to write fawning articles about how "sophisticated and urbane" architects can be, fair enough. But please take a closer, more critical look at this scheme in its entirety. - Yours, etc.,
Clinton O'Rourke,
South Lotts, Ringsend, Dublin 4.