Large-scale redevelopment in south Dublin usually receives abundant attention from members of both the press and general public. However, there is one area in the capital's suburbs, running to several hundred acres, which is undergoing rapid transformation at the moment, seemingly without any comment about short-term or long-term consequences. That area is the Sandyford Industrial Estate.

There are a number of reasons why the work being undertaken at Sandyford has excited so little notice. The most obvious of these is the character of the site, which has been used for warehousing and light industry since the 1960s. Many of the buildings erected during that decade and the 1970s still remain: low-rise structures of one or two storeys cheaply constructed of redbrick and corrugated metal.

Spread out over a 200-acre estate, they possess little architectural merit and, in the majority of instances, their natural life-span is now drawing to a close.

This has coincided with several other factors, not least the rise in demand for high-quality office accommodation and the soaring value of land in Dublin. With regard to the former, new office space is particularly needed for high-technology industries which established a strong presence here during the 1990s.

For the majority of these companies, the existing style of office design and layout was simply unable to meet their specific requirements, as well as being too small to hold a large number of employees. However, within central Dublin the increased value of land, coupled with a rising demand for living accommodation, has limited the amount of new office space being constructed other than along the eastern quays, thanks to the presence of the IFSC on the north side of the Liffey.

For many developers, the discovery of an alternative location appeared to be the answer to this conundrum, preferably in an area not too far removed from the city centre. Clearly, the existing Sandyford Industrial Estate appears to provide the ideal solution. It is relatively easily reached thanks to the proximity of the N11 and the fact that the Southern Cross (M50) motorway will pass close by the estate, while the Luas light rail transport system is also due to have a station in the immediate vicinity.

Sandyford possesses a further attraction thanks to its long-standing designation as an industrial park, meaning that prospective developers have been less likely to come up against planning objections to their proposals from either residents in the area or the local authority.

The outcome is that for at least the past two years, Sandyford Industrial Estate has been in the throes of a complete overhaul of character - embodied by the multitude of cranes hovering over the area as many of the individual plots are redeveloped.

This work has been sanctioned by the local authority, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, which obviously recognised that the alternative was a threat of industrial decay as the small businesses previously located on the Sandyford estate closed down or moved to fresher premises.

Overall, the quality of development in Sandyford has grown steadily better in recent years as the requirements of companies moving into the area have risen. But developers are also realising that only by offering highest standards in this market can they hope to secure tenants.

At the moment, on an adjacent site closer to Leopardstown, another office development of some 1.75 sq ft called Central Park is under construction; this has already secured Eircell as an anchor tenant. The sheer scale of the complex already poses a threat to the future of Sandyford Industrial Estate, and so too does mediocre building in which short-term advantage is preferred over sensible forward planning.

So much new office space is being proposed, not just in Sandyford but throughout the city, that the shortage of recent years risks becoming a glut, with damaging results for the entire office rental sector. Under such circumstances, only the best new developments would be confident of survival.