There can be no doubt that Mr Kevin Roche, the internationally-known, Irish-born architect, and his colleagues in Hamden, Connecticut, have been burning the midnight oil recently to finalise the planning application lodged yesterday for the national conference centre and ancillary development at Spencer Dock, Dublin.
It is the largest and most ambitious urban development in the State's history and the drawings apparently took up an airline-sized container on an early flight from New York. How the project is treated by Dublin Corporation will have a profound influence on the capital's development.
Less than three months ago, Mr Roche unveiled his earlier plans for the site to a mixed reception. There was immediate concern about the enormous height, aggravated by the creation of what seemed to be a great wall of tall buildings across the middle of the site. The highest of these would be taller than the 120-metre Millennium Spire.
Now, in the firm's 32nd version of the Spencer Dock scheme, the height of the taller buildings has been significantly reduced. Detailed "visibility analysis" has also been undertaken from several locations around the city to assess its impact on distant views, notably from the "Georgian Mile" centred on Fitzwilliam Street.
Since the northward projection of this important axis runs right through the 51-acre Spencer Dock site, it is inevitable that any buildings over a certain height would be seen looming over the main facade of Holles Street hospital. However, the analysis shows that this would be relatively minimal compared to the earlier scheme.
Viewed from O'Connell Bridge, the proposed complex would fill in a view of the open sky between the International Financial Services Centre and George's Quay. It would be much more prominent from other locations, such as Seville Place.
The extent of the podium, 23 feet from ground level, which covered most of the site in earlier versions, has been drastically reduced. There is also more emphasis on open spaces, notably the one-acre "Conference Square" which is to be surrounded by shops, restaurants and outdoor cafes.
A tall office building on the north side of this square is designed as an arch framing a grand stairs leading up to a park at the podium level, in front of the tallest building. Mr Roche says these steps "can also double as casual seating for street performances". The previously blank western gable of the conference centre has also been redesigned to include wave-like windows. It has also been pulled back by a further 10 feet to provide a more generous pedestrian route along the edge of Spencer Dock.
There are other environmental benefits, including a highly-efficient combined heat and power (CHP) system which, it is claimed, will save as much in carbon dioxide emissions as planting 2,000 trees a year.
However, it is the scale of the scheme - and particularly its height - which remains the main planning issue.
It comes at a sensitive time in Dublin, with the corporation relaxing its criteria for high buildings and a decision already made to grant permission for a 264-foot office tower at George's Quay, opposite the Custom House. This case is under appeal to An Bord Pleanala by 12 parties.
Mr Roche now seems to accept that his earlier scheme - particularly its central office tower rising to 445 feet - was a non-starter. In a very real sense, Dublin wasn't ready for it; after all, the tallest building in the city at present, Liberty Hall, is just 198 feet.
His clients, Treasury Holdings, in partnership with Docklands entrepreneur Mr Harry Crosbie, gave Mr Roche little leeway in reducing the size of the development even though senior corporation officials believe it could afford to "lose" 500,000 square feet to bring down its scale.
The architects in Connecticut had to make do with moving masses around the site, like checkers on a draughts board. Their latest scheme is undoubtedly an improvement, but it is still likely to face rigorous assessment from Dublin Corporation and will end up with An Bord Pleanala.
