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U2 have announced plans for a long-awaited visitor and exhibition centre dedicated to the band’s history.
The band has applied for planning permission for a three-storey over basement building with a total floor area of 2,684 square metres on the site of the band’s recording studio in Hanover Quay.
It is proposed to demolish the present studio at 15-18 Hanover Quay where the band recorded albums such as All That You Can't Leave Behind and Pop and replace it with the exhibition centre.
The building will include a re-construction of the band’s original studio, exhibit areas and merchandising system. It will feature a cantilevered roof overlooking Grand Canal Dock.
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In 2002, the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA) bought the studio with the plan being to level it as part of the development of the dock.
The band was told that their studio would be accommodated in a 32-storey development nearby, known as the U2 Tower, but the economic crash put an end to it.
They bought the studio back in 2014 for a deal worth €450,000 and have now unveiled plans to develop it.
Fans have long complained at the absence of any U2 heritage centre especially since the graffitied wall outside the old Windmill Studios was demolished some years ago.
The planning application has been submitted by Golden Brook Limited and MHEC Limited.
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