WORK HAS begun on the demolition of the former editorial and printing offices of The Irish Times in Fleet Street, Dublin, writes Tim O'Brien.
The newspaper's former commercial offices, a row of Georgian houses at 8 to 16 D'Olier Street, are to be retained in the development which envisages a total of almost 8,500 sq metres of office and retail space, with just four apartments.
The Fleet Street building is to be replaced with a glass-fronted, convex-shaped, office block rising to seven storeys above basement. The former building on the site was five storeys above basement.
A four-storey glazed atrium over a ground level restaurant or cafe is to be provided in the space between the Fleet Street and D'Olier Street buildings, with lightweight, glass-sided bridges on three levels.
Some of the basements in the buildings at D'Olier Street extend under the street itself and these are to be retained in the new development.
Andrew Deacon for planning consultants John Spain and Associates said the basements could not be developed to a further depth as they were already on a level with the river Liffey, and there was a flooding risk in going below the river level. Two vehicle lifts will be installed at Fleet Street to provide basement car parking for about 17 vehicles, and 80 bicycles.
Most of the ground floor units will be for retail use in line with Dublin City Council's policy of increasing pedestrian throughput on the street.
The offices above will include consulting rooms, a medical centre and general offices. Number 16 D'Olier Street will include four, two-bedroom apartments overlooking the D'Olier Street, Pearse Street axis.
Planning permission granted for the development in November 2007 contained a total of 18 conditions, many of them containing a number of sub-clauses.
The main elements include the preservation of interiors and facades of 8 to 10 and 13 to 16 D'Olier Street, many of which have original features such as staircases, windows, fireplaces and ceiling plasterwork.
The conditions provide for the "preservation and remodelling of the facade of numbers 11 and 12, to include additional windows and access. A five-storey extension to the rear, which is not original, is to be replaced.
Work on the project is expected to take up to two years and the managing agents are HT Meagher O'Reilly.
Tom Hunt of HRK architects said the scheme was designed for P Elliott and Company which was behind a number of construction projects in the docklands, Tallaght and elsewhere.