Tara Tower

New high-rise tower on the River Liffey

Too often towers are only considered in the skyline, but for a city like Dublin, where active street life is an urban ambition of the municipality, the reading of soffits of the building is equally important. There is an opportunity to create an interplay of timber facade elements and the overall greening of outdoor spaces to create further interest in the finer grain reading of the facade.

Located adjacent to the historic Trinity College site, with direct access from Tara Sreet Station and views across the River Liffey this site is situated in a prime position within Dublin. This project was the submission for an invited competition to redevelop the site of the Tara Building, which currently operates as co-working and office spaces. The brief required that this program be maintained and integrated in an enhanced way into the podium of the new development. With the approval of a 22-storey tower in the neighbouring plot, the increase in allowed height gave us the opportunity to develop a similarly proportioned mixed-use tower.
We wanted to create a building that provided an inclusive and open work environment, acting as a creative incubator and space of discourse. An integrated market hall on the first 2 floors of the podium would function as the catalyst and gathering point for both the neighbourhood and tenants. Above the flexible co-working spaces would be an aparthotel, with a prominent restaurant located on the river side offering excellent views and visibility. Above the plinth, 17 floors of BTR residential apartments will feature rooftop amenities with 360-degree views across the city.
The intent of the form is to create a slightly peeling volume to the tower that increases the aspect of the hotel towards the river whilst giving space to the restaurant and creating green outdoor terraces for the co-working offices. The podium features a raised corner to express the double height space in the market hall, whilst angling down to match the existing heights of the plinth and parapets of the surrounding buildings. At the podium level, the façade twists to frame the sight lines from the co-working spaces and create a vertical interpretation that reflects the same rhythm used for the soffit of the residential balconies. Warm materials were used at the ground level and for the soffits to create an inviting and welcoming and collaborative atmosphere that reflects the ethos of the current Tara Building.