Grand Canal Dock

Grand Canal Dock (Irish: Duga na Canálach Móire) is a Southside area near the city centre of Dublin, Ireland.

[citation needed] Grand Canal Dock railway station, accessed from Barrow Street, opened in 2001 (although the line has been in use since 1834).

[10] Before this development, from medieval times the area was associated with lepers, as recorded in some of the street names such as Misery Hill and Lazer Lane.

The process involved constructing an underground wall eight metres deep around the affected area, and the contaminated soil being dug out and removed.

By the time the decontamination was finished, an inflated property bubble and increased demand in the area (brought on, in part, by the decision by Google to set up its European headquarters nearby), allowed the authority to sell the land for €300 million.

[13] A number of buildings have since been developed, involving the construction of millions of euros worth of real estate, the establishment of what is now sometimes known as Silicon Docks, and the arrival of several thousand new residents.

[citation needed] On 22 May 2014, it was announced that a fast-track planning process was approved by An Bord Pleanala, with 366,000 square metres of office space and 2,600 homes to be developed across 22 hectares of land in the North Lotts and Grand Canal Dock areas under the Docklands Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) planning scheme.

[14] A number of site plan notices were posted in the area including the following: Several of the buildings surrounding Grand Canal Square, such as the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, The Marker Hotel, and the HQ office development, were designed by McCauley Daye O’Connell Architects.

The Alto Vetro apartment building was awarded the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland’s (RIAI) Silver Medal for Housing (2007-2008).

The modern office buildings alongside the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre were designed by architect Daniel Liebeskind and developed by Chartered Land.