'Hideous' Office Block up for Award

A Dublin office block branded hideous by hit Hollywood actor Gabriel Byrne has been entered in a major international architectural competition.

The new Department of Finance on Merrion Row is one of a series of Irish projects by nine architects representing the country at the Venice Architecture Biennale in September. Byrne, famous for films such as The Usual Suspects and Enemy Of The State, was so enraged by the structure that he phoned the architects to complain.

7-9 Merrion Square & The Billets, Dublin, by Grafton Architects

The six-storey Finance office has already won the prestigious assessor’s award at the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (previously on Bustler). Arts Minister Martin Cullen said Ireland was influencing architectural design across the world, adding: “I welcome the fact that an international audience will experience Ireland and some of our leading creative talents through this exhibition.”