Dublin City Council's planners decided to grant permission for the redevelopment of the Clarence Hotel despite being advised that it would "dominate all views of the city quays, overwhelming the Four Courts and important views of City Hall".
City conservation architect Clare Hogan, in her report on the application to demolish all but the front façades of the hotel and adjoining listed buildings, also said it would be a "direct repudiation" of city council planning policy to permit it.
The €150 million plan, drawn up by international architects Foster + Partners, would retain the quayfront façades on Wellington Quay to provide 114 large bedrooms and 28 suites, oversailed by an elliptical flying saucer-like structure at roof level.
Describing such façadism as a "meaningless, discredited architectural device", Ms Hogan said: "Allowing this approach to Dublin where historic buildings retain their integrity and interest is reminiscent of the climate of 1960s speculative development.
"Dublin's beauty as a capital and its claim to being one of the greatest of surviving Georgian cities depends on its whole fabric of streetscapes rather than a collection of resounding buildings - the quiet ease of understatement, something rarely found in Europe.
"From the 18th century onwards, artists and engravers have left many celebrated views and vistas of the city from scenic viewing points along the Liffey, featuring landmark buildings. The proposed building would have a significant detrimental impact on these views."
Under the 2000 Planning Act, Ms Hogan noted that a planning authority "shall not grant permission for the demolition of a protected structure . . . save in exceptional circumstances" - such as if the structure was dangerous.
But the Clarence Hotel Partnership, a joint venture by developer Paddy McKillen and U2 band members Bono and the Edge, had been "unable to provide exceptional circumstances as required . . . to allow demolition of protected structures", she said.
"The applicants have neglected routine maintenance and allowed the external façades to deteriorate into a superficially scruffy condition, but otherwise the buildings are in good structural condition," Ms Hogan said, recommending against granting permission. She also noted that the protected structures on the site - the Clarence Hotel, the adjoining Dollard printing works and four Georgian buildings - had all been rated as regionally important "and the lesser ratings provided by the applicant are inaccurate and misleading".
A copy of Ms Hogan's report has been submitted by An Taisce to An Bord Pleanála as part of its appeal against the council's decision to approve the scheme. Separate appeals have been made by others, including former An Taisce chairman Michael Smith.
In its appeal, An Taisce said that neither the council planner's report on the application nor its decision "properly addresses the legal requirement to prove 'exceptional circumstances' in granting permission for demolition of protected structures".
An Taisce's Kevin Duff said project architects Foster + Partners "make much of comparison with European city hotels such as the Ritz in Paris" but the "best-known and most prestigious" hotels in Europe are older converted historic buildings.
"This proposal constitutes the largest proposal for demolition of protected structures in a single scheme in Ireland since the current architectural heritage legislation came into place with the implementation of the 1999 Planning Act," Mr Duff said.
