Dublin-London is the world's second busiest air route. Short-haul flights are fuel-inefficient and may not be viable by 2030. Using oil-rig technology, build a bridge from Rosslare to Fishguard: high-speed trains travel Dublin-London in 2.5 hours and on to Paris. The power of this 'magnet' turns Dublin into an elastic, stretched city along the Irish Sea, instead of a blob spreading out over the midlands.

As a trade-dependent island, air travel has become a necessity for Ireland. The Dublin-London air route is the busiest in Europe and the second busiest in the world. We propose a bridge and high-speed rail connecting Ireland to Wales and, via London, continental Europe. The immense pull of this linear attractor would be such that the city would recreate itself around the link, bringing housing development and infrastructure together. By creating this bridge, Ireland would be putting in place a catalyst for the reconfiguration of urban sprawl and the formation of a stretched city, an ElastiCity.

Heneghan.peng.architects
Irish Architecture Foundation