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Seduction Junction
True vitality and fullness does not rest at extremes but exists while moving towards balance. Balance is an angel with a machine gun and a compassionate survivalist. Balance means combining the best of both sides. Balance means thinking of the large picture while skipping no small details.

While using the analogy of music, the social philosopher, Eric Hoffer comments on the potential beauty of using polarities to create this fullness. He says, "It is the stretched soul that makes music, and souls are stretched by the pull of opposites - opposite bents, tastes, yearnings, loyalties. Where there is no polarity - where energies flow smoothly in one direction - there will be much doing but no music. "

U2 is a band that for over twenty years has added richness and color to the world community while searching for creative, personal and social balance. We have followed them as they have grown from confused teenagers to men of strong convictions with worldwide artistic, political and humanitarian significance.

Combining the Landmark Tower in the new Dublin Docklands area with the U2 Studio creates stretched souls. It makes the redevelopment a symbol of strong convictions and a vision for the future. It announces that the redevelopment acknowledges the world community but is respectful of it's own traditions and culture.

The building itself represents opposing sides as a dynamic façade faces toward the sea a connection that has linked Dublin to the world while the more reserved façade looks toward the anchor that is Dublin. This dichotomy creates a balanced design that resolves to follow the rules set by the development authority, yet it does not conform to the preconceived. The building operates on a system of Seduction and Junction. This system occurs as displacements of both materials and program, which creates a vital tension in transitional moments. Items of intrigue (SEDUCTIONS) beckon the user to explore more. Particularly, the positioning of ramps creates movement to engage unlimited opportunities of unexpected events along the cause of predicted destiny. The system also uses the combination of light and transparency to present choices (JUNCTIONS) to the user. Choreographing varied allowances of light enriches the workday, while creating open views into previously segregated program elements. These elements create a sense of poetry in an environment that is in constant oscillation

In the book "Into the Heart" by Niall Stokes, U2 singer Bono discusses the importance of duality in pop music. About pop music, he notes, " . . . Whenever it's one thing or the other it's flat, but if it has two opposites ideas, pulling in different directions, it achieves a different kind of power."