"riverrun, past Eve and Adam's, from swerve of shore to bend of bay, brings us to a commodius vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs."

Thus starts James Joyce's Finnegans Wake, a book structured as a loop- a metaphor for the cycles of nature, for creation and rebirth, and for the endless flow of the River Liffey.

This building also derives its structure from a loop, which carves through a brick tower and provides a 'street' for both the residents and the public. The street unifies all the functions within the building, from the public terraces to the commercial offices, from the nightclub to the front gardens, from your apartment to U2's studios. It provides circulation, social interaction, gardens, natural lighting and a high spatial quality. The massive form of the tower has the physical presence of a city landmark, while the 'street' that wraps itself around it gives it a human scale.

At the level of the campshires, the 'street' drops to the ground, collecting people and dispersing them throughout the building. On reaching its highest point, at the new studios for U2, the street forms a viewing platform offering panoramic views of the city.

The tower consists mainly of apartments, with some small-scale commercial and living/working units. The apartment typologies are varied so that seniors and commercial units have access directly from the 'street' level whereas other apartments are either above or below the 'street' level.

The U2 studios are located on the top three levels, exiting the lift on the viewing platform level, with the studios below, and recreation and roof terrace above.

Public facilities such as the bar, café, restaurant and night club are gathered in the platform element of the building, which is conceived as a new landscape element which forms a south facing roof terrace accessible from the campshires.