The Design Tower

Eight-storey former warehouse, built 1862, having eight-bay long sides and five-bay short sides, with advanced corner bays, having largely blank west elevation, multiple-bay stairs tower to south elevation, and segmental-headed recessed bays between second and fifth floors to other elevations and to corner bays. Now in use as studios. Flat roof behind polychrome brick eaves cornice, having corbelled cornice and cast-iron cresting to stairs tower. Rusticated limestone walls to front (south), east and north elevations, with dressed limestone or granite quoins over granite plinth with dressed granite stringcourses to first and fifth floors. Rubble limestone walls with granite stringcourses to west elevation. Pattress plates to stairs tower. Round-headed window openings to ground floor and to most openings of stairs tower, and segmental-headed elsewhere, with quoined brick reveals and voussoirs, granite sills and replacement timber casement or fixed-pane windows. Segmental and round-headed door openings with quoined brick reveals and timber doors, with double-height doorway to stairs tower.

A large and distinctively detailed former industrial building with granite, limestone and brick used to good effect in its design. It was designed by Alfred Derbyshire with engineering advice of Sir William Fairbairn for Bewley, Moss and Co. sugar refinery. It was enlarged in 1890 for use as a distillery. In 1978, the IDA bought the building, preserving and restoring it as the centrepiece of a new Enterprise Centre which continues today under the auspices of Trinity College. The restoration project was winner of a Europa Nostra award in 1983. It is one of a significant group of industrial buildings found on or around Grand Canal Dock.