1978 – O2 (Formerly Bord na Mona), Baggot Street, Dublin

Architect: Stephenson Gibney & Associates

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Designed as the headquarters of Bord Na Mona, and now the head office in Ireland of mobile operator O2. This is a good example of modern architecture in Dublin and has been commemorated on an Irish stamp in the 1980s. The work of Sam Stephenson, the building is unashamedly modern in what is still largely a Georgian streetscape.

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The building does not use up all the available site, leaving part of it as a small private garden. This is joined to the building a lean-to frame that carries climbing plans – softening the hardness of the granite and silvery glazing. Originally the stonework contained recessed signage for Bord Na Mona. A bronze sculpture of a man cutting turf in a traditional manner was mounted on one of the walls away from the street.