Spire of Dublin, Dublin

The Spire of Dublin is the gleaming, pin-shaped monument rising from O’Connell Street. Ian Ritchie designed it, and its stainless-steel form reaches 120 metres, making it an unmistakable landmark in the street. The monument occupies the site where Nelson’s Pillar once stood; before that, the location held a statue of William Blakeney.

Its story is tied to a major renewal of O’Connell Street and to Ireland’s hopes around the new millennium. The design emerged from an international competition, but a legal challenge delayed completion beyond the year 2000. Construction began with the installation of a section on 18 December 2002, and the sculpture was completed on 21 January 2003.

Look closely at the lower part: its surface carries a pattern combining the structure of a rock sample taken from this ground with the form of a DNA helix. The monument is built from eight hollow stainless-steel sections. At dusk, light shines through 11,884 tiny openings in the upper 10 metres, giving the narrow tip its unmistakable glow. Inside the structure, tuned dampers help counter movement caused by wind.