Last week's decision by the Dublin Docklands Development Authority to ditch a design by Dublin-based firm Burden Craig Dunne Henry (BCDH) and replace it with a radically different building designed by the famous UK architect, Norman Foster, has caused huge dissent among Irish architects.

Now Gavin has added his voice to the campaign against the new design. The BCDH proposal had taken "maximum advantage of its specific location as well as the views along the river Liffey", the celebrity gardener told the that 'variants' as radical as those of Geranger and Treasury would not be looked on favourably.

Questions are also being raised about U2's involvement in the project. Up until the end of last year, the band's commitment to the BCDH design appeared to be firm . . .

U2 bassist Adam Clayton was one of the jurors involved in selecting that design in 2003.

When it emerged the band would be part of a competing development team, the other consortia were given assurances that U2's partnership with Geranger would not give it any particular advantage.

However, the DDDA seems to have done an about-turn on this position. When the winning Foster/Geranger/U2 design was revealed last week, the accompanying image showed that it bore no resemblance whatsoever to the original BCDH proposal.