A COMPETITION to design a studio for U2 in Dublin’s docklands has caused an international row after a British candidate claimed the band was showing favouritism.

More than 500 bids to design the building, likely to be Dublin’s highest, were received by the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA) by last Friday’s deadline. They are believed to include a proposal from Frank Gehry, one of the world’s best-known architects and the designer of the Bilbao Guggenheim museum.

An English architect has lodged a formal complaint with the DDDA, claiming that members of U2 recently visited Gehry’s studio in Santa Monica, California. The judging panel for the architectural competition includes Adam Clayton, a member of the band.

According to the rules of the competition, entrants are to be disqualified if a “participant discloses his or her identity or attempts to influence in any way the decision of the jury”.

The complainant said that contact between members of the band and a competitor, which he alleged included discussions about the project, left other entrants with only two options. “One is to boycott the event, something which people who have spent months on their designs will not do,” he said. “Or else create something that would exactly resemble a Frank Gehry building.”

A spokesman for U2 accepted that Bono and Gehry had a “long-standing friendship which predates the Dublin Docklands competition. Neither Bono or nor Edge has any involvement with the competition. Adam Clayton is due to be one of the panellists who will judge the anonymously submitted entries and I’m sure you can appreciate members of U2 operate as individuals”.

Organisers have attempted to play down the row. A spokesman for the DDDA said: “We have received a complaint and are having a look into it, but as the complaint is anonymous, the authority is not unduly concerned.”

A spokesman for Gehry confirmed that members of U2 have visited the architect’s studio several times over the last few years, including a few months ago. “We never once discussed the Dublin Docklands competition with any members and we are absolutely certain the outcome of the competition will not be influenced on our behalf,” he added.

Other participants are unhappy that the competition was not as widely advertised as before. One complained that it was not advertised on Death by Architecture, a leading website. “A number of my friends in America, who would have loved to have entered, were unaware until too late that the competition was being held,” said the entrant, who also had to remain anonymous or risk expulsion.

The number of submissions has outstripped expectations, however, and it is likely to take several months to judge. Among the 500 entries are several innovative designs including one in the shape of a large sail and another whose gentle sloping form resembles a wave.

There are also less professional entrants. One fan from Spain has entered a building in the shape of a harp, which has been described as “amateur in the extreme”.

Jennifer Boyer, an American architect based in Dublin, said the designs show the changes in architectural taste following the destruction of the twin towers. “There has been a huge rethink of the concept of tower building,” she said. “There has been a new thinking to get beyond sheer height which is evident in the designs both to replace the twin towers and here.”

U2 were initially dismayed at being forced by the DDDA to move out of their studio in a renovated warehouse on the campshire of Hanover Quay. The authority wants to develop the area as an open-space public amenity. After initial protests, the band agreed to move to a new building in docklands.

The new building will house a mix of commercial and residential property as well as the band’s recording studio. The multi-million euro project is due to be completed within three years.

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