The design and construction of the Central Bank building were very unique, being the only suspended structure in Ireland, and one of perhaps 20 in the world.
The building is based around two central concrete cores, with floorspace suspended around them by twelve sets of external supports.
During construction, the concrete cores were built first, and each floor was built at ground level and then raised into place.
The rooftop supports were originally exposed on the roof, giving the building an even more distinctive profile, but were later contained in copper cladding due to issues with rainwater.

The building is in the Brutalist style and was criticized when constructed.
In 2017, the Irish Times reported retrospectively:
In September 1972 The Irish Times carried an extract from the English magazine Architects Journal, which published a photograph of a model of the proposed bank (which at that time had not been made available in Ireland).
The journal described the proposed building as “an exercise in how to do the greatest urban damage with only eight stories”.
It berated the “aggressively distinct and monstrously oversized” development which it described as “brutalism gone mad”.

The building has since become better appreciated.
In the 2017 application for protected status (which was ultimately unsuccessful), Dublin Concillor Mannix Flynn summarized:
This iconic building and plaza has won the hearts of many Dubliners and deserves its position and place in the record of protected  structures.
It forms part of the legacy of the late architect Sam Stephenson who also designed the iconic Civic Offices.
We have a duty and a responsibility to modern architecture and here is a prime example and a well deserving one at that.
The design and construction of the Central Bank building were very unique, being the only suspended structure in Ireland, and one of perhaps 20 in the world. The building is based around two central concrete cores, with floorspace suspended around them by twelve sets of external supports. During construction, the concrete cores were built first, and each floor was built at ground level and then raised into place. The rooftop supports were originally exposed on the roof, giving the building an even more distinctive profile, but were later contained in copper cladding due to issues with rainwater.
The building is in the Brutalist style and was criticized when constructed. In 2017, the Irish Times reported retrospectively:
In September 1972 The Irish Times carried an extract from the English magazine Architects Journal, which published a photograph of a model of the proposed bank (which at that time had not been made available in Ireland). The journal described the proposed building as “an exercise in how to do the greatest urban damage with only eight stories”. It berated the “aggressively distinct and monstrously oversized” development which it described as “brutalism gone mad”.
The building has since become better appreciated. In the 2017 application for protected status (which was ultimately unsuccessful), Dublin Concillor Mannix Flynn summarized:
This iconic building and plaza has won the hearts of many Dubliners and deserves its position and place in the record of protected  structures. It forms part of the legacy of the late architect Sam Stephenson who also designed the iconic Civic Offices. We have a duty and a responsibility to modern architecture and here is a prime example and a well deserving one at that.
Central Plaza (Dublin)