lexington
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Sorry –
I know there are images out there – but I just don’t have any myself at the moment. It’s a pretty intensive project – but everytime I see such construction ploughing through our green countryside – I keep wondering ‘is this really the way to go?’ Subservants to the car. If only they’d spend the same sort of money on a first-rate public transport rail system or something – the car (at least in its current form) can’t be the way to go. I just keep thinking, what a waste of money. Ramble over –
anyway, in the absence of images, the link below may be of SOME use to you.
Apologises again,
Lex
@corcaighboy wrote:
great to have you back Lex. Seriously, this is a great site and thanks to you, RM, and all the regular posters, and to Paul at HQ. A great resource for info from afar. Just to let you know that it is certainly appreciated on my side of the pond.
Interestingly, was looking at Cork and Dublin on Google Earth…seems like they have the major cities covered (partially at least). Well worth checking out if you guys get the chance.Thanks corcaighboy – that really does mean a lot, and I’m sure all those who so very importantly contribute to this thread and to the headhonchos that keep this site so valuably alive are always pleased and appreciative to hear such words! 🙂
I agree, the Google Earth resource is a most interesting resource – it may be a little out of date, but it certainly is addictive and wonderful to behold.
The next few weeks and months look set to bring some very interesting developments and additions to the Cork architectural scene so I’m looking forward very much to seeing them evolve. Academy Street isn’t too far away with a lodgement believed to be set for late September/early October – plus plans to link the retail centres at Paul Street and Cornmarket Street look set to again be on the cards. You may remember a few months back I indicated that Paul Street SC was in line for a complete overhaul – well, from what I’ve heard since I returned, that indeed looks set to be true. As far as I know, and I am open to correction on this, 2008 looks set to be the completion date for the new linked and refurbished complexes in their entirety for Cornmarket, Paul and Academy Streets.
Parnell Place Hotel Plan🙂 Also, I was delighted to hear that Monaghan-based Pitwood Ltd have lodged (at long last) their Further Information (Revised Plans) for the almost famous site at 17/18 Parnell Place and Beasley Street. The site, owned by Corbett Bros., saw plans lodged last December for a 5-storey, 121-bedroom hotel with underground car-park and basement spa. The plans for the luxury hotel saw Further Information requested of them last February by CCC – seeking an address on issues including those of height at the southern elevation and its impact on 93 South Mall (a PS). This site has been subject to numerous planning applications and left vacant for years – the big thing about it are the facades at Parnell Place (both PS) at No.17/18. An image is linked below and compliments of d_d_dallas – the site is to the rear and the development will tastefully incorporate these facades (after they receive badly needed treatment). I haven’t seen the Significant Further Information yet, as I was away, but I felt the original plan was good and hopefully the impact on 93 South Mall has been successfully addressed. Further Info was received on the 20th of July 2005 and has a due date set for the 16th of August 2005. Now, hopefully, long overdue work can begin on refurbishing the aforementioned facades. Niall Fitzsimons & Co. are the Consulting Engineers on the project.
Hello,
and what beautifully depressing weather to return to. Ah well, home sweet home – albeit a very wet one. At least now I look like a lobster on a skewer. 😀
Anyway,
I hear interesting news came of Academy Street, Paul Street and Cornmarket Street while I was away. Must look up on that. Hope you’re all well.
Also, I’ve taken on board what many of you have said, and I am looking into improving image qualities soon – so that blurry type images can be improved on, but it may be a few weeks away yet – but progress should be on the way.
:p Indeed, the aforementioned ‘skating rink’ planned for the North Main Street S.C., which saw OCP set to lodge an application, is intended for use as a 2000sq ft, synthetic ice-rink! Bill Cremin and a partner are hoping to bring the SKIDZ ice-rink to Cork in an innovative venture destined for the ‘Tall Order’ restaurant on the 1st floor of the S.C. The remaining restaurant will provide an associated theme dining ‘experience.’
You can thank the press for that info because to be honest, I didn’t know anymore beyond what was on the intended application for this one. Thanks!
Anyway, enjoy the weather – I’m off for a while so take care all!Following UL’s recent adventure into the provision of a new School of Architecture, it would seem that UCC and CIT are assessing the feasibility of such a school for Cork. 4 sites are currently being evaluated, one near the grounds of CIT and UCC’s Business Technology Hub near Curraheen, a further Northside site and 2 other locations. More details on that when/if I hear them.
🙂 Riga Limited, the O’Callaghan Properties SPV, has lodged plans for a new pedestrian and vehicular bridge spanning between its Jurys Hotel redevelopment site and the Western Road. Under condition by ABP regarding the redevelopment, OCP were requested to re-apply for permission regarding the bridge connection. A decision date is set for September the 8th 2005. The bridge is designed by Henry J. Lyons & Partners. Although construction is permitted, no persons occupying the apartment elements of the redevelopment will be permitted to habitat the new units until the bridge is complete. OCP plan to have the bridge up and ready well in advance of the Phase 1 completion.
🙂 Lyonshall Ltd (Kieran Coughlan and Claire Riordan) have been granted permission to develop an 80,000sq ft (approx) 3 to 4-storey mixed use building designed by O’Mahony Pike Architects as part of the Ursuline Convent redevelopment. The 1st Phase of the 500 residential unit development is set to begin in co-operation with Pierse Construction in the near future. The permitted building will provide a new discount retail store, library, 8 office units, basement car-park and 3 additional retail units.It’s amazing how, for all the chat about the likes of Dundrum, Liffey Valley and the like, little mention has been afforded St. Stephen’s Green SC. I remember the huge hoohaw that ensued on this complex’s opening, and visiting the centre was sort of like a treat. I have always believed that the design detail (interior and exterior) for this shopping centre always seemed so much more considered given the era of its birth. Blanchardstown and Liffey Valley always seemed to me like oversized glutonous bricks. Granted, the Grafton Street elevation’s facade seems to have suffered over the years because of its detail, but much of the interior has been restored and/or refurbished. The new Food Court (Kylemore) on the upper levels, I think is a vast improvement. Also, despite the onslaught of all these new suburban centres, it seems as though St. Stephen’s Green has help up very well. At least, from my last trip to the centre, the place seemed to be brimming and had maintained a general good mix and standard of tenants – which make for a far more interesting wander than say Jervis SC.
Any opinions?
🙂 Okay I know this is a little off the canter, but it’s nice to see O’Callaghan Properties are thinking outside the box. They are shortly applying for permission to change use, partly, of the ‘Tall Order’ restaurant which consumes a vast majority of the upper floor at their North Main Street Shopping Centre, for use as a skating rink! Whether that’s ice, skateboarding or a hark back to those classic days of 1970s roller-discos, I don’t yet know – but it should make for an interesting addition. At least their thinking beyond the standard residential, retail or office box – there’s a whole other market out there that seems completely untouched, and its not associated with the aforementioned uses. OCP seem to be, with this plan, to be tapping into a shrapnel of this market.
Looks like I had better raid that dusty old cupboard for my old skates! – and look a right fool when I’m the oldest person there and everyone else has a skateboard. :p
A large residential development site near Curraheen Greyhound Stadium at Riversdale in Bishopstown is believed to have been sold for a figure in excess of 11m euros to Declan O’Mahony’s BrideView Developments. The 6-acre site, abutting the new Ballincollig By-Pass, had been guiding at a figure of around 10m euros through auctioneers Irish & European. The site comes with full planning permission (attained by former owner Jerimiah Lynch) for a high-density residential scheme of 123 units, creche and community centre designed by Murray O’Laoire Architects.
“The accommodation is comprised of dual aspect apartments, own door access duplex units and ‘empty nester’ units, designed to appeal to persons downsizing from larger dwellings in the area,” according to MOLA. “The proposed development will articulate the transition in scale from the domestic scale of the suburban housing to the grand scale of the new Bypass. The design will form a landmark when viewed from the roadway, denoting the western extent of the greater Cork conurbation. Buildings are planned around the perimeter of the site, enclosing a parkland type interior which terminates in a boardwalk running parallel to the Twopot River.”
I’ll try and get some better images sometime in the future so that the design can be assessed in better detail.
@securityman wrote:
Does anyone know where Rockfell Investments are based as I cannot seem to find a number for them in connection with the guy building.
Did you see that Tom McCarthy has got the go ahead for a major development in Macroom does anyone know who is going to build it.
Rockfell Investments,
c/o Munster Joinery,
Lacka Cross,
Ballydesmond,
CorkAs far as I know, and I’m open for correction on this, so feel free – but Munster Joinery’s construction (Darragh Dubh – is it?) element are constructing the project themselves…anyone???
bunch – yes the image is taken from an eastern perspective looking west. The bus station is right and No.6 Lapps Quay is to the left.I’ll do my best to get more images in the future – the project is now in Further Information.
sw101 – do you have an images you could share of the ‘Gallery’ you design which helms some resemblance to the DAT Partnerships building? :confused: 😮@jimg wrote:
Yeah, I like the way the river is treated in Frankfurt too but it feels like the river is on the periphery of the city which contrasts with the relationship between the Liffey and Dublin – it’s the central artuary of the city.
Agreed, Frankfurt seems very removed from the Main. Indeed the city uses its river very actively, perhaps more-so than Dublin – it offers extensive restaurant-ferry facilities, walkways, waterside parks etc – but it never feels like an active particpant in the city’s day to day life. The city seems unbalanced in favour of the Northern Bank.
The Liffey is very much at the heart of Dublin, though its usage seems less extensive, its presence is undeniable. The development of the city over the centuries has given a good sense of balance and allowed for a rich architectural tapestry to evolve on both banks.
@Graham Hickey wrote:
Yes, indeed might I respectfully ask in the earlier context of improving on LATSOCL if it is possible to post better resolution images here that those often going up. Considering it is such an image-rich thread, and effort and time is already put into scanning images, it’s not much more difficult to get a better res. Or invest in a better scanner, they’re only 50 quid in Aldi you know!
More often than not it is more irritating to have a poor quality image than no image at all. It’d improve the thread no end to have higher quality images.
Thanks.Oh go on then, here’s a smilie 🙂
Point accepted. I genuinely am looking into improving their quality – for a long time I couldn’t get the images up at all or at least compressed to a capable size, so the next stage is adjusting clarity. I agree that it will form an important part of improving the quality of this thread. There’s nothing worse than trying to assess a piece of architecture and not being able to view it clearly.
😎 You may remember sometime ago I noted that Killarney-based Oyster Developments were pushing further into the Cork market, and that they were in preplanning for another large-scale development. Well, again using Sabine Wittman’s Dungarvan-based The e-Project Architects, Oyster Developments look set to lodge an application for a 7-storey office development along Deane Street, directly across the road from the landmark 9-storey office development in planning by DAT Partnerships, and designed by Coughlan de Keyser. The site borders the rear of the newly refurbished Bus Station at Anderson’s Quay, and adjoins No.8 Parnell Place, a protected structure.
The office development will stem to a height equal to nearby No.6 Lapps Quay, but will not be higher than CentrePoint, the DAT Partnerships building.
It is building will house office space over retail facilities. I will have images soon (unfortunately I didn’t receive them sooner, but I think that’s on account of my opinions expressed regarding The e-Project’s design for the Capitol Cineplex redevelopment – oops! :rolleyes: – by way of interest, the Further Information requested on the Capitol redevelopment is expected to be lodged within the next month).
Below are some site images, and an image of the DAT Partnerships building across the road from the Oyster Developments proposal. I have not yet seen the application design for the Oyster project, but I should hope, at the very very least, it is of or above the standards set by CentrePoint and other nearby projects.
No.8 Parnell Place – I have some concerns at how the development will dominate this important protected structure, but I will wait until I see the final design, who knows, I may be surprised.
1st Image shows perspective from Bus Station – looking West to East toward City Quarter (seen in background) 2nd Image – shows relationship of the site (right) to No.6 Lapps Quay in background, with CentrePoint (9-storey DAT Partnerships building) site seen to the left (with billboards).The application will request permission to demolish the structures to the rear of No.8 Parnell Place, among which includes a pleasant brick former-bakery chimney. Although I welcome the site’s redevelopment, the design will have to be something special to add rather than detract from this sensitive site. We’ll wait and see.
The innovative CentrePoint, 9-storey office development by DAT Partnerships. To give you some perspective, this image is shows the western elevation, with No.6 Lapps Quay to the left (south), the Bus Station to the right (north) and Oyster Developments proposal to the west (behind the CentrePoint building). It will be important for the Oyster proposal not to detract from this new building either.😎 Howard Holdings (Ellesmere Properties) have been greenlit by CCC to develop the former TCH lands at Lavitts Quay to the west and rear of No.16 Lavitts Quay. The protected structure at No.16 (which still possesses a run-down but remarkably intricate interior detail) will be integrated into the new development with ground-floor cafe usage and upper floor office usage. The revised design for the 7-storey hotel proposed 114 bedrooms (as oppose to the 125 in the original submission), however some of these units have since be conditioned. Although Comfort Inn stated that 114 represented the minimum number of rooms necessary to allow hotel viability, it yet remains to be seen whether they will settle for the conditions or seek appeal. The hotel will also allow for retail space and a basement parking facility. The development will provide a degree of continuity to the quayside, along with 21 Lavitts Quay and a redeveloped Cork Opera House (in the works). R. Arthur’s corner premises on Half Moon Street and Lavitts Quay, may be subject to sale in the coming months (as rumours have it). More details later.
Devin – if you read my earlier posts, I think you should be able to determine my feelings on the design of this development. The only reasons I posted the above images of the various developments proposed for this site was to allow for those interested to note the other options that had existed, as a matter of record. I don’t believe I express one opinion over the other on that post – rather just a summary of the alterations made. Howard Holdings have produced better material than this before and so have RORSA and I really think much more could have been achieved.– also just as a matter of clarity, so that no confusion is created between the subject buildings, OCP’s HQ building is 21 Lavitts Quay, with its former HQ facade incorporated into the new building. No.16 Lavitts Quay is the PS which is part and to be integrated into the Howard Holdings development. Thanks for the image Devin, it gives another interesting perspective on the site as is and its relationship to 21. However, also consider the quayside prior to 21’s development – if you have any comparitive images of that it may be interesting to assess. Also, 21 should not be viewed as a stand-alone project, but rather as part of a quayside masterplan which includes the Opera House, No.16 and the Coal Quay buildings to the west. Thats not a justification or anything, but rather an alternative perspective. 🙂
Sherry Fitzgerald will be handling residential sales on Eglinton Street.
Agreed about the Victoria Cross apartments.
Just for your own interest – here are a selection of images on the various projects proposed for the 16 Lavitts Quay site over the years. All designed by RORSA.
The original proposal of new Irish Examiner/Evening Echo HQ – applied for back in late 2001.
After the land swap deal with Howard Holdings (under the SPV Ellesmere Properties) the developers retained RORSA and designed this 7-storey 125-bedroom hotel for the Comfort Inn brand.
CCC Planning Dept. sought Significant Further Information on the project following reservations concerning the projects design, layout and height. In June, RORSA submitted revised plans which featured a reduction in height, bedroom numbers, better site utilisation, revised basement features and revised aesthetics.The decision is due tomorrow. I had expected news tonight, but unfortunately it will have to wait until tomorrow morning.
Sincere apologises related to the scan qualities.
@lisam wrote:
I have heard from a good source that Top Car are planning to relocate.
It was only March 1st this year (2005) that Top Car received permission to vertically extend their showroom, with Colman Cotter Consulting Engineers working on the project. I had heard they were looking at one of the Motor Mall locations (at either EastGate or John Cleary Developments’ project at Mahon Point) but nothing in stone. The Victoria Cross site would certainly be a highly valuable land deal for them should they decide to relocate. No doubt a number of offers would leap at the opportunity.
Also I am awaiting details on Howard Holdings’ plans for Lavitts Quay, as posted above – Michael Lynch is the planner. It will be most interesting to see how this one fairs – the design is controversial to say the least. But not controversial good in my books. 🙁There is no mention from what I can see – but maybe the powers that be have heard different. I seems as though it was a matter of ‘stain and walk-away’. An apology would compromise their reputation in terms of reporting. My problem is, that they have compromised the reputation of this website and that irritates me something un-natural. I would have thought, given the many inaccuracies and mistruths that they solicited, at the very least a printed apology would have been in order. But they seem to be ignoring it.
What bugs me is that they seem to think they have won a victory over the website. I think I set up the CAD thread to allow some form of discussion continue regarding Cork while the powers that be deliberated and while a chance was enabled to go through the thread to see if there was any truth in the article – but they have since proven to be false and misleading. The article which followed in the IE claiming that Archiseek.com had ‘pulled’ the thread in response to their article bugged me – that too was misleading. I would love to re-continue the LADSOCL thread if only to show that they were wrong and that their claims were hollow. New visitors to the site would be able to see that the IE reports were false when viewing the thread still active for themselves – but it has to be one or the other I suppose. Hmmm.
Is Archiseek.com actively seeking an apology themselves might I ask, or is consideration being given to just rising above it and getting on with things? Just curious.
I agree Devin that the facades at 17 & 18 Parnell Place have been shamefully neglected. A hotel is currently proposed for the vacant site to the rear. In all fairness, the proposal is most sympathetic to the facades, revamping and incorporating them into the new structure – with a plesant slated roof spanning both structures. The application is currently in Further Information – but I should hope that it is successful as I look forward to the day when these beautiful structures are returned to their former glory. The central arched window of No.17 can be visualized in my head illuminated butter yellow from a internal light source, revitalising and reinstating a level of window detail that is long lost on so many modern projects. The facades would make a fine frontage. My worry is, and anyone who recently has seen these facades may also agree, is that the current state of the structures is such that one wonders whether or not they will survive the period the hotel application seems to be taking through planning!!! Their loss would be unforgiveable.
As for Camden Quay, those buildings were purchased by OSB Group, and have been retained and will be refurbished as part of the works on the Camden Court project to their rear. One of the buildings currently homes offices of James Leahy & Associates, the architects responsible for Camden Court’s interesting design. Noteworthy also is the characteristic olde-worlde Maud Whelan’s Pub (north along John Redmond Street, beside these buildings) which is also being refurbished and given a new lease of life as we speak. If anyone has images of that building, it would be nice to see it posted.@Radioactiveman wrote:
A decision is due this Wednesday on Ellesmere Properties Ltd. ‘s seven storey Hotel, retail unit, basement carpark and Coffee shop at Lavitts Quay and Half Moon Street (Lex has previously posted images of same).
If i remember correctly, the general opinion on this site was that the architectural merit of the building fell far short of that required for this prestigous location adjacent to Cork Opera House.
Anybody got any ideas how CCC are leaning with this one? Further info. was submitted in mid-June.Indeed the decision is due tomorrow. Only one objection was submitted to the Significant Further Information submitted – which effectively redesigned the hotel building, with a minor height reduction (over 1m), room numbers reduction (125 to 114) and facade alterations. It has to be said that the original propopsal was not up to much – the new design is an improvement somewhat. The architect is Geoff Butler of Reddy O’Riordan Staehli Architects and developers are Howard Holdings. An image is posted below and I will have some information on its decision tomorrow evening.
Though the revised design incorporates a number of improvements, including better use of the site shape and better incorporation and relation of the new project to No.16 Lavitts Quay (a PS) – I wonder if this is really the best design that RORSA could have come up with for the 20m euro project which is set to house the Comfort Inn brand. Perhaps its just me – maybe its a sort of New York-esque ‘Art Deco’ style I’m just not use to :confused: . Its not a bad project, the usage is most welcome, but it just doesn’t seem up to scratch in comparison to the likes of 21 Lavitts Quay, recently complete next-door to the west. However, the variety of styles may indeed enhance the quayside over-all in the future. It’s just that in such a delicate location, a new development should first and foremost add to an area – this building, I believe, adds nothing.
