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@phatman wrote:
The Patrick Street facade is being retained, predictably, it being the original frontage. I do consider it quite bland, but appreciate its significance and it does seem to fit in with the adjoining buildings. As for the new build, a render of the rear end facing Emmet Square was posted way back on the LADSOCL thread, but I don’t have the energy to go trawling through it right now to find it, but I can tell you it was not the most inspiring piece of architecture I have seen, but I’ll reserve judgement for the time being. Design is by Bertie Pope & Associates, but I don’t think there’s anything on their website in the way of images.
I think the Dunnes’ building is composed of 4 separate buildings, which have been merged into one. The two centre facades are actually quite attractive (IMO), the other two are nothing special. I think having all four painted the same colour doesn’t really suit, but given how they’re all the one building now it’s likely that’s how they’ll remain.
Out of curiousity, does anyone know if they’re any plans to use (or even widen) the streets/alleys on either side of Dunnes?
@phatman wrote:
Dunnes have closed, and several buildings at the rear have already been demolished, so I guess it has started!
I wasn’t aware this was moving on so quickly! (Unusual for Cork…)
Have images of the development been posted? One of the facades at the front of the building is quite nice, it’d be a shame if it were knocked. 🙁
@yotty wrote:
As a house owner overlooking eglington street tower i can only hope to see more of these developments transforming the urban cork skyline.Bring on manhatton?????
I left my sarcasmometer at home, so I don’t know if you’re serious or not! 😉 But, as someone buying an apartment which will be ..err… “underlooking” The Elysian, I think it’s a fine building – though I still haven’t seen any views of the North/river elevation.
What I’d be less keen on is the 7/8 storey monolith beneath the tower. I thought the compelling argument for taller buildings is building up is better than building out – here it seems to be building up AND out.
@darkman wrote:
BTW was this building actually planned to be higher at any stage?I agree it looks a bit bulky which will take away a bit from the height asspect. Though hard to say until its finished.
(Apologies for resurrecting another old thread, but..) I might be wrong, but I was under the impression the top 2 floors were some manner of penthouse, in which case the elevator shaft might not go to the top floor? I.e. it might be a bit taller than the elevator shaft might indicate.
I haven’t seen much here about the Beasley St. development – can I assume from the amount of work going on there that the proposed hotel received planning and is already well underway?
@kite wrote:
A week on from the demolition of the NBA flats in Togher Cork City Manager Joe Gavin is close to securing a deal with Brideview developments to purchase an entire estate for social and affordable housing.
The 72 unit estate is located on land at Palmgrove, Togher Road.
Brideview had bought the site with planning and had intended building a private estate on site.Ok, I’ll ask the obvious question. Why is the estate being bought now, off a third party, rather than buy at the time Brideview bought the site?
@Pug wrote:
former mcsweeneys yard in docklands refused planning for 5 storey building for 31 apts – reasons for refusal were height, massing, effect on views, lack of amenity space but to be fair the planners and Docklands Directorate mentioned that they had no objection to residential going in there but the design could be better.
Its good that a lot of attention is being paid to getting the designs in the area right from day one, i dont know the circumstances but a really positive step to kicking off the docklands would be for planners and docklands directorate to sit down in preplanning with the developer and architect, thrash out an agreement on planning and design and fasttrack the plan then as a show of encouragement to kick off the area
It’s great to hear they’re focusing on quality design; though I’m a little surprised to hear that the height (5 stories) was an issue. I don’t know the exact location of the site in question, but had thought the Docklands was somewhat of a ‘designated area’ for taller buildings. Is it a problem with the height combined with the massing of the building?
@phatman wrote:
Maybe not so unlikely. Did any of ye not hear of a rumoured €100 million development plan? It made its way to the front page of the echo, which I admit is hardly the most reliable or accurate of sources. Haven’t heard anything in a while though…
I’ve heard a 50K all seater might be planned/hoped for alright, but I can’t imagine it’ll happen any time soon. And if it does, I can’t imagine it being anything other than GAA sports only.
Which is a real pity, we just don’t have the population here for each sporting organisation to go its own way, how great it would be to have one large, modern stadium (like the municipal stadia in France).
There were myriad rumours and gossip a while back about the GAA wanting to build a hotel onto the new ground too, with land being needed from the showgrounds, and the controversy that entailed.
@Pug wrote:
Will say it again but Pairc Ui Chaoimh needs to be razed to the ground and a 50,000 seater stadium for matches across all sports and concerts, add in the conference center and it would be superb
So, so unlikely. But how good would that be. A Munster/Cork/Cork City game in the stadium, then make your slow way back into town along the river, stopping at every bar on the Kennedy’s Quay boardwalk on the way. :p
@goldiefish wrote:
Another way of saying that would be the closer to the truth, “city centre is dead”. Nobody is going to the city centre any more, at least not in the same numbers as five or ten years ago. The scene before christmas made this more obvious. No traffic problems different to any normal shopping day. Oliver plunkett st as it stands is killing business. Shops can only accept deliveries before 11am. Loading bays in abundance along the street remain empty after that. The deliveries who arrive after 11am are forced to park on Patrick st, near Princes st, and usually encroach on the Taxi rank there.
Couldn’t disagree with you more. I (as someone who lives in the city centre, and has done for most of the last 10 years) think there’s a buzz about the city that’s been absent for as long as I can remember, and I’m not just talking about the recent Christmas rush.
Add in the new shopping developments (Academy St. and Cornmarket St being the most immediate); and the hundreds of new apartments in the pipeline for the city centre (again, notably the two developments above, and Eglington St.) means there will be a lot of extra shopping options, and a lot of extra shoppers for whom traffic/parking isn’t an issue in town.
@mickeydocs wrote:
I’ve been in Cork for the past few days visiting family and I must say I’ve been very impressed by the way the city is starting to take shape… lots of dynamism and vitality, not to mention a massive improvement in the level of litter in the city.
Looks like 2007 will be a very busy year with Water Street, Academy Street, Clontarf Street, Eglinton Rd, Cornmarket Street, Blackpool (Suzies Field/WaterCourse Road) and many other very large construction projects in full swing. And of course, great to see some movement in the Docklands.
Best of luck to all, and lets hope Lexington makes a return to keep us all informed.
Interesting article on Horgan’s Quay… council may not be happy with the approach (probably very old news but what the hell)…
http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/2006/12/16/story20930.aspHear hear! And I’d like to add – the pedestrianisation of Oliver Plunkett St. by day has to be one of the best moves in many a year; there’s a great buzz along the city now, taking some of the pressure off Patrick St.
I’d love to see what the Water St. development will look like, particularly from the city side; and how much impact the tower will have.
To be honest, once it (and presumably, other towers in the South Docklands area) go up, I think they’ll provide a nice backdrop to City Hall.
@d_d_dallas wrote:
This tower is a design feature of the overall development and not a solution to sprawl. The tower could’ve been moved to the South Eastern corner of the site which would have greatly reduced the impact on the up-til-now unspoiled vista of City Hall. Only downside, no “gateway” view coming in the southlink.
If I’m not mistaken, you can only see the tower for the last couple of hundred metres of the link anyway, it’s not like you can see it ahead all the way in.
@Pug wrote:
thats when the plans are made public, i suspect its already decided so they might be arguing over the last details – CCC really dont have a come back with eglinton st zooming up at a rate of knots
Personally, I don’t see the connection; they are two different designs in two different locations; there’s no reason the acceptance of one should affect the other.
To be honest, I’m no fan of the Water Street development. It seems to me it’ll block one of the best views in Cork city (looking from the Custom House Quay/City Hall/South Docklands up towards the ‘Northern Ridge”; and – in its original form at least – was very repetitive by nature. The Eglington St. development though I’m all in favour of – the ‘core’ is now already visible from as far away as the South Gate bridge!
@Pug wrote:
ABP have pushed the decision date out to 24 November apparently. Long time since the planning was lodged on 17 May 05. Personally I think ABP are trying to withdraw gracefully now, I cant see how they have a leg to stand on re objections given O’ FLynns 17 storey tower going up right across the river.
Personally, I wouldn’t be surprised if South Docklands received a much easier passage though planning than those on the North bank. Although I haven’t seen any rendered images, but I can’t imagine the Water St. development is going to do much for the view of the attractive “Northern Ridge” (as lexington put it) from the South Mall/city hall/South Docklands area.
@corcaighboy wrote:
Some recent photos of that Beasley Street development….site demoltion was ongoing and the lads were busy knocking down these two facades…I particularly liked the window detail on one of the buildings.
Not sure if all the facades were removed however as I left Cork the day after I took the photos. Am sure Lex posted images earlier in this thread of the proposed boutique hotel that will be going up in its place.It’s a real shame the way they’ve been “allowed” to crumble. It’s a waste of time having a Protected Structure policy if developers let them fall to the ground without recrimination.
Some great ideas about city attractions there.
One thing I’d love to see here – every Saturday in Recoleta (Buenos Aires) the local artists, crafts-people put up stalls around the paths of the local park. There was some great stuff there, rugs, mats, pictures, sculptures, musical instruments, mates (a traditional kind of tea cup). So you could wander around the paths to do some buying or just browse, or hang around the green areas where there were entertainers – comedy acts with family participation, capoeira etc.
A corner of Fitzgerald park would be ideal for such a regular event. Surely there would be a lot of interest from local artists. (Just as long as they’re not just hawking plastic shamrocks and “Kiss me, I’m Irish” t-shirts!)
Great info about the docklands lexington, thanks.
That said, given the way most upcoming developments are being eviscerated in transit through planning, are we going to see a more lenient/adventurous approach for the South Docklands? I’d much prefer to see a variation in height too, rather than a cluster of 6-10 story cuboid blocks. A little variety in materials used wouldn’t go far astray either.
Incidentally, is the riverside along the docks currently private property? I’d love to go for a stroll down there to the Marina walk, just to take a look close up, but I don’t know if it’s off limits. (And no smart comments about going for a stroll down the docks either lads! 😉 )
@Lincoln wrote:
Mill on Fr Matthew Quay development: “Jacobs “Mill
what a horror show-! surely this does not conform to the conditions of planning! I believe that Murray O Laoire Architects who prepared the planning permission for the mill have had no involvement in the construction of the hotel buildng and that there is effectively no professional guidance on the project other than the structural engineer! this is like the bad ol’ days when the architect was regarded as only good enough to get the planning and then is not required when you have to build it .
They should be injuncted and forced to build as per the planning conditions – this building is too important and prominent to let a developer get away with such shoddy treatment of our city fabric.
Incidentally, what are the plans for the open section in the front wall? I assume it’s for a glass frontage, but it would be pretty horrible if it ended up being PVC bordered glass panes.
