View Cork’s Past through the Prism of the Present?
In Cork’s architecture, the glass of skyscrapers poke through the cracks of our historic facade, and the old melts into the new, to create this timeless city. Just a walk down to the shops or through our central parks can take us strolling back through the years. From the shell of the past the present pokes its head out - the glass of modernity reflecting the city’s limestone walls and sandstone bricks of white and red.
Once, Cork was an island surrounded by two channels of the River Lee and expanded by Vikings who eventually settled there. The Middle Ages saw Cork become a city, when Prince John of England gave us our charter, and the city became fully enclosed by walls. These walls burrowed deep into our marsh, and protected us. These layered stones, these are the walls that used to outline us, and mark us on a map. Long gone, yet somehow still here despite the passage of time.
Cork was once a Venice-like city, with man-made canals running through it like veins. These canals fed the Lee through aiding in navigation, flood control and defence. Now, they have been mostly paved over, becoming Corn Market Street, Grattan Street, and the Grand Parade. The remnants of a canal are still visible in the form of French’s Quay.
Another landmark is Skiddy’s Almshouse, the oldest inhabited building in Cork City. Built in 1719, and still standing in Shandon, the building was once a place of refuge for the elderly and poor. Through a series of restorations, the almshouse was converted into an apartment complex and currently has the ability to house fifteen people in either one- or two-bedroomed flats.
In contrast, The Prism is due to be completed in August, 2023. It will tower over Parnell Place, as a beacon of modernity. Its aesthetics are inspired by New York’s Flatiron, and CGI rendered images anticipate a sparkling, silver tower that will light up Cork’s quays. Its purpose is to bring 6,000 sqm of office space to the City.
Visually, there is a chasm between Skiddy’s Almshouse and the Prism. Yet a gulf sits between these two constructions. Tower Holding Group, the company behind the Prism is led by Kerry-man based Kevin O’Sullivan. O’Sullivans siblings, Helen and Donal operate in the company’s New York Branch Navillus and are due to be sentenced in October on account of defrauding unions of benefit funds. When we look at buildings, it’s often important to ask what they represent, and what their place is in our city.
Travel back into the 18th century. Cartographer Charles Smith illustrates Cork in the Ancient and Present State of the City and County Cork, dated to 1750, Dublin. This work holds a library of places, some that have been lost to time, and some that are as familiar to use as our own faces.
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Travel back into the 18th century. Cartographer Charles Smith illustrates Cork in the Ancient and Present State of the City and County Cork, dated to 1750, Dublin. This work holds a library Different word needed) of places, some that have been lost to time, and some that are as familiar to us as our own faces.
Paul’s Street breaks into French Church and Carey’s Lane, in the top, left-hand corner of the map. Where alternative rockers once gathered, in band tees and black make-up, where the sweet songs of buskers fill the air, once ambled Georgians. In 1750 and 2022, Lavitts Quay wrapped around this spot of culture. In other cities, it can be hard to imagine that the streets we walk were there 300 years ago, but in a city like Cork which has been colonised, burned, and reclaimed it can be exciting to know that our footprints line up with Cork’s original inhabitants.
And here, marked at number 8 on Smith’s map, we see the old Custom House, a building that we can still visit today. Once a centre of trade, there stands a centre of art.
The Crawford Art Gallery sits on Emmet Place, which was once King’s Dock. Originally constructed in 1724, the building acted as Cork’s custom house until the 1830s, when it was given to the Royal Cork Institution, a cultural organisation inspired by the Royal Society of London. If you are ever looking for something to do on a Sunday afternoon pop into the Crawford and follow the tour that inspired this article.
Following Paul’s Street onto Castle Street, down onto the Main Street. Pass the Exchange and make your way to South Gate. Cross the river, and you’ll find Bandon Road, and a street leading towards Gillabbey. Maybe you made this walk today. A little above these streets, is a drawing of St. Finbarr’s Cathedral. Adjacent, Smith has highlighted the Mardyke. Looking at this map, it’s as though nothing has changed. All that’s missing is an illustration of University College Cork, which is just a century away.
Gothic archways collide with Brutalist panellings and Deconstructive designs, to unite and build the campus that we roam today. Our university is a beautiful example of architecture of the past and present coming together in a strange yet enchanting amalgamation of structural art.
Though the Aula Maxima was built in the 1850s, it is haunted by the styles of the Middle Ages, symbolising the era of Cork’s birth. The jutting dormers, the arching windows, the interior’s spine of wooden beams are all key elements of Gothic Revival. Though it may seem like a dusty building to current students, it’s fascinating how architectes of the 1840s and 50s were already looking backwards for inspiration.
Forward a century, and the campus’ buildings are stripped of these dainty points and silver bricks. The Kane is constructed, and with it Brutalism is brought to UCC. The true beauty of this building is not its concrete walls, beige panels, and liminal hallways, but its folklore. In student life, the Kane is somewhat of an infamous structure. From the uranium in the basement, to the absence of toilets, there’s many legends surrounding this building. This building favours practicality over aesthetic, and in doing so became the set of the Backrooms.
A decade later, students are taught that Brutalism isn’t all bad with the arrival of the Boole. Hard geometric structures, opposing angles, and a contrast of stone; the Boole feels like a pocket dimension, accessible only to students and staff. The library powerfully contrasts with its 19th century neighbours. On a rainy day, I’d recommend making the climb to the top floor to watch the water cascade down the windows. With the giant Sequoias obscuring the view, you’ll feel transported into the kind of fantasy world that’s only found in books.
A similar effect can be found on the way down into the Boole Lecture Theatres. As the ivy stretches across the entrance, and the stairwell opens up into a bright display of the campus’ foliage, the building nods its head towards eco-brutalism.
All these buildings are in perfect juxtaposition to the newer Glucksman, O’Rahilly Building (Or the Orb, as it’s most commonly known), and the Hub.
Deconstructvisim tears apart the formality of architecture, and blooms freedom. Freedom of form, of space, of use. UCC hosts a whirlwind of architectural styles that take us up and down time, but the Hub captures the aesthetics of Cork, in one beautiful project. Long before the Hub came the Clarendon building. Built in the 1850s, the structure hosted the School of Medicine and Department of Anatomy. Rather than leave a building derelict, the Hub was expanded upon and the historic facade of the Clarendon was split apart, to form a modern, deconstructivist structure designed to be a sanctuary for students. The pale stone of the Clarendon is contrasted with a modern build that towers from behind. Inside, walking through the Hub can feel like marching up and down the magical staircases of Harry Potter, as the building's bending structures give way to something that feels structurally impossible. Here, The past effortlessly blends into the present to create a world that exists outside of time.
Cork is a beautiful, timeless space. The city’s development refuses to devour its past, and instead it strives to allow history to reach its hand out to the future, like a pebble poking out of the river of time.
Stand in the Bishop Lucey Park. Watch the pigeons who circle overhead, to land on the rooftops and perch on the gates, then dive off and settle in the pit that lies at the Grand Parade entrance.