Cork

Dia duit don uair deireanach!

For our non-Gaelic speaking viewers that’s ‘Hello for the last time’. This is my final blog post as part of our module assignment. I really hope you enjoyed my two previous posts on Amsterdam and Boston and came away with an improved knowledge of the public and the spectacle as well as finding out more about the cities themselves.

This week we were asked to discuss our chosen city in relation to either Material Culture or Urban Architecture through the use of our own offline materials. In Katie M’s entry this week she looked at the Dublin Docklands and in the name of Munster/ Leinster rivalry I would like to discuss the area around Albert Quay and Lapps Quay including City Hall, the Clarion Hotel, , the Custom House and Port of Cork. This area in fact remains a unique and popular location for gatherings, hosting events such as the Cannonball Race in August 2013 and Cork Rebel Week in October of the same year, both of which are illustrated in the further links page.

Katie O’Sullivan | 112362596

The Port of Cork (2013)

Image 1.1: The sign is self-explanatory. The Custom House built in the early 19th C and warehouses lie just behind the sign. Taken in August at the annual Cannonball charity run (Katie O’Sullivan 2013)

For those readers who don’t already know, Cork city is located in the South of Ireland, just upstream of the River Lee in the northwest corner of Cork harbour (check out the embedded map below). Two quick facts:

– The port of Cork is the second busiest Irish port and has several berthing points including Cork City, Tivoli, Cobh and Ringaskiddy.

– The regeneration of the Docklands is an ongoing venture.

Cork City Hall (2013)

Image 1.2: City Hall bathed in red and white (the colours of Cork) for Rebel Week. This is an interesting fusion of an historic façade decorated via modern technology to show pride in the city (Katie O’Sullivan 2013)

Kraftl (2009, p. 25-28) alludes to a landscape of power where buildings mediate and display certain interests to the detriment of others. Such influences are evident in that City Hall (see Image 1.2) and even more so the Customs House (see Image 1.3) seem out of place or neglected in comparison to the sleek buildings they now stand near (comfortable spaces of commerce and entertainment). This could be taken as in impact of globalisation on form and structure, letting go of heritage styles and adopting an ‘international architecture’ style. In doing so we are losing links to the past.

Customs House at the Port of Cork (2013)

Image 1.3: The rundown and gated Customs House seems unappealing and perhaps even dangerous. Yet if you are to approach these older areas of the city quays you can find a rich marine history associated with the port, not to mention a variety of shipping vessels to admire (Katie O’Sullivan 2013)

The buildings along Albert Quay are from the early 20^th Century c. 1935; an echo of the past and no more than three storeys high. In juxtaposition Lapps Quay boasts modern, streamlined buildings at least four storeys high; advocating modernity. These buildings consist of a Hotel, Restaurant and a wide variety of offices and services showcasing the area’s financial, leisure and commercial function.

The Boardwalk (2013)

Image 1.4: This landscape of power is especially evident on the refurbished boardwalk area linking Lapps quay to the Customs House. Examining the area with a critical eye on the urban experience, you really feel as if it might be unsafe to go past this point and why would you want to explore older buildings when you can relax here with a river view or engage in tourist or leisure activities on the river? (Katie O’Sullivan 2013)

The Elysian Tower

Image 1.5: Cork’s answer to the skyscraper, the Elysian Tower, clearly stands above the surrounding buildings on the other side of the River Lee. The distinction between building styles is particularly evident in this composition (Katie O’Sullivan 2013)

‘Skyscrapers represent the ultimate expression of capitalist financial power in urban space’ (Kraftl 2009, p. 28)

This can perhaps be seen with the construction in 2008 of the 17-story Elysian Tower which now dominates the city skyline looking South from the Quays.

In conclusion it is clear that this area of Cork city has undergone a huge transformation in urban architecture and the experience of the city for locals and tourists of the past, present and future has been dramatically altered. There is a proposal to build an events centre on Albert Quay which it is hoped will kick-start major regeneration; downriver from City Hall and reaching as far as Pairc Ui Chaoimh, as envisaged in the City Council’s Development Strategy. In addition the strategy plans to reinstate lost boardwalks, widen the pavements and treat the river to bring a more appealing look to the ‘pedestrian gateways to the city‘. If Dublin’s final output is anything to go by, there are many changes still to come in the regeneration of Cork’s greater dockland area.

‘A development strategy to compete with other Irish and European waterfronts…the strategy promotes best practice in urban design and sustainable development…over a phased period of 20-25 years.’ Cork City.

That’s a wrap! Thanks for staying with us on our journey through historical cities and their diverse geographies and I hope you enjoyed this week’s post just as much as the others.

Katie O