County Hall, Cork

Last updated

Cork County Hall
Halla an Chontae, Corcaigh
CorkCountyHall2017.jpg
Cork County Hall
Location map Ireland County Cork.png
Red pog.svg
County Hall
Location in Cork
General information
AddressCarrigrohane Road
Town or city Cork
Country Ireland
Construction started1965
Completed1968
Design and construction
Architect(s)Patrick McSweeney

The County Hall (Irish : Halla an Chontae, Corcaigh) is a 17-storey office block, owned by Cork County Council and housing its administrative headquarters. The building is located on Carrigrohane Road in the City of Cork. Although the building is owned by Cork County Council, it is located in a separate administrative area from the County - Cork City. At 67 metres (220 ft) tall, the building was the tallest storied building in the country upon completion. However, it has since been surpassed by three other buildings. It is now a protected building.

Contents

History

Originally meetings of Cork County Council had been held in the back portion of the top floor of Cork Courthouse. [1] By the 1950s these premises were becoming inadequate and work on a new purpose-built building, designed by Patrick McSweeney, the then Cork County Architect, started in 1965. [2] It was officially opened in April 1968. [3] [4] Oisín Kelly's statue, Two Working Men , stands outside the complex. [5]

Redevelopment

A redevelopment project began in 2002 to re-clad the existing building, add a new storey to the tower block and build a six-storey extension to the side of the tower. [6] The original distinctive concrete facade had been severely eroded and it was decided to replace rather than repair this as part of an expansion scheme. A louvered glass cladding replaced the original concrete, and the six-storey extension at ground level was completed in June 2006, as well as a new concourse and council chamber. The redevelopment cost €50 million. [6] [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birmingham Central Library</span> Former main public library in Birmingham, England

Birmingham Central Library was the main public library in Birmingham, England, from 1974 until 2013, replacing a library opened in 1865 and rebuilt in 1882. For a time the largest non-national library in Europe, it closed on 29 June 2013 and was replaced by the Library of Birmingham. The building was demolished in 2016, after 41 years, as part of the redevelopment of Paradise Circus by Argent Group. Designed by architect John Madin in the brutalist style, the library was part of an ambitious development project by Birmingham City Council to create a civic centre on its new Inner Ring Road system; however, for economic reasons significant parts of the master plan were not completed, and quality was reduced on materials as an economic measure. Two previous libraries occupied the adjacent site before Madin's library opened in 1974. The previous library, designed by John Henry Chamberlain, opened in 1883 and featured a tall clerestoried reading room. It was demolished in 1974 after the new library had opened.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shell Centre</span> Global headquarters building of Shell plc

The Shell Centre in London is the global headquarters of oil major Shell plc. It is located on Belvedere Road in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a prominent feature on the South Bank of the River Thames near County Hall, and now forms the backdrop to the London Eye.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ballymun</span> Large northside suburb of Dublin, Ireland

Ballymun is an outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland, at the northern edge of the Northside, the green-field development of which began in the 1960s to accommodate a housing crisis in inner city areas of Dublin. While the newly built housing was state-of-the-art at the time, comprising high-rise tower blocks and flat complexes, residents were moved in years before shops, schools and other infrastructure were fully ready, and the area became well known for both a strong community spirit and considerable social challenges. Ballymun has several sub-districts such as Sillogue, Coultry, Shangan and Poppintree, and is close to both the Republic of Ireland's only IKEA store and to Dublin Airport. The area is the source of one Dublin river, and parts lie in the floodplain of another, and there are a number of parks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Park (skyscraper)</span> Skyscraper in Perth, Western Australia

Central Park is a 51-storey office tower in Perth, Western Australia. The building measures 226 m (741 ft) from its base at St Georges Terrace to the roof, and 249 m (817 ft) to the tip of its communications mast. Upon its completion in 1992, the tower became the tallest building in Perth. It is also currently the sixteenth tallest building in Australia and the tallest building in the western half of Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big City Plan</span>

The Big City Plan is a major development plan for the city centre of Birmingham, England.

A county hall or shire hall is a common name given to a building that houses the seat of local government for a county.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brisbane Showgrounds</span> Historic site in Queensland, Australia

The Brisbane Showgrounds is a multi-purpose venue located in Bowen Hills, Brisbane. Established in 1875, it hosts more than 250 events each year, the largest being the Royal Queensland Show (Ekka).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Post and Mail building, Birmingham</span> Office in Birmingham, England

The Birmingham Post and Mail building was constructed in the 1960s and was a symbol of the rebuilding of Birmingham, England, following the devastation of World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cork County Council</span> Local authority for County Cork in Ireland

Cork County Council is the local authority of County Cork, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001, as amended. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning and development, amenity and culture, and environment. The council has 55 elected members. Elections are held every five years and are by single transferable vote. The head of the council has the title of Mayor. The county administration is headed by a Chief Executive, Tim Lucey. The county seat is Cork.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carrigrohane Straight</span>

The Carrigrohane Straight is a straight segment of road that stretches for 2.75 miles (4.43 km), from the edge of Cork west to Carrigrohane in County Cork, Ireland. It is just over 140 years old, and now forms part of the N22 National Primary route between Cork and Tralee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Stoneham House</span> Former manor house and hall of residence in Southampton

South Stoneham House is a Grade II* listed former manor house in Swaythling, Southampton; the former seat of the Barons Swaythling before the family moved to the nearby Townhill Park House. The building is owned by the University of Southampton, and was used as a hall of residence, part of the Wessex Lane Halls complex.

<i>Two Working Men</i>

Two Working Men are a pair of statues made by the Irish sculptor Oisín Kelly. The piece took Kelly three years to create and was unveiled in front of the County Hall in Cork in 1969. As with other works of public art in the region, the statues took on a local colloquial name, and are still commonly known as "Cha and Miah".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buildings and architecture of Brighton and Hove</span>

Brighton and Hove, a city on the English Channel coast in southeast England, has a large and diverse stock of buildings "unrivalled architecturally" among the country's seaside resorts. The urban area, designated a city in 2000, is made up of the formerly separate towns of Brighton and Hove, nearby villages such as Portslade, Patcham and Rottingdean, and 20th-century estates such as Moulsecoomb and Mile Oak. The conurbation was first united in 1997 as a unitary authority and has a population of about 253,000. About half of the 20,430-acre (8,270 ha) geographical area is classed as built up.

The 1950s and 1960s saw the construction of numerous brutalist apartment blocks in Sheffield, England. The Sheffield City Council had been clearing inner-city residential slums since the early 1900s. Prior to the 1950s these slums were replaced with low-rise council housing, mostly constructed in new estates on the edge of the city. By the mid-1950s the establishment of a green belt had led to a shortage of available land on the edges of the city, whilst the government increased subsidies for the construction of high-rise apartment towers on former slum land, so the council began to construct high-rise inner city estates, adopting modernist designs and industrialised construction techniques, culminating in the construction of the award-winning Gleadless Valley and Park Hill estates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of St Peter, Carrigrohane</span> Church in Cork, Ireland

The Church of St Peter, Carrigrohane, is a Gothic Revival church in Cork, Ireland. It belongs to the Church of Ireland and was constructed in 1854, and extended by William Burges in 1865–68. The church is located on Church Hill, Carrigrohane, to the west of Cork city. It stands on the site of an earlier church, and is dedicated to Saint Peter. Along with the Church of the Resurrection and St Senan's Church it is part of the Carrigrohane Union of Parishes in the Diocese of Cork, Cloyne, and Ross.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City Hall, Cork</span> Municipal building in Cork city, Ireland

The City Hall, Cork is a civic building in Cork, Ireland which houses the administrative headquarters of Cork City Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingston House, Kingston upon Hull</span> 1960s modernist block in Kingston upon Hull, England

Kingston House is a tower block and low rise office development built in Kingston upon Hull, England, in the 1960s in a modernist style.

St Michael's is a mixed-use redevelopment project in Jackson's Row in Manchester city centre, England, by Gary Neville's development company. It is to include two towers containing a hotel, flats, offices, a rooftop restaurant and a public square. First proposed in 2016, it began construction in 2022.

References

  1. "Cork County Hall: 50 years" (PDF). Cork County Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 May 2019. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  2. "County Hall, Carrigrohane Road, Cork, Cork City: Buildings of Ireland: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage". www.buildingsofireland.ie. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  3. "Cork County Hall, Cork - Building #1351". www.skyscrapernews.com. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  4. "Local Authorities". Oireachtas. 26 May 1982. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  5. Neil Collins. "Oisin Kelly- Wood Carver, Stone and Bronze Sculptor From Dublin, Ireland". Visual-Arts-Cork.com. Retrieved 16 October 2008.
  6. 1 2 "Shay Cleary Architects | Projects | Cork County Hall". newsca. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  7. "Revamp moves tower up in design stakes". The Irish Times. 15 June 2006. Retrieved 26 October 2019.