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Local Contemporary Designs Part3

Following on from the last couple of updates in this series we have a few more local examples of Contemporary Architecture worth discussing.

1. Student Apartments, Victoria Cross, Cork (Next to Victoria Mills, in previous post)

Verdict: A definite ‘Thumbs Down’

Student Accommodation, Victoria Cross, Cork, Ireland

Check out the vent ducts running up and down the back of the building. Not only is the building itself bland looking with poor choice of external finishes and colours but they go and make the vent ducts visible from the roadside?? A great big No No. Absolutely ruins the aesthetics in one foul swoop! I don’t think I have ever seen a local example of exposed ducting as blatantly poor and obvious as this.

Furthermore, the rounded vents on the facade look terrible and the colour of the render doesn’t help either. It looks like it has ‘gone off’! Add to that, the glass corners on the left are too overshadowed by the timber veneer running above and between the enclosed corners. Surely it would have looked better on this side and helped aid the massing of the glass corners if the timber was ommitted or at least reduced in length and kept closer to the left hand side in the pic, or extended further to the right avoiding the vertical lines of the glass corners. Staggering like that would have given better weight and appeal to these corners. As it is, the ‘in line’ nature of the timber cladding and the sides of the glass corners blends both in together in similarly dull colours. Personally I think it just looks cheap as an architectural effort.

The other side of this building was shown in the 1st series in this set of posts next to the Victoria Mills building which itself has particular aesthetic problems also. Across the road you can see this old building pictured below.

Victoria Cross Cycles, Cork.

This is right across the road and up a little bit from the apartment building just shown. A local bike shop, this is a much nicer view, seeing the side of this old building than the ducting and awfulness of the student building above.


2. Apartment block on the River Lee in Cork City

Verdict: Jury Vote!

Apartment block on Riverside in Cork

Ok I have mixed feelings on this one. One thing I love is the Triangular light boxes on the top which are oriented in pairs at 2 different angles. Combining an early 20th Century style brick building with conservative lines with a contemporary light box idea should be applauded here and I think it stands out really well, and proud, on the quayside here.  The red brick is capped at the tops in stone and reminiscent of earlier 20th century buildings particular of North American cities, and the window layout is linear and organised for the most part. I do like the zig zagging of the other front window areas to the right side and the blending of the round corner column in the middle of the shot into the facade by attaching small balconies, in a contemporary style. I’m just not a big fan of the dark colour of the window frames and their particular sizings, and when this building gets dirtier as it has before (A feature of buildings in Ireland and Britain also is the staining that occurs from run off of rain and pollutants particularly on flatter facades below windows and below tops of parapets etc), it can look pretty bad as a piece of exterior architecture after a few years. The light boxes, are its only saving grace when staining builds up.

This one though is a building that lights up the quayside from a distance, the stepped rooflines and those lightboxes providing a really nice visual aesthetic to the quayside overall. Certainly things I like about the design. But some of the details and specifications let it down.

Side of Apartment on Quayside, Cork

I like the buildings lines and forms but those windows, they just don’t like right to me. They should be lighter maybe? Most of my problems with many local contemporary buildings include, or are just limited to these dark grey window frames. A recurring problem of taste perhaps!

3. Cork Opera House, Cork City, Ireland

Verdict: Thumbs emphatically ‘Down’

Cork Opera House, other view

Cork Opera House, Cork City, Ireland

This is the Cork Opera House, Not so bad on the inside, particularly when they renovated it all but this side wall is awful. Some background first…

The Opera house was burned down towards the middle of the last century. It was quite a fine structure for its time, and it was subsequently rebuilt at a time when Modernism was at the forefront of Architectural design. The Opera house followed suit, its orientation obviously suggestive of its desire to face the ‘important‘ direction, which would have been front where the patrons would enter the building….this being the street/square Emmett Place just in view to the left hand side stretching away into the background along the left side of the building.

Therefor the less important side being the quay side was just viewed as a ‘side wall’ of sorts, and all the emphasis was placed on the other side, the front side on the left. This picture shows a couple of alterations that were made during the renovations. The tall thin glass window on the left, the enclosed glass balcony sticking out of the quay side wall facing us, and the almost vertical glass facade to the very left which runs along that front of the building were all added to break up the monotony of the blanket wall on this quay side a little over 10 years ago if memory serves correct. There was an all-glass vertical facade already in existence at the front but this was redesigned at a slanted angle to be visually more impressive and appealing and viewable from more angles such as this one across the river.

The large box on top is for the stage props. All in all, it was a very functional looking building, which wasn’t the problem, its drawback was this particular facade which seemed to be just seen as the side of the building rather than another ‘front‘. If the building was turned, facing the camera, those sides would look fine as they would ‘house‘ the large glass facade in a much nicer way, drawing attention to the front and how it is enclosed, rather than blocking all views as it does in this direction. To sum up, the biggest problem was its orientation and lack of foresight that this side would impact on the whole quay here, becoming an ugly obtrusive block wall hiding the other sides of the building.

And as you can see, the wall is so massive it is now used as an advertising banner all be it for a good cause, promotion of the opera house, the arts, and other cultural events that pop up. Its a pity that the square facing the Opera house entrance is really nice, featuring old buildings, an art gallery dating way back and other funky premises…

On the upside they have improved the other side of the Opera House a little by doing this!…

Other side of Cork Opera House

The green Ivy actually looks really well on this side, allowing the glass facade to break out nicely and providing a nice colourful separation between the Opera House and the Crawford Art Gallery Building to its left.

4. Boot’s, Paul Street, Cork

(Back of store is shown in pic, facing Quay)

Verdict: Jury Vote

Booth's development on River Lee, Cork

This is Boot’s department store in Cork, redeveloped about 4 or 5 years ago now. Its a nice design, particularly from the other sides, while the heritage building facing the camera was refurbished and incoporated into the design which works around it.

View down the side of Boot's

Here you can see a blend of modern designs with old heritage buildings. It works quite well in this particular shot.

Going back to the quayside shot, On the face of it, the two designs dont really work together but then again…if you were to strip away the advertising plastered all over the glass facades, and were to occupy this side of the building as was intended I think it might look quite different. Particularly when you see how the white beams and posts to the right appear to come out of the white heritage building and fuse themselves into the rest of the glass structure.

On the other hand you could say that currently the beautiful old heritage building is just surrounded and overshadowed by a monstrous glass wall, and that they simply need their own separate allotments.

Two different opinions, both have a point, personally I like the rest of the development and if this was used as was intended I’m sure I would like it more but it just looks soul-less as it is. Any building thats empty loses something but when large glass monolithic buildings (which has become common place in office and retail developments recently) lie empty they look disastrous, like soul-less boxes. I am bordering on giving it a thumbs down but am on the fence still, so I will leave it for the readers to decide this one!

5. Mixed Use Development, Lavitt’s Quays, Cork

Verdict: Thumbs Up

A Riverside Development on River Lee, Cork

Riverside Development River Lee, Cork, close up

Riverside Development Apartments with Retail, Commercial below.

Once again this development grew up around a protected building pictured in the middle of the shot in black in white. However, I think it works quite well here. The development maintains a sense of evolving over time with its different styles and marries them in together quite well I think. The red brick sections to the right side reference the red brick building next to it but seem to serve nicely also as a backdrop to the white section in front of it. Use of depth here provides a nicer quality and helps to give real character to the facade. The simple rectangular windows work nicely in contrast to the other sections such as the brick and marbled stone parts while thankfully I don’t see dark window frame fenestrations or solid pieces apart from the outside frames of these rectangular windows. These blend in with the walls and don’t take from other parts or the nearby traditional building with it’s old style windows. Using larger windows with compartments and open-able segments would really detract from the surrounding details.

Taking one simple detail to highlight a point, look at the tall window segment in the red brick part of the facade on the right side. To it’s left is a large white facade while to it’s right is a red brick building with fine white timber windows. The solution here is the use a modern dark framed glazed section but incorporating a white surround like a picture frame around it. This highlights the old building to its right and particularly works in providing a visual link between the two developments. It looks as if the old building and its windows and colours are evolving into the development to the left.

Again, many may think it looks too complex or a mish-mass of totally different styles but I think this is what works fantastically well here. It will stand the test of time better than many other monostyles and singular design styles. Ask yourself this, What makes traditional streets and historical developments things to be proud of and preserved today? It is generally the intricacy and qualities of designs and many varieties and flavours of designs that provide streets and urban landscapes with oodles of character. It is a reason I think the development above works well and compared to the failed examples of quayside designs mentioned before it in this set of posts I think it provides real energy and organic qualities to this quay.

2011
06/13
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Local Contemporary Design Part 2

Following on from Part 1, next up are three brick based Developments:

1. New Campus in Cork Institute of Technology, Bishopstown, Cork

Verdict: Thumbs Up

This is a great brick contemporary design. References to North African and Medieval styles with Modernist roots combine to form a fabulous courtyard campus.

C.I.T Campus Reception 2

C.I.T Campus side on

C.I.T Campus Close up

Depth & Modernism

Depth is created by focusing on hard angles and using simple but large shapes like cubes and cylinders (A modernism trait) with little interference from other materials that might soften the effect. The right angled solid nature of brick is highlighted by using cuts, particularly long narrow slits vertically to counteract the long horizontal form of the overall brick mass itself shown in the pics above. In its pure and simple form it is a wonderful material that needs little else to show itself off. Keeping to basics is usually the best way. Large rectangular shapes can do this, and are helped by using rectilinear cuts into the surface whether sparsely or more plentifuly as is in this case. This linear horizontal and vertical sparring is also very pronounced in Modernism. Brick is particularly great as a material to utilise in modernist architecture but oddly is under utilised as such a tool these days (This is most likely due to the cost of the material and the fact that modernism itself looked forward to new materials like steel and concrete rather than attaching itself to traditional designs that often used brick, but with current contemporary architecture drawing from many more sources it seems quite useful as a material to incorporate).

In terms of the visual aesthetic it is ideal in my eyes as a contemporary modernist material when used simply and correctly like above. Highlighting the quality of this brick is best done through focusing on its own nature and texture by exploiting light and shadow as a result of the brick predominantly, which is why this design looks superb. Everything is set on a different plane behind the brick. In terms of the facade the only interruptions in the surface are the cuts. No other material is seen at this plane. Passages and windows and doors are all behind and don’t lie in the same plane as the brick. Massing of the material is highlighted superbly, the brick feels almost monumental.

North African & Medieval references

The forms of the design also draw on old North African Palace traditions in the use of external passages and arches that run alongside the internal courtyard and also in the hidden/protected nature of the spaces behind the brick. The narrowness of the openings harp back to traditional hotter climates and architectures where protecting internal spaces from glare, sunshine and overheating were/are important and also to Medieval times where slits were used for soldiers to point and shoot out of but be able to hide behind easily. The slits along the top of the facade walls also echo this. The feeling here is of being in a North African Palace or Medieval Castle with an internal courtyard and walls around an enclosure. The tall cylindrical part echo’s many old forms such as a settlement’s internal castle.

C.I.T Campus 4

Back of C.I.T Library

Other side of C.I.T Campus

These elements are all combined in the Campus design with a contemporary twist which I think look fantastic. Needless to say this building has won awards for its design.

Another factor in the design and selection of brick as a material was the preceding project, The Library building in between the new campus and the old campus. It was an award winning building with a fantastic contemporary and modernist twist on brick but without the North African or Medieval influences. Considering this building was completed in 1999 its certainly a building that has aged well and remains a beacon for other Modernist or Contemporary style buildings brick or otherwise.

Cork Institute of Technology

Cork Institute of Technology Library

Side of CIT library

End of CIT Library

On to the Next one, another brick development

2. Merchants Quay Shopping Centre, Cork City

Verdict: Thumbs Down

This was one of those buildings that was praised when it was built without fully considering its context.

It was praised because it was one of the first large retail regeneration projects in the city centre at that time in the tail end of the 1980′s, early 90′s and brought much needed employment back to the this area, with the previous homes along the quay having been demolished for safety and the poor state of the buildings, while an original quayside was present long before those homes were built in the first place. Unfortunately scaffolding just went up around half of the shopping centre at the time of these pictures below but you can still get a clear idea of the situation here.

Merchants Quay Shopping Centre Close up

Merchants Quay front on

Merchants Quay full side

Most of the homes that were built previously consisted of stone rubble and were whitewashed or painted over then, all were pre war houses. So Red brick then? On the Quayside?? Red brick was not really an Irish traditional building material outside of Dublin urban areas and its Georgian influence, the main exception being certain grand buildings in Cork City Centre or Manor houses built by or for the upper classes prior to the war era. Other examples were warehouses built along Quays for storage. Any examples of it remaining along the quays is on the North side basking in daylight and sun, like below, and small scale, rather than on the South side facing north covered in shade and allowing moisture to soak in more readily.

Spattering of red brick buildings along North Quay facing south

The River Lee runs West to East through the city with river splitting near the centre, around a former marshy island into a North and South channel and joining again before exiting towards the harbour eastbound, the city centre was built over the marsh and many streets are shaped as they were built over the many channels throughout the marsh.

Brick was used by upper middle classes as a reference to English history with its own style and industrialisation. But many of the former residential houses on the southern quay here were not brick but stone and painted/whitewashed over, making this massive brick development a bit curious. The original Merchants Quay was formerly a traders Quay most likely built from stone and rubble if memory serves correct from the old archives, but possibly brick, I am open to some correction on that. The Quay was rebuilt and widened for this development and the design references the arches theme as such from the original Quay building but the materials dont seem right for the current site and orientation, particularly in the extensive nature of the building here, and its ‘Wall‘ effect. As its mostly in the shade too I think it could have done with splitting up the brick facade a small bit to bring some more colour to the quayside. The brick itself isn’t the problem but with the dark road and quay walls it could also have done with a different texture somewhere to brighten the quay and separate the two sections of the shopping centre and avoid that feel of a long wall.

Urban Planning and interaction.

Unfortunately, but a little expectedly this development never brought life to the quayfront here, lacking in interaction with the bustle inside the shopping centre and main shopping street around the corner, never drawing people to the quay or across from other quays to this side as there was no life or interaction available except the ability to go through one entrance far down at the end and into the building. The other entrance at the top was accessed from another street….So the whole quay side has one entrance down at the end. There was and still is no real reason to walk up along the quay anymore, I mean, why not just go inside and walk under the shopping centre roof and its shelter? This did nothing to attract life to the outside. It simply doesnt do anything to liven up this part of the river which is a big problem as all it does is reinforce the idea of a ‘wall‘ along the riverside, rather than a bustling interactive and open quayside which it could and should be. This is not just true of this development but also for many other developments of the 80′s and 90′s which only looked at car travel instead of targeting urban living and pedestrianization. Its not too pleasant to look at in places either (those green windows sticking out are pretty bad, as are the multitude of high position windows that dont appear to have any function except as exterior decoration) but mainly it is a fail in the overall design and material choice and the interaction of the quayside with the populous!

In particular with the material choice of red brick there should have been a better use of the arches or depth along the length, rather than putting mock arches flush into a flat facade with fake shop fronts also (shop fronts located their entrance in the centre itself, these glass fronts were actually the backs of the stores and were not accessible from the quayside outside). Again, the overall effect is a ‘Wall‘ rather than something interactive. This Postmodern-esque reference to arches is an example of exaggerated historical references that did nothing to aid a facade, if anything, in this case, it just reminds you of what it could have been and actually detracts a little from what could have been a fine exterior.

Options such as better use of clear glass and or better use of arches to introduce depth to the facade would have been a positive move as would rearranging the layout to avoid a wall and/or linear edge all the way up the quayside. More ACTUAL openings large or small, would have introduced space and depth. Staggered levels, stories or layout may also have changed the feel of the quayside while perhaps sheltered or glassed internal balconies for the restaurant above for example would have furthered the three-dimensionality of the space and brought customers ‘onto’ the quayside. The windows presently above the ground floor are not for customers purposes and are mainly tinted which dont help to introduce space, light or life to the quayside. A more opened or flowing nature to the development would have improved this. As it is, this brick facade just walls off the area and in this instance the brick material could have been utilised better to open this quay up with real depth and character.

Next is:

3. Apartment Development in Academy Street, Cork City

Verdict: Thumbs Up

This is a new apartment building which was introduced as part of the redevelopment of the whole block 3yrs ago. It was the former site of the Cork Examiner Paper Offices and has plenty of History of its own.

Academy Street Apartments, Cork City, Ireland

From the various details to the really nice varied colours of the brickwork it looks great. I especially like the brickwork and its textures. Instead of choosing a single brick set with one colour of roughness there is a nice blend of different types of brick, producing a nice mix of cherries and reds and blueish-greys even! This depth of shades and rough textures provides a nice character to the facade and also gives it the appearance of growing up a long time ago. Many of the bricks may have been reclaimed from the previous building, they certainly look like they have been weathered, but I am not certain,

Main Entrance to Apartments

Fabulous Doors and leadwork patterns. Gold plated accessories such as custom door bell ringers and door handles also add a traditional touch.

Academy Street Apartments Window Detail

Check out the Mosaic tiles at the top in green and black. The woodwork around the windows is also pretty tasty looking. Some fabulous details really in this contemporary building; an original with its own slant on traditional styles.

Window Detail up close

I like the leadwork on this piece of glass. Quite a contemporary design but it does look great.

The development of this whole city block involved retail outlets with residential apartment and offices overhead. This is an entrance to the apartments overhead but has provided a beautiful exterior full of character and historical references with some nice contemporary features. As mentioned already the tile-work is classy at the top with nice ribbon patterns present also.

The brickwork and details are intricate and add to the overall effect. This contemporary postmodern-esque facade is designed with skill and beauty at its core and is one of the few really great examples of its type in recent times in the city.

Thats it for now, Hope I’ve shed some light on various brickwork examples in contemporary design. I’ll be back next week with the next installment of this series :-)

2011
05/11
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