HORGANS QUAY IN CORK CITY AND NEARBY
Ever time I am in Cork I photograph the Horgan's Quay Area as it is close to the railway station and my hotel.
When I visited the actual Quay in the afternoon [13 May 2019] I was approached by security and informed that I was not permitted to be in the area, described as a working dock, taking photographs. To be, honest the area is in such poor condition I never thought of it as being a working dock area. As my policy is not to argue I moved down the quay and employed a 135mm telephoto lens. I also visited the other bank of the river.
Even though the dockside is in very poor condition the area in general features a number of large construction sites and the nearby train station has been re-developed.
The Horgan's Quay development in Cork is interesting because it restored and integrated railway buildings dating from the 1850s into a modern project featuring office space for 5,000 workers, a 136-bedroom hotel and 237 apartments.
A limestone carriage shed, a station master's house and a goods shed are being restored. All three date back to the 1850s when they were at the hub of a new railway terminus at Penrose Quay operated by the Great Southern and Western Railway Company.
Below is a description of the project: "The Horgans Quay development comprises the western part of the Kent Station masterplan. Its urban form is derived from the geometry established by the protected view of St. Luke’s Church, and the movement patterns between Kent Station and the city centre. The masterplan organizes the site into three distinct character areas defined by their uses - a hotel, a residential quarter, and an office cluster - each of which contains a protected structure which used to form part of a working train station. The masterplan provides a public open space adjacent to each of the protected structures, each of which will be brought back into active use, and will contribute to the high quality public realm within the scheme. The extensive and exciting new public realm will connect Kent Station back to the city, celebrate the south facing riverfront, and establish HQ as a significant new urban quarter in Cork.
The office buildings enjoy a commanding position on the riverfront. Their strong, simple forms and skin of durable materials will reinforce the visual connection of the proposed development to the industrial infrastructure and artefacts currently found on the site, creating an architecture that is distinct, robust and of its place."
When I visited the actual Quay in the afternoon [13 May 2019] I was approached by security and informed that I was not permitted to be in the area, described as a working dock, taking photographs. To be, honest the area is in such poor condition I never thought of it as being a working dock area. As my policy is not to argue I moved down the quay and employed a 135mm telephoto lens. I also visited the other bank of the river.
Even though the dockside is in very poor condition the area in general features a number of large construction sites and the nearby train station has been re-developed.
The Horgan's Quay development in Cork is interesting because it restored and integrated railway buildings dating from the 1850s into a modern project featuring office space for 5,000 workers, a 136-bedroom hotel and 237 apartments.
A limestone carriage shed, a station master's house and a goods shed are being restored. All three date back to the 1850s when they were at the hub of a new railway terminus at Penrose Quay operated by the Great Southern and Western Railway Company.
Below is a description of the project: "The Horgans Quay development comprises the western part of the Kent Station masterplan. Its urban form is derived from the geometry established by the protected view of St. Luke’s Church, and the movement patterns between Kent Station and the city centre. The masterplan organizes the site into three distinct character areas defined by their uses - a hotel, a residential quarter, and an office cluster - each of which contains a protected structure which used to form part of a working train station. The masterplan provides a public open space adjacent to each of the protected structures, each of which will be brought back into active use, and will contribute to the high quality public realm within the scheme. The extensive and exciting new public realm will connect Kent Station back to the city, celebrate the south facing riverfront, and establish HQ as a significant new urban quarter in Cork.
The office buildings enjoy a commanding position on the riverfront. Their strong, simple forms and skin of durable materials will reinforce the visual connection of the proposed development to the industrial infrastructure and artefacts currently found on the site, creating an architecture that is distinct, robust and of its place."
Spanning six acres and located on the River Lee next to the Port of Cork, the Horgan’s Quay development comprises a new scheme of contemporary offices, homes, hotel, leisure facilities, shops and restaurants. The restoration of the on-site heritage buildings such as the goods shed, carriage shed and original station house make the centre pieces of this mixed use development.
THE PHOTO DIARY IS NOT LIMITED TO CORK AS I ONLY VISIT THE CITY ONCE EVERY YEAR AND 2020 MAY BE AN EXCEPTION. I AM BASED IN DUBLIN BUT DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS I VISIT BELFAST, LIMERICK, GALWAY, KILKENNY AND WATERFORD AND USUALLY DEVOTE A WEEK TO PHOTOGRAPHING EACH OF THE CITIES IN QUESTION
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