The Prism, Cork
Reddy A+U have designed an iconic landmark tower in Cork City Centre which will be a beacon within the city. At 15 storeys this planning permission will form one of the tallest landmarks and provides almost 6,000 sq m of office space on a tiny 300 sq m site. The design which is inspired by the famous Flat Iron building of New York is located on Clontarf Street in city centre and creates a state of the art modern building on a long redundant site.
The design is to produce a tall, elegant iconic office tower that will be a light filled and transparent structure that will provide a state of the art modern office building which is very much in demand in Cork City. The entire façade will be high performance glass that will provide maximum transparency while controlling solar gain from within. The design minimised the extent of solid façades in order to accentuate the buildings translucency when viewed from the city and to maximise panoramic views of the city for the occupants. The solid building elements including the core, lift lobbies and stairwells on the western façade will be glazed to provide light and visual interest.
A significant basement is provided in order to minimise plant on the roof and thereby provide a terrace with views across the city. This terrace is provided with a lightweight and elegant canopy structure for weather protection that also provides a visual “cap” to the building. The canopy will also contain a solar panel array to provide renewable energy for this proposed sustainable low energy building.
The building is driven by efficiency of floor plate and the shape of the site. These provide challenges and opportunities. The building cantilevers at the 3rd floor and this provides additional floorspace and a shoulder height that is consistent with the ridge lines of adjacent buildings. The shape and height of the building leads to an iconic piece of architecture that has a sense of bravura and the curved high-tech glass will be an attractive and landmark addition to Cork City’s emerging skyline.
