New art space wins Cork competition

A mirrored box made from reinforced plastic has been chosen as the winner of Cork City Council's design ideas competition for…

A mirrored box made from reinforced plastic has been chosen as the winner of Cork City Council's design ideas competition for a mobile performance and exhibition space.

Designed by Peter Feeny Architects and 3P Urban Process, London, it was described by the competition jury as "a very elegant proposition" that would cost no more than €750,000 to build.

Seventy-three entries were received for the competition, run by the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland. The runners-up were Murray O'Laoire and O'Mahony Pike.

Cork City Council arts officer Liz Meaney said the "art box" competition had shown the potential to devise new ways to house contemporary arts and its mobility made it "an intrinsically democratic concept".

The creation of temporary spaces for artists' work in a variety of communities in the city was "an imaginative response to current trends in cultural practice in Ireland and internationally", she added.

Twenty-five of the shortlisted designs in the competition supported by the Arts Council are on display at a special exhibition in Cork City Hall until Wednesday.

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Frank McDonald

Frank McDonald

Frank McDonald, a contributor to The Irish Times, is the newspaper's former environment editor