Renovation of Cork building is opposed

An Taisce has leapt to the defence of Cork County Hall, the State's tallest building, saying its architectural quality and integrity would be lost if a proposed renovations were permitted.

The trust, usually associated with historic buildings, is among the appellants against Cork Corporation's decision to grant permission for the refurbishment and extension of the 1960s building.

The County Hall, designed by Mr Patrick McSweeney, then Cork county architect, is the only post-1940 building in the city listed for protection in the corporation's 1998 development plan. It is, therefore, a "protected structure" under the Planning Acts.

In its appeal to An Bord Pleanala, An Taisce said the building formed "a striking monumental landmark" on the westerly approaches to Cork. Completed in 1968, it was "a design classic of its era" on a par with Centre Point in London's Oxford Street, which is also listed.

What distinguished it was its external concrete tracery, which would be removed in the new design by Shay Cleary Architects, of Dublin, and replaced by a new louvred glass skin. The roof profile would also be altered and a six-storey service block added.

An Taisce noted that the Cork City Architect, Mr Neil Hegarty, had recommended that planning permission be refused because the proposal would compromise the integrity of the building by obliterating one of its most important elements, the external tracery.

"Cork is somewhat like Chicago. We are the second city, but can boast the tallest building," Mr Hegarty said. "I believe it is our duty on behalf of . . . the people of Cork to protect the building for future generations, primarily because it is unique and has a rare quality".

His report recommended that the external tracery, which is in serious decay, could be repaired and that it would also be a relatively simple matter to improve environmental conditions inside the hall, where offices facing west are prone to solar overheating.

Such an approach has been endorsed by Mr Shane O'Toole, Irish representative of DOCOMOMO, the international organisation dedicated to protecting 20th-century architecture. He has also appealed to An Bord Pleanala against the corporation's decision.

Referring to the proposed removal of the tracery, he said it was inconceivable that permission would be granted for such a radical alteration to older listed buildings. "Why should a lesser degree of protection be afforded to the few listed 20th-century buildings?" he asked.

Mr O'Toole noted that the brochure prepared for the 1968 official opening of Cork County Hall referred in particular to the tracery. "Precise detail design and attention to accuracy of construction play a major part in the overall effect," it said.

He disputed the architect's claim that the renovation scheme was "in sympathy with its formal and aesthetic properties" and also the endorsement of this view by a Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland competition jury who selected the design in 1999.

They were both wrong in suggesting that the character of the tower block would be maintained, Mr O'Toole said. However elegant it might be, the new design was "a simple glass box with straight edges and a plain outline. It bears no relation whatsoever to the original".

He insisted that most of the technical deficiencies of modern buildings could be overcome without undermining their essential character. There had also been major advances in concrete repair technology in the 20 years since ineffective repairs were carried out on the County Hall.