8 September 2018
By Bryan Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
Uncovering Cork’s Best Buildings
The search is on for Cork’s best designed and maintained buildings. Cork Business Association (CBA), in association with Cork City Council, have launched the Cork Better Building Awards 2018.
The awards congratulate staff, managers, property owners, developers, architects and designers for high standards in design, conservation and creativity, and also salute the window cleaners, painters and maintenance staff on their good practice in the presentation and upkeep of the buildings. This significantly contributes to a positive public perception of the city as a vibrant and dynamic place to live, visit, invest and do business in.
This year in particular, the CBA also wants to recognize the huge amount of expansion and planning in Cork.
The awards are open to any building in the greater Cork area. So whether you’re in the heart of the city or further afield in neighbouring areas like Ballincollig, Glanmire or Blarney, the CBA welcomes your nominations and is urging every business owner, heritage building owner, architect, conservationist to apply before the September 24rd deadline.
Whether you have recently upgraded the exterior of your building, have designed a stunning new build, painted or decorated your building, invested in the upkeep of an old building, introduced a new use for your building or you are just extremely proud of how your building looks, don’t delay and enter online or pick up an entry form explaining which category or categories you wish to be considered for and why.
The categories for the awards are:
- Best in Retail
- Best in Heritage & Conservation
- Best Café/Restaurant
- Best Pub Front
- Best Commercial Business Frontage (excl. retail)
- Best Tourism, Arts & Accommodation
- Best New Development
- There will also be a Judges Choice.
The awards will be presented by the Lord Mayor of Cork, Cork, Cllr Mick Finn, at a complimentary invitation only lunch for shortlisted finalists at the Metropole Hotel on Friday 19th October.
Speaking about the awards, Lawrence Owens, CEO of Cork Business Association, said, “Vacancy rate in the city has gone down almost 10% in the last 3 years, which has instilled a fresh sense of confidence in the city. In fact, it was reported that an estimated €1.3bn worth of projects were started or completed last year. As the city thrives, we need to ensure it looks it’s best at all times. The Cork Better Building Awards, which we are thrilled to partner with Cork City Council on again, are a fantastic opportunity to encourage businesses to improve their facades and the overall look of the city. The judging team put a lot of focus on recognizing maintenance and simple good housekeeping of buildings, tasks like painting and cleaning, planting and enhancements that make the very best of the building. The facade and exterior areas of a building are one of its biggest selling tools, particularly in a business context so one of our main aims in running these annual awards is to encourage everyone to have pride in their buildings and foster a pride of place in Cork”.
Also commenting, Ann Doherty of Cork City Council, said, “Cork City Council recognises how important it is to acknowledge and reward property owners who keep our buildings to a high standard and, in doing so, highlight Cork as a fantastic place to shop, work and live. In 2018, it is really positive to see that the occupancy levels continue to increase and we are thrilled to welcome new retailers, pubs & restaurateurs and other businesses to Cork.”
The Montenotte Hotel: Last year’s winners included Azure Jewellery, The Cork Flower Studio, CIT/Crawford College of Art & Design, Spitjack Rotisserie, Cask, The English Market, The Montenotte Hotel, The Capitol, and St Angela’s College. Entry is open this year to the greater Cork area and to all previous winners again if they so wish.
The closing date for applications is September 24th 2018 to afford the judges time to inspect and visit the nominated buildings.
If you think your building is worthy of winning one (or more) of the categories, or if you would like to recommend a building, fill out an application form on www.corkbusiness.ie or call 021 4278295 and we will post the form to you.
