13 September 2019
By Mary Bermingham
mary@TheCork.ie
The search is on for Cork’s best designed and maintained buildings.
Cork Business Association (CBA), in association with Cork City Council, have officially launched the Cork Better Building Awards 2019.
These 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 recognise the huge amount of expansion and planning in Cork. To acknowledge this, the Cork Business Association are delighted to announce that the 2019 Cork’s Better Building Awards are open to any building in the greater Cork area. So if the building you consider worthy of nomination is in Ballincollig, Glanmire, Blarney, Douglas or in the City Centre the CBA welcomes your nomination and is urging every business owner, heritage building owner, architect or conservationist to apply before the September 23rd 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 beauty of Cork’s Better Building Awards is that the public can also get involved and nominate a building that they admire and believe is a stand-up feature in Cork City. You do not have to own or operate the building itself to enter it in the Cork’s Better Building Awards so please, share with us some of your favourite Cork buildings.
The CBA has tactfully devised eight categories, including the prestigious Judges Choice Award, so your much-loved buildings have more than one chance of being crowned one of Cork’s Better Buildings for 2019.
The categories for the 2019 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
● Judges Choice
The awards will be presented by the Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr John Sheehan, at a complimentary invitation-only lunch for award winners at the Cork City, Clayton Hotel, on Friday 18th October.
In addition to this, all the 2019 winners will also receive extensive media coverage in Cork’s favourite newspaper and the Cork’s Better Building Awards media partner, the Evening Echo, as well as promotion right across all Cork Business Association’s platforms and inclusion in the Cork Business Association’s quarterly newsletter, Cork Connected.
Speaking about the awards, Lawrence Owens, CEO of Cork Business Association, said, “The number of cranes currently visible in Cork’s skyline is a clear indicator of the amount of development in progress in our city with an estimated €1.3bn worth of projects started or completed last year. This is positive news for the future of Cork as the urban form continues to evolve with new and innovative projects. 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 consequently 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 2019, 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. We are delighted to support these awards again and would encourage all to participate.”
Last year’s winners included Crowley’s Opticians, L’attitude 51, Coughlan’s Pub, Casey & Kingston Auctioneers, Vila & Selected, Vienna Woods Hotel, Pilz, Egan’s Opticians, Old Model School, and the Judges Choice Award for 2018 was awarded to Nano Nagle Place. Entries this year are open to all buildings in the greater Cork area and to all previous winners again if they so wish.
We want to see your building portrayed in its best possible light so please send us a recent, high-resolution photograph and/or video of your building so we can join in the admiration. Your entry will not be complete without the inclusion of a photograph of your nominated building.
The closing date for applications is Monday, September 23rd 2019 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 nominate a building, please fill out an application form on www.corkbusiness.ie
