GLUCKSMAN GALLERY, CORK

GLUCKSMAN GALLERY, CORK

GLUCKSMAN GALLERY, CORK

The Glucksman Art Gallery and Restaurant Building is a multi-award-winning project close to the banks of the River Lee that forms part of the Main Campus at the Lower Grounds of UCC.

Client : University College Cork
Service : Educational property development
Architect : O’Donnell & Tourney
Quantity surveyors : Horgan Lynch & Partners
Structural engineer : Horgan Lynch & Partners
Services engineer : Arup Consulting Engineers
Value : €9 Million

The innovative site was built to fit with the landscape and comprises three high quality exhibition galleries, including a ‘close control’ gallery that regulates environmental conditions, plus a restaurant, dining areas, and gallery store. The building, which has a minimal environmental footprint and conserves the original parkland setting, covers 2,262m² over seven storeys and is finished and serviced to exhibition standards The building’s disparate components make use of contrasting materials — the base is a limestone-clad reinforced concrete structure, while the gallery structure uses galvanised steel wrapped in an envelope of sustainably sourced hardwood timber.

The interlocking planes of the upper façade sit on a concrete platform which is raised on cantilevers to allow the gallery’s proximity to the surrounding trees without damaging the roots. Only one single tree was removed from the site.