New sculpture adds cultured touch to city’s docklands
Reedpod, a 13-metre high, three-tonne sculpture at the €130 million City Quarter development on Lapp’s Quay, was handed over to the city by property developers Howard Holdings.
Lord Mayor Deirdre Clune accepted the sculpture on behalf of the city.
She said it was a wonderful addition to the city’s works of public art and described the company’s gift as “generous and uplifting”.
“I think Corkonians and visitors will be struck by its impact and pleasure on the evolving streetscape in the docklands area,” she said.
Reedpod was designed by sculptor Eilís O’Connell.
It is made of quarter-inch thick copper sheeting and is covered with a stainless steel structure that allows it to move slightly with the wind.
She said the piece was inspired by the site’s history as a marsh.
“Over time, the site evolved from solid earth to city,” she said.
“I am intrigued by this type of slow transformation, so I tried to imagine the site before man interfered with it and I began to look at the vegetation of native marshland planting. What I came up with is a kind of hybrid form.
“There is no such thing as a reedpod and the sculpture derives from studies and drawings of reeds, rushes and pod-like forms.”
Howard Holdings’ managing director, Greg Coughlan, said the gift marked the completion of City Quarter and Cork’s tenure as European Capital of Culture.
“City Quarter is a landmark development in so many ways but particularly because it is the first project to be completed within the Cork Docklands renewal area,” he said.
