Plans for ambitious revamp of Mayfield library include striking saw-tooth roof

A CGI of the proposed revamp of Mayfield Library and St Joseph's Community Centre, Cork.

Plans have been unveiled for a major extension and renovation of a popular public library and community centre on Cork’s northside as a new community resource with a striking saw-tooth roof.

Cork City Council has published the designs in a Part 8 planning notice for the full revamp of the Frank O’Connor library in Mayfield and the adjoining St Joseph’s Community Centre, which are housed in a building built originally in the 1980s as a supermarket.

The library, one of the city’s 10 public library branches, and the adjoining community hall building are on Old Youghal Road, one of the main roads through Mayfield.

A CGI of the proposed revamp of Mayfield Library and St Joseph's Community Centre, Cork.

But in an architectural statement published as part of the Part 8 process, the council says the buildings, while well used, have “a weak visual presence” along the road, have dispersed services, and are obscured by surrounding walls which further disconnects them from the street.

“The existing building fabric is of poor quality with largely corrugated metal and uninsulated cavity walls which fall well short of current energy performance requirements,” it says. 

And while the library interior consists of a large open space with natural lighting to some areas, the report says large areas of the interior have limited direct daylight and storage, while toilets and staff areas are “cramped and inadequate”.

The community centre entrance is obscured with ramps and though also well used, it has “poorly proportioned rooms and spaces” for its many functions, the report says.

The work, if approved, will entail a major re-development of the facility with part demolition, refurbishment and an expansion.

The designs, which have been developed by Cork City Council’s architect’s department in conjunction with the library service, propose the stripping back of the existing building structure to its basic long-span steel truss structure.

Most of the external walls, glazing and roofing will be demolished and replaced and upgraded.

A CGI of the proposed revamp of Mayfield Library and St Joseph's Community Centre, Cork.

The development includes a combined library and community centre entrance foyer via new extension to the Old Youghal Road side, extensions to the library to the east into the current car-park area, and towards the rear boundary to the south.

The architects say the saw-tooth roof will present a visually striking and much-improved presence and public footage, and will maximise natural light into the new building.

There are also plans to upgrade the public realm along the Old Youghal Road, to incorporate a bus stop into the new building’s front facade via a cantilevered canopy or shelter and for the creation of a new multifunctional external plaza, with a retractable canopy for outdoor events.

The plans are open for submissions until June 3.