'Local notability' of Frank Murphy's bottling plant is 'not sufficient to afford it protection from change'
Artist's impression of what revised plan for new Tyndall facility looks like incorporating key elements of original Frank Murphy bottling plant at Distillery Fields
AN expert assessment of the Distillery Fields bottling plant designed by the late acclaimed Cork architect Frank Murphy found it is of “low level importance” and “should not stand in the way of achieving a better use of the site for worthy causes of national importance".
The assessment, carried out by townscape and heritage specialists Citydesigner on behalf of University College Cork and the Tyndall National Institute, found that while the 1960s Irish Distillers building is a “highly competent work” that served its purpose well, it contains only “a fragment of delight”.
That “fragment” is in the form of “surprisingly chosen yellow, glazed bricks” along the southern face and the towering chimney.
The Heritage Significance Report said if the building was to be demolished, then at a minimum, its “local significance” should be acknowledged, “based on the revival of Cork distilleries and the standing of the architect as a leading modern conservationist and citizen of the city”. It should also be drawn and photographed and preserved as a Cork heritage record, the report said
However if full demolition was not an option, then the yellow brick elevation and chimney should be retained and incorporated into the new development, or dismantled and re-erected elsewhere.
UCC/Tyndall have opted to incorporate the south elevation and chimney as part of a new planning application devised in the wake of a public outcry last year when it emerged that the modernist building was to make way for a new multistorey nanoelectronics research building for the Tyndall.
UCC part-owns the Distillery Fields North Mall site and the original plan to develop it involved demolishing the bottling plant, which some regard as a fine example of 20th-century modernist architecture. The public has grown more familiar with it since the development of a walkway that runs past it.
The report said while "not widely appreciated for much of its existence", the building had "very recently attracted significant attention and affection following the submission of proposals to Cork City Council which propose its demolition".
On foot of the public disquiet, UCC hired Citydesigner to undertake the Heritage Significance Report. While acknowledging Frank Murphy’s status as “one of Cork’s most acclaimed and intriguing modernist architects”, the report found that in general terms, the building’s “local notability” was “not sufficient to afford it protection from change or have it added to the national list of protected structures”.
A more rigorous assessment against eight Architectural Heritage Protection Guidelines, including architectural, historical, archaeological, artistic, cultural, scientific, technical and, social, found that the bottling plant fell short across all categories, with the exception of “architectural interest”.
“And even then, it only applies to part of the south elevation. This is not sufficient to warrant retention, still less protection,” the report says.
The only criterion fully met was that it was the design of a “distinguished architect”.
UCC/Tyndall’s revised plan for the Distillery Fields, with design by architects Scott Tallon Walker, will integrate the “noteworthy” “elements of the building including the glazed yellow brick, chimney, loading bay canopies and wall behind.
Cork City Council is due to decide by February 14 on the application for permission to build a 16,750 sq m facility, rising from four to six storeys, including research labs, offices, start-up incubation, a public café, exhibition space and conference areas.
Mr Murphy's contribution to the architectural landscape extends well beyond Cork city, but among his most notable designs in his native county are Jennings Soda Water factory on Watercourse Road (1949) which has been altered and compromised over time;
Ballyphephane National School and Convent, Cork (1952 - 1957): All Saints Church in Drimoleague (1953-'56) considered daring and innovative at the time;
Sutton House at the top of South Mall (1966 - '67) and Thompsons Bakery Swiss Roll Factory on MacCurtain St (1967).
