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Crawford Art Gallery Secures Planning Permission for Major Revamp
The Crawford Art Gallery in Cork, Ireland has recently been granted planning permission for a massive overhaul, including extensive conservation work on the existing Custom House building and a new eight-storey building addition to the rear of the site. This multi-million euro project is in the hands of internationally renowned Irish architecture firm Grafton Architects, with Mary McCarthy as the director. The revamp, funded by a budget likely to extend beyond the original €29m, is set to be the single biggest cultural investment in Cork, and is expected to take 2 years to complete.
The New Design’s Historical and Spatial Implications
The Crawford Art Gallery has undergone multiple architectural updates, spanning three centuries, with the latest Grafton Architects addition constituting a fourth. Through this addition and renovation, the Crawford team aims to conserve the historical heritage of the gallery, allowing for public access to the 18th and 19th century wings. A larger atrium will provide space for opening up these areas, whilst the creation of the 70-seater restaurant in a space that is currently inaccessible to the public aims to increase the animation of Half Moon St. The creation of a landscaped garden, a greener street with the planting of trees, and an extension of the gallery’s main entrance, will contribute to the overall reorientation towards Emmet Place. The new design will feature a larger, rationalised layout, with a more accommodating ground floor, increasing the gallery’s accessibility. Additionally, a new super-sized lift will be installed, allowing for transportation of larger artworks within the building.
The Storage, Decant and Conservation of Artworks
With a collection of over 4,000 artworks, Crawford’s team face the significant challenge of packing, moving, and storing their collection during the renovation. They are currently finding and contracting multiple storage locations and risk assessing the decant process, a task that has taken a year and a half of analysis. Gallery staff intend to host behind-the-scenes tours for the public to view the building following the art’s removal and before construction starts. Oncethe building is closed, Crawford staff intend to repair, restore, and catalogue some of the existing artworks, whilst also facilitating loans or creating temporary exhibitions in other galleries.
Final Considerations and Future Impact
The gallery’s redevelopment has seen mixed public reactions, specifically regarding the height of the proposed new building addition. With Cork City Council to determine the building’s height as a one-off and not a precedent, Mary McCarthy believes the architects’ approach is beautiful and considered, with the classic Cork combination of red brick and contemporary limestone fenestration. The gallery will remain open until summer 2024, with building works estimated to take two years, during which staff will work on preserving the artworks. The Crawford Art Gallery’s redeveloped design will hopefully allow for greater public accessibility, reorientation towards the city’s main street, and contribute to the animation of the Half Moon St location. Ultimately, it is the public who will ultimately decide whether they love it and feel it adds to Cork’s cityscape.
