As one of the largest student bed accommodation developments in the country, the 15,000sqm Carrigrohane Student Accommodation project involved the reuse of an existing 0.64ha brown field urban site to provide 92 apartments and 484 en-suite bedrooms for student accommodation. Ancillary accommodation includes reception, common room, tv-games room, study area and laundry etc. as well as open space as recreational amenity.
Located at the site of the former Coca Cola bottling plant on Carrigrohane Road in Cork city, the development ranges from four to seven storeys in height and the frame comprises of reinforced concrete flat slabs supported off columns & core walls with piled foundations.
Set back from the Carrigrohane Road, open space is provided via two courtyards and a new public amenity space to the Curraheen River at the rear of the site.
The site is well connected to public transport and cycling routes and sits in close proximity to both UCC and CIT.
Sustainable modes of transports are actively promoted with on-site with free bike hire and storage offered to all students. The development of a scenic cycle path to the rear of Bottleworks connects to a wider cycle path along the Curraheen River which makes it’s possible to cycle from the Carrigrohane Road scheme, via cyclepaths, to MTU. DBFL Consulting Engineers provided the civil and structural design services for this project.
The development is comprised of 6 blocks varying in height from 6 storeys to 10 storeys and is constructed on piled foundations, with the ground floor raised above the local flood level. Constructed as a reinforced concrete flat slab frame, the building maximises the number of storeys along the skyline of the banks of the River Lee. With sustainable practices at the forefront of thinking, GGBS cement was widely used in the concrete for this project to ensure a reduced carbon footprint in the concrete production. The sustainable practices adopted in this project did not go without recognition with the Bottleworks Student Accommodation nominated for the “Best New Development” in the Cork Business Association – Better Building Awards.
Project Director
