The new tallest building in Ireland is taking shape on Leeside as the huge 25-storey Railyard apartment complex is rising at Albert Quay. It will deliver over 200 new affordable homes by the end of next year.
Cork city is reclaiming its title of Ireland’s tallest residential building. While The Elysian in Cork held the title for a decade, three Dublin blocks soon came to knock it off its spot includig Capital Dock and College Square – both 22-storeys tall. When finished, the Railyard building will tower over the nearby Elysian, beating the 85m, 28-storey Obel Tower in Belfast.
Cork County Hall previously had the title and held it for years after the 17-storey local authority building was completed in the 1960s.
Now, Cork is back on top. The 25-storey Railyard development is now a prominent fixture on the Leeside skyline. The apartment block is on the site of the former Sextant pub, and the main core, which includes the stairs and lift shaft, stands at over 85.5m and was completed on Saturday, March 28th.
The Railyard Apartments. Picture: Drone Solutions Ireland
Dan Sheehan, Contracts Manager with main contractor PJ Hegarty, said progress has been rapid: “We are very pleased to have completed this important phase of the project safely and on schedule, which was the result of months of planning and collaboration across the project team. Cores 2 and 3 shall now commence, which are a more traditional precast concrete design, which we expect to have completed by the end of April.”
Specialist contractor Slipform UK commenced pouring the lift and stair core on March 18th. Over 1,700 cubic meters of concrete were poured continuously and tied over 225 tonnes of reinforcing steel. The team worked 24/7 over 10 days to reach full height. The contractor averaged 2.5 floors per day with a crew of 30 specialist workers on each 12-hour shift.
The project is operating using the very latest in ‘Vertical Slipform Construction’, where platforms are used by construction workers to build floor-by-floor, placing steel reinforcing rods ahead of concrete and moving up quickly, constructing a central spine of the building for lifts, stairs and utilities.
The Railyard Apartments. Picture: Drone Solutions Ireland
The Railyard also involves the renovation of two listed buildings on-site, namely Carey House and the former railway terminus building. When fully constructed, the Railyard will be the tallest residential building in Ireland, designed by award-winning architects Henry J Lyons, with input from specialist tall-building architect Richard Coleman of London-based City Designer.
The project consists of a landmark, slender 25-storey tower designed to a high architectural standard, which steps down to 13-storeys and then 9-storeys. The Railyard will deliver 217 affordable new homes in Cork’s Docklands by the end of 2027 and is a collaborative partnership between Cork City Council, Clúid and JCD Group.