CLARION HOTEL

CLARION HOTEL

CLARION HOTEL

The Clarion Hotel is recognised as Cork City's landmark 4-star hotel, enviably situated on the waterfront within the City Quarter development on Lapps Quay, the heart of the city’s business district. PJ Hegarty was responsible for the full-scale development of this mixed-use site, which incorporates the 197 bedroom hotel plus a restaurant, bar and leisure centre, as well as offices and ancillary retail units.

Client : Resort Hotel Developments Ltd
Service : Hotel
Architect : Scott Tallon Walker
Quantity surveyors : Keogh McConnell - Dublin
Structural engineer : Walsh Goodfellow - Dublin
Services engineer : R.N.Murphy Associates
Value : €70 million

This €70 million project measured a gross floor area of 10,685m², with a double-level basement standing at 11,500m² that includes a car park with 280 parking spaces and leisure facilities with a 6m x 18m swimming pool. Full site works included the hard and soft landscaping of the quay as a frontage to the hotel and offices.

Various challenges were overcome to complete this project, which lies in a confined city centre location on the banks of the River Lee. Due to fluctuating groundwater levels, a dewatering system was installed to lower the groundwater levels within the excavation so that construction of the basement could be carried out in dry conditions. This involved the installation of 25 deep wells internal to the sheet piles around the perimeter of the dig. Another concern was the nearby historic Port of Cork Building, which has a stone façade and unknown foundations. Complex testing was carried out to monitor ground movement during foundational work to factor in any control measures required to protect the building.