It's always boasted a lovely campus, but these days UCC is looking better than ever. A major factor in this has been the removal of cars from many parts of the campus and from around the main quadrangle - the Quad - in particular.
This banning of cars from major campus locations makes it a more pleasant and peaceful place to be - even the air seems fresher.
However, the decision to restrict parking to specific locations within the college has been a controversial one, admits Ger Harrington, UCC's director of buildings and estates. The decision was taken as a result of a development scheme proposed by Urban Initiatives, London-based specialists in urban design and traffic management who were commissioned to design an environmental plan for the college.
UCC's campus dates back to 1849 when the magnificent Quad, designed by the Cork architect Sir Thomas Deane, was built of Cork limestone in Gothic revival style. The 40-acre campus has been thoughtfully designed - a number of more recent buildings have been constructed in such a way that their visual impact on the campus has been minimised.
For example, the Boole Library, whcih provides a home for some 600,000 volumes and over 4,000 periodicals, as well as lecture theatres, was built partly underground to avoid its dominating the Quad.
The O'Rahilly Building, also of white limestone, is a 10,500-square-metre building housing a number of arts faculties, teaching rooms and computer labs. "The Quad buildings cover only 5,000 square metres, so it was important that that the new building didn't dominate that corner of the campus," Harrington explains. "It's built in cruciform shape, which means you can't see all the building from any one angle, so it looks smaller than it is." UCC, though, does have its share of uninspiring or downright ugly buildings - of which the science building, built in 1971, is a prime example.
The student centre - Devere Hall/Aras na MacLeinn - designed by Dublin-based architect, Andre Wechert, is a recent and striking addition, built of Cork limestone and brick and incorporating an existing limestone tower. This building houses shops, cafes, bars and a multi-function hall. The main thrusts of the Urban Initiative plan are the provision of externally usable space for students, the enhancement of the overall quality of the campus landscape and the management of the car parking problem, Harrington says. The scheme proposes the removal of cars from the Quad eastwards and the provision of car parks in other areas of the campus.
"Students don't have enough hard space on which to congregate," he explains. "There's lots of grass, but between October and May it's usually too wet. The consultants have suggested a plaza for the students to gather on and talk."
A large plaza - Honan's Square - is planned for a space that links the student centre to the Quad. "It's a large space measuring 100 metres by 40 metres and will be paved in high quality materials and will include water features," Harrington notes.
Meanwhile, UCC has applied for planning permission for the construction of a car park at Perrott's Inch, which sits between the south channel of the River Lee and the Western Road. The existing car park on the western side of the campus has been extended and planning permission for a service access from Donovan's Road has been granted. "This," says Harrington, "means that trucks don't have to drive through the campus to supply the student centre."
The planners would also like to see the car parking space at Medical Square being returned to grass. "But we have to provide more parking before we can do that. We will have to look at something dramatic like a multi-storey car park. We are examining options, but it will be difficult commercially.
"We're also looking at a park-andride option in co-operation with the local authority and CIE. We're considering a three-month pilot programme." Changes are also under way in UCC's management structures. Two new vice-presidencies and the position of director of human resources have been established. UCC's first vice-president for research, Professor Brian Harvey, is now in place and the college is currently recruiting a vice-president for strategic planning, communications and development.
"We have grown very rapidly and have doubled our student numbers to 12,000 in eight years," comments Michael Kelleher, UCC's secretary/ bursar. "We now have to develop an administrative structure to cope."
That increase in numbers has other consequences. As in most third-level institutions these days, demand for car parking is high. "We have space for 700 cars, but we have a staff of 17,000 and a student population of 12,000. Parking spills out on to the adjoining streets and we are trying to address the problem."
The steps leading from the main avenue up to the campus are also to be upgraded. "They're very narrow. Two people can barely pass each other. Architects have been engaged to design new steps - a broad stepped walkway built of limestone with a black slate edging." The college, too, proposes to resurface the main avenue. Included in this will be limestone pavoirs, each containing the name of an important scholar.
The main UCC campus is largely hemmed in by the Bons Secours Hospital on one side and by suburban housing on the others. The college, however, is continuing to make acquisitions in the surrounding areas. Five years ago, UCC bought a former convent and orphanage - the Good Shepherd - on a 10-acre site in Sundays' Well to develop as offices for a number of departments.
More recently, the college has purchased a seven-acre site with an existing building - formerly the Cork Enterprise Centre, North Mall. Currently being finalised is the purchase of St Vincent's monastery. "It adjoins our lands on the North Mall and will give us a total site there of nine acres, including an accommodation building," Harrington observes.
UCC is also set to acquire the local dog track on the Western Road and a three-and-half-acre site, Brookfield House, just across the river. Eventually these two could be linked by bridge, Harrington says.
