Post-Industrial Park
Like many former industrial cities, the Irish city of Cork has a large decommissioned industrial area adjacent to its city centre and along the river. It is an area that lends itself for residential development and redevelopment of the public park. The proposed Marina Park is planned on both a former brownfield site, which consists of mostly derelict showground buildings, a Gaelic sports stadium and an on the run down natural zone – thus creating a challenging context for a well-planned coherent park.

Adaptable park
In OKRA’s plan, the park plays an essential role in retaining stormwater runoff, not just within the park, but also for the surrounding residential areas and future dockland development. It provides a landscape solution for urban adaptation by creating space for the temporary storage of increased or extreme rainfall events and rising sea levels. The water theme becomes the backbone of the park, integrating the natural wetland areas with the social gathering and event areas. The park surrounds the renovated Gaelic sports stadium and reuses structures of the former showground.

Water landscape
OKRA’s integrated approach to landscape, water engineering, the social and cultural heritage results in a well-balanced park that transforms the contextual challenges of temporary water storage into one of the main features of the park.