The deadline for entries for the Better Building Awards is approaching fast and the good spell of weather
provides a great opportunity to photograph properties and enter them into one or more of the numerous
categories.
The closing date for entries is Wednesday September 13th and entries are open to all buildings in the Cork city
and in the greater Cork area and to all previous winners should they wish to enter again. It is free to enter and
nominations can be made by companies, organisations and notably by individuals, who believe a building
reflects well on the city scape. The categories for the awards are:
City Living – New for 2023
Climate Resilience – New for 2023
Retail
Heritage and Conservation
Café/Restaurant
Pub Front
Commercial Business Frontage
Tourism, Arts and Accommodation
New Development
Judges Choice
The judging panel for the Cork Better Buildings Awards brings a wealth of experience from local business and
retail, urban regeneration, heritage conservation and planning.
Lawrence Owens is a past President of the Cork Business Association and is well known in Cork as the long
serving General Manager of Roches Stores and Debenhams. He has spearheaded many campaigns on behalf
of local businesses and his retail experience brings a depth of understanding of the challenges faced by retail
businesses.
Shane Clarke is best known for his role as CEO of the Nano Nagle Centre a position he held for 6 years. He
now heads up his own Garden-City-Culture consultancy, focusing on urban design, urban management, green
infrastructure and nature-based solutions.
Ashleigh Murray is the Conservation Officer for Cork City Council. She previously worked with London firm
Donald Insall Associates, where she was the Heritage Advisor working on client accounts such as Parliamentary
Estates, Crown Estates and the National Trust.
Gwen Jordan is Senior Planner with Cork City Council. She is an expert in urban and rural planning and has
developed successful planning policy projects relating to urban regeneration and residential strategy.
Lawrence Owens said,
“The maintenance of properties and the visual aesthetics of buildings has a huge impact on the health of the
city and the community environment and this is something that we as judges are all passionate about.”
Nominations should be made via the CBA website cbaawards.ie/betterbuildings and should include an
image(s) of the building along with any other supporting material. There is no entry fee.
The judging process can take up to six weeks, as our illustrious panel of judges will independently assess all the
entries before announcing the winners on November 17 th , at an Awards luncheon in The Dean Hotel.