As part of an invited competition MMAS was engaged by Cork City Council and the National Sculpture Factory to develop proposals for a new semi–permanent artwork for Coal Quay, in Cork city centre.

Drawing on the historic use of the site as a bustling marketplace, the sculpture can be interpreted as a civic place to play, rest, perform and observe.

The design introduces a grid of timber columns, which seeks to accommodate existing pedestrian patterns and complement the geometry of streets surrounding this historic civic space. Into the grid we have placed an elevated steel deck, which provides a setting from which the performance of daily life can unfold. The sculpture lifts and facets to invite occupation and tempt activity. Human energy can weave its way through, around, below and above.

The visual presence of the sculpture activates the streetscape with life throughout daylight hours and into the evening, inviting engagement that isn’t associated with spending money. It is therefore, true public space, available to all, with opportunity for interaction in a multitude of both active and passive ways.