Add To Collection
Add to Collection
Ireland Park
Ireland Park
5, Eireann Quay, Old Toronto, Toronto, Canada
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
Other Projects by Kearns Mancini Architects Inc.
Ireland Park
5, Eireann Quay, Old Toronto, Toronto, Canada
Type
YEAR
2007
SIZE
1000 sqft - 3000 sqft
BUDGET
$1M - 5M
Ireland Park honours the Irish immigrants who fled during the Famine of 1847 and the 38,000 who arrived in Toronto that summer. Ireland Park is a bridge linking two nations and cities. It is the story of a destitute people overcoming unimaginable hardship and suffering, and speaks to the kindness and generosity of Canadians. It is a reminder of the trauma of famine, which still exists in many parts of the world today as well as within our own city. The failure of a harvest is an act of nature: Starvation is the result of our failure to respond with generosity to those who are hungry in our world today.Located at the foot of Bathurst Street at Eireann Quay, Toronto, Ireland Park is greatly defined and enhanced by its surroundings: To the east, five giant former grain silos dwarf the monuments and sculptures of the park as well as visitors, serving as a reminder of the continued prevalence of hunger. The park’s location, situated on the water’s edge, was also chosen as the site where the Irish immigrants would have first arrived. Expansive views of downtown Toronto and out into Lake Ontario encourage visitors to reflect in a secluded environment without being too far removed from the city.Ireland Park is a statement of confidence in the ongoing restoration of the quays and extension of the Waterfront Trail around the edges of Eireann Quay linking it to the rest of the city. Access to the park is guided by lighting and signage due to its relatively remote location, but the park also acts as a quiet retreat waiting to be discovered. Ireland Park has taken a lead in the future development of the surrounding area, existing as both destination and ‘sacred space’ bringing out more of the rich history of the city. Irish sculptor Rowan Gillespie’s haunting, harrowing figures provide the physical and emotional connection back to the ‘Departure’ site on Dublin Quay, in Ireland, where similar sculptures represent the famine victims who boarded ships to cross the Atlantic over 150 years ago.In the design of Ireland Park, there needed to be some of that powerful emotive energy evident in the sculptures. The massive, craggy, sculptural rockface of black Kilkenny limestone answered this need. A technical approach was devised to make smaller pieces of stone convey the feeling of massive rock and generate the effect of size, scale, texture and emotional energy. 1,100 names of famine immigrants who died in Toronto in 1847, are located in the openings cut into the rock where they can be discovered by people like the fossils in the stone itself. The stone material greatly influenced the design. The light grey sawn faces of the Kilkennny limestone provided a perfect surface for inscribing names. A selection was made of sawn finish, a flamed finish, a split face finish and ‘crust’. The crust is the top of the stone that is found when the overlying soil is stripped away to reveal nature’s own sculpture crafted by the elements over millions of years. Visitors can stand or sit on the crust stone.The stone work has set new standards in technical achievement. Without extensive structural engineering, the gravity-defying sculptural qualities of the stone columns could not have been achieved. The structure which is referred to as the ‘memory wall’ is a combination of re-inforced concrete and stone. After dark, the park assumes different moods as the glass cylinder is illuminated and the cuts through the wall are softly up-lighted to reveal the inscribed names. Pole-mounted lighting causes the concrete silos to glow and theatre lighting, mounted in one side of the low bench wall, lights the gaunt immigrants and casts their shadows on to the silo walls. Touch screen computers sit at the base of the glass technology tower, providing visitors with information on the Ireland Park Foundation and donors.Ireland Park was officially opened in June 2007 by the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese.
Product Spec Sheet
Were your products used?
Join as a manufacturer to add your products.