Students recognised by county mayor for work in creating age-friendly housing solutions 

THE ARCHITECTS of the future have been recognised by the Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr Frank O'Flynn for their work in creating designs for age-friendly housing solutions. 

Mayor O’Flynn presented awards to the exceptional talents behind the winning entries in the recent Cork County Council Age Friendly Housing Competition.

This competition, supported by Cork County Council and the Cork Centre of Architectural Education (comprising of University College Cork and Munster Technological University), provides a platform for second-year architecture students to showcase their ingenuity in designing age-friendly housing solutions.

This year's challenge focused on the creation of community-based, age-friendly designs, with a special emphasis on disability-aware design.

Notably, the competition was conducted in partnership with the Cork County Architects and the Cork Age Friendly Alliance, both of whom actively participated in the evaluation of the student designs.

Amy Cotter emerged as the recipient of the prestigious first-place award for her outstanding project.

Kamil Abuda secured the second-place position, and Ellie O’Connell was placed third.

Congratulating the winners, Mayor Frank O'Flynn said: "This competition serves as a catalyst for our aspiring architects to conceptualise housing schemes tailored to the unique needs of our aging population. 

"It encourages them to break free from convention and conceive homes that are universally designed, fully accessible, secure, and welcoming, ensuring lifelong comfort and convenience."

The remarkable designs created by these talented students will be on public display on the ground floor of Cork County Hall, located on Carrigrohane Road, this week. 

The exhibition will run from 10am to 4pm, tomorrow (Monday) through Friday, until October 6. 

It offers an opportunity for the community to view these innovative architectural solutions.