The Spiegeltent goes up at Kyrl's Quay near the Bridewell garda station, a location chosen for a Cork City Council competition for a new architectural design to fill this neglected river-side space.

Announcing Conroy Architecture of Scotland as winners of the €5,000 prize which carries no promise of a commission, RIAI president Anthony Reddy praised the city council for its determination to promote high quality contemporary architecture in the city centre while also respecting the historic context and existing urban fabric.

About 20 of the 80 or so international entries were on display last week to give the city a chance to see how others see it; the assessors awarded second prize to Christian Carlsen Arkitektfirma for a concept based on the creation of a green space for retail development, while a special award went to Donaghy and Diamond Architects for an urban strategy involving the removal of the garda station.

The architectural strand is one of the Cork 2005 programme heavyweights, and this exhibition was just a taster for Ireland's first festival of architecture which begins in Cork on June 11th. From that date the Crawford Gallery will host the international touring exhibition New Trends of Architecture in Europe and Asia-Pacific until July 23rd, with an associated symposium on June 11th at the City Hall.

That day will see the opening of the RIAI Awards exhibition at the Crawford (until July 9th), which will also be the venue for the Michael Scott Centenary Exhibition from June 24th to July 23rd.

Cork 2005 deputy director Mary McCarthy enthuses about the aims of this event. She hopes it will attract the presence of the key decision-makers and developers in the city. With the Department of the Environment likely to set up an Irish Architectural Foundation, she hopes that this month-long focus on architecture, sponsored by the construction firm John F Supple Ltd, might be the beginning of a drive for visual quality in major developments now proposed for Cork.