The Irish Examiner

People vote with many things, including their wallets, feet and cars. That’s why even soulless shopping centres can be meeting places: weekend traffic jams at these malls underscore this ‘drive’ to shop. However, the surprising selection of a suburban shopping centre as Cork’s most beautiful building will leave many throwing up their hands in horror. In a turn-up for the books, and a blow to the architectural elite and aesthetes, a public poll has judged Mahon Point Shopping Centre as Cork’s most beautiful building of the last decade. The two-year-old retail centre, essentially a sealed shopping box with minimal windows, some colour-changing lights and a bit of copper on the roof, all surrounded by acres of parking, beat the acclaimed and award-winning Glucksman Art Gallery in UCC by 428 to 338 votes in the Irish Examiner poll, which combined phone, text and online votes.