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Belfast: Moving in the Right Direction?

12 December 2012

A lunchtime presentation and discussion during the implementation of the Department for Regional Development's £3.5m Belfast on the Move Transport Masterplan - a project intended to deliver improved priority for buses, pedestrians and cyclists and eventually allow for a Belfast Rapid Transit system. PLACE posed the question - is it moving Belfast in the right direction? DRD's Ciaran De Burca outlined the objectives and merits of the project and took questions from those in attendance.

Connecting Territories: Discussion with Aidan McGrath

6 December 2012

Connecting Territories is an exhibition by McGarry Moon Architects illustrating the works of ten innovative architecture practices from across the UK and Ireland exploring the essence of dwelling. At this discussion former PLACE Director Aidan McGrath led a discussion of the projects on display.

Urban Library Series: Ciaran Mackel

29 November 2012

Architect Ciaran Mackel explored the urban literature that shapes the local built environment and influences his work.

Urban Library Series: Marcus Patton

1 November 2012

Architect and Artist Marcus Patton explored the urban literature that shapes the local built environment and influences his work.

PLACE at the 50th Belfast Festival at Queen's

19 October - 4 November 2012

During the 50th Belfast Festival at Queen's PLACE explored the area around Queen's University, Botanic, Lisburn Road, Malone and Stranmillis through our 'Queen's Quarter: An Urban Walk' tour.

We also provided two special tours exploring the architecture, spaces and stories from 50 years of the Belfast Festival at Queen's (PLACE Festival 50 Tour) and a special tour around Queen's University demonstrating how to capture gorgeous, interesting photographs of architecture (Queen's Quarter: A Photographic Journey).

PLACE at Culture Night Belfast 2012

21 September 2012

out of PLACE returned at North Street during Culture Night offering creative people an opportunity to perform and run a workshops. We sought to demonstrate alternative uses for town centres and highlight the positive impact of culture, arts and creativity for regenerating our urban areas.

In partnership with somewhereto_NI.

PLACE at the East Belfast Festival

8 September - 9 September 2012

During the East Belfast Festival PLACE led a walking tour exploring the local architecture - from vertical gardens on the Newtownards Road to the Art Deco Strand cinema, the church where C.S Lewis was baptised and the Titanic Quarter.

What next for Ulster Architecture? Panel Discussion

7 September 2012

To kick off the 2012 European Heritage Open Days weekend, PLACE hosted a free lunchtime event at which local experts discussed the legacy of modern architecture in Ulster and considered what new architecture is on the horizon.

In the past few years, new high-profile public buildings have opened in Northern Ireland: The Lyric (O'Donnell & Tuomey), The MAC (Hackett Hall McKnight) and the Giant's Causeway Visitor Centre (Heneghan Peng). Are they indicative of a renaissance in contemporary Ulster Architecture, or if not, what obstacles are there between us and a better contemporary architecture in Ulster?

Speakers included Barrie Todd, Ciaran Mackel, Sarah Lappin, Alastair Hall and Mark Hackett.

PLACE at European Heritage Open Days 2012

7 September - 9 September 2012

PLACE was delighted to be participating in the European Heritage Open Days again in 2012. PLACE invited Barrie Todd, Architect and former RSUA President, to curate a list of notable modern buildings which opened their doors to the public around Northern Ireland. 

"Good architecture does not stop at the front door", says Barrie Todd, guest curator for PLACE. "Some would have it that an architect produces the exterior of a building, leaving interiors to other disciplines. But good architecture does not stop at the front door - it continues to address all aspects in a holistic manner."

PLACE opened Robinsview House in Saintfield, The Lyric Theatre and the MAC in Belfast, Culturlann in Derry and the University of Ulster York Street Campus and the Public Records Office buildings in Belfast. We also facilitated a guided walk of Victoria Square looking at the urban design of the scheme and a guided tour of the Giant’s Causeway Visitor Centre with the project architects.

Book Launch: Machine for Experiential Urban Learning

6 September 2012

The book, Machine for Experiential Urban Learning (MEUL), edited by Saul Golden and Liam McComish, and published with PLACE, presents the combined original output of the Urban Research Belfast project so far, through creative mechanisms for teaching, learning and investigating about place in existing urban environments. 

MEUL and URB emphasize the value of getting lost, or at least moving outside of personal and professional comfort zones, and questioning negative preconceptions about marginal areas of existing cities. These approaches to the teaching and working in existing cities ask designers to become more than transitory flâneurs, to explore with more purpose, and to become more attuned to implicit and explicit local narratives.

PLACE at Household Festival 2012

25 August - 26 August 2012

Know Your Place: Ormeau Road
An Ormeau Road inspired workshop and treasure hunt for kids aged 6-10 as part of the Household Festival 2012.

Ormeau Architectural Walking Tour
Rosie Hickey led this architectural tour celebrating the small scale, the local and the familiar. The tour focused on an area absent on most walking tours and highlighted domestic architecture and the local streetscape. Wandering through streets often overlooked through sheer familiarity, the tour celebrated architectural detail and design, uncovered the history of the Ormeau, and charted the evolution of the area. 

Settlement: Panel Discussion

9 August 2012

To accompany an exhibition called Settlement by Anthony Haughey, PLACE and Belfast Exposed teamed up to present a panel discussion which drew comparisons between policies and patterns of urban development in the North and the South of Ireland in recent years, particularly in the contexts of Belfast and Dublin.

Speakers included Aidan McGrath, PLACE, Paschal Mahoney, Mahony Architects, Mark Hackett, Forum for Alternative Belfast and James Hayes, University College Dublin.

PLACE at The Belfast Film Festival 2012

31 May - 7 June 2012

PLACE were delighted to be working with the Belfast Film Festival to bring architecture and urban design films to the city: two highly acclaimed films from 2011, and one classic from 1988.
  • Urbanized (2011) - 31 May at the MAC
  • The Pruitt-Igoe Myth (2011) - 2 June at the BFF Beanbag Cinema
  • The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces (1988) - 7 June at Commercial Court

The Open Source

3 May - 13 May 2012 

For eleven days during the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival ‘The Open Source’ occupied the vacant ground floor of the impressive Art Deco Sinclair House. The project provided around 80 hours of performance, music, workshops, and more. Open Source demonstrated how culture and the arts can bring life to an empty space in Belfast city centre. This project was managed by PLACE, somewhereto_ and Seed Head Arts. 

Non-place, country and city

25 April 2012

This lunchtime talk by Alona Martinez-Perez (Architect and Lecturer in Urbanism at University of Ulster) explored recent examples of her research work looking at Spanish architecture. 



Share Your Vision

21 April 2012

Share Your Vision is the platform for students of architecture, urban design, planning and related disciplines to share their ideas and discuss topics of interest.

At the second event in the series Architect Aidan McGrath was guest speaker as the group discussed issues including, the University of Ulster's Belfast campus, improving cycling in Belfast and architecture as a profession and its viability.

PLACEwinterschool

12 March - 16 March 2012

PLACEwinterschool was an intensive week long event facilitated by Forum for Alternative Belfast focusing on the area and on current and proposed urban projects around the 'Cultural Corridor'. The Corridor extends from the Cathedral Quarter at Donegall Street, up Clifton Street and on to the Crumlin Road Courthouse and Jail and the Carnegie Library on the Oldpark Road.

Nearly £1 billion of public and private investment will be spent in the area in the next ten years. It is vital that this spending delivers the maximum benefit to Belfast, to the local communities and to the re-making of good streets, in what is one of the most fragmented areas of Belfast.

Findings and recommendations from the PLACEwinterschool were published in the Forum for Alternative Belfast's Coordinate and Connect publication.

Download: Coordinate and Connect [PDF]

PLACE at the Belfast Children's Festival 2012

9 March - 10 March 2012

Making Art in Public Spaces
PLACE hosted a workshop with artist-designer duo Seainin and David for children aged 9-11. The workshop explored art in public spaces: sculpture, designing artwork into the public realm and temporary artworks and allowed children to create their own temporary artwork in a public space!

Cardboard Cities
A child’s favourite toy is a cardboard box - imagine an entire city made from them! That's exactly what we facilitated using freestanding pieces built from cardboard and allowing visitors of all ages to add their own extra features. This unique installation piece was created by artists Caragh O’Donnell and Ryan O’Reilly.

Regenerating Titanic Quarter

29 February 2012

The skyline of Belfast is changing and as Belfast approached the 100th anniversary of the launch and sinking of the Titanic PLACE offered people the chance to find out about the impact the new Titanic Quarter will have on the city.

We asked Mike Smith, then Chief Executive of Titanic Quarter, to survey the new docklands of Belfast and what they mean for the city, the economy, inhabitants and visitors.

Holiday Snaps: Architecture Around the World

20 February 2012

“One’s destination is never a place, but rather a new way of looking at things.” - Henry Miller.

Architects, planners, students and enthusiasts gathered at the Black Box to share their passion for the sights they've seen around the world.


PLACE Built Environment Centre
7-9 Lower Garfield Street, Belfast, BT1 1FP
info@placeni.org
​(+44) 28 9023 2524

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