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ULSTER UNIVERSITY BELFAST CAMPUS, NORTHERN IRELAND
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A NEW LEGACY
The campus is located at an intersection of three streets with distinct histories: Donegall Street (one of Belfast’s oldest), York Street (Victorian) and Frederick Street (20th century)
desire to contribute positively to Northern Ireland’s future.
Augmenting the student presence with Queens University located on the south side of the city, the infl ux of students to the new campus is “already having a dramatic” impact on the local economy, contributing to greater occupation of the centre and steady local investment, according to Tyler. The city is seeing a surge in the establishment of small local businesses such as bakeries and cafes, as well as large-scale student housing developments.
Design development & form Tyler, along with fellow FCBStudios partners Keith Bradley and Alex Whitbread, assessed various variations on the brief during RIBA Ssstage 1. These options were then presented to the University Council to ensure that the design met functional and aesthetic requirements. Although several options were considered, the fi nal design “closely resembled the original competition proposal,” says Tyler.
Due to the sheer scale and ambition of the project, the team reviewed examples of
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large urban universities from the US, UK, and Europe to inform their work. In terms of the local infrastructure, the site presented an “adverse urban context” that FCBStudios saw as both a challenge and an opportunity. The campus is located at an intersection of three streets with distinct histories: Donegall Street – one of the oldest planned streets in Belfast, York Street of the Victorian era, and Frederick Street – what Tyler describes as a “monstrous” road built during the 20th century when spending on car infrastructure was at its peak.
The building proposals needed to manage the present condition of the car-dominated York Street and Frederick Street, while “anticipating a city that could be transformed by a modal shift towards active travel,” said the architects. From the outset, to combat this precedent, the designers looked to create a more pedestrian-focused area in the project. FCBStudios have achieved this by designing a series of activated frontages that bring vibrancy at street level. Here are located various activities
ADF MAY 2023
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