We were asked by North City Business Centre (NCBC) to examine their cluster of buildings along one of the city’s most difficult interfaces, at the node of Duncairn Gardens and North Queen Street. They sought a ‘Visioning Strategy’ for the next 20 years including expansion and development plans without the need to de–cant from the current site and with minimal disruption to their tenants.
The study is to be used by NCBC as a platform for discussion with DRD (Roads Service) , DSD and Belfast City Council regarding the potential development opportunity for adjacent empty / under–used sites. NCBC has a strong and influential presence in North Belfast and therefore embraced its responsibility to lead by example by reconstructing its public face and positive outlook. In this sense it was anticipated that the works would act as a catalyst for future positive change across North Belfast.
Previous research and investigations established that this part of the North Belfast is ‘missing’ in the perceived mental maps of residents of both Tigers Bay and New Lodge, either side of the present day interface. These ‘Neutral’ zones within peoples’ perception have provided opportunities for redevelopment that can potentially be adopted by both communities, allowing Duncairn Gardens to restore its role as a ‘seam’, as was its historical urban condition, rather than its ‘troubles’ emergence as a barrier.
The situation and layout of the existing centre itself is a common one throughout the streetscape of ‘post–conflict’ Belfast. Due to security concerns at the time, buildings were planned in a cautious, defensive and inward–looking manner, in this case using a screen of planting and a large fence between the building and the street. These buffers actually amount to a large area of usable space with immediate street frontage.
We proposed a 3–phase approach; ‘animating the edge,’ ‘reconnecting to the street’, and ‘extend and grow’. The first phase was a series of temporary structures that would replace these large fences that currently define the centre’s relationship with the street. This would test the idea of providing existing traders at the centre with street frontage, without the initial large investment in rebuilding. Subsequent phases would then be larger, permanent building proposals to create new enterprise spaces out of previously blighted, wasted space.
We were asked by North City Business Centre (NCBC) to examine their cluster of buildings along one of the city’s most difficult interfaces, at the node of Duncairn Gardens and North Queen Street. They sought a ‘Visioning Strategy’ for the next 20 years including expansion and development plans without the need to de–cant from the current site and with minimal disruption to their tenants.
The study is to be used by NCBC as a platform for discussion with DRD (Roads Service) , DSD and Belfast City Council regarding the potential development opportunity for adjacent empty / under–used sites. NCBC has a strong and influential presence in North Belfast and therefore embraced its responsibility to lead by example by reconstructing its public face and positive outlook. In this sense it was anticipated that the works would act as a catalyst for future positive change across North Belfast.
Previous research and investigations established that this part of the North Belfast is ‘missing’ in the perceived mental maps of residents of both Tigers Bay and New Lodge, either side of the present day interface. These ‘Neutral’ zones within peoples’ perception have provided opportunities for redevelopment that can potentially be adopted by both communities, allowing Duncairn Gardens to restore its role as a ‘seam’, as was its historical urban condition, rather than its ‘troubles’ emergence as a barrier.
The situation and layout of the existing centre itself is a common one throughout the streetscape of ‘post–conflict’ Belfast. Due to security concerns at the time, buildings were planned in a cautious, defensive and inward–looking manner, in this case using a screen of planting and a large fence between the building and the street. These buffers actually amount to a large area of usable space with immediate street frontage.
We proposed a 3–phase approach; ‘animating the edge,’ ‘reconnecting to the street’, and ‘extend and grow’. The first phase was a series of temporary structures that would replace these large fences that currently define the centre’s relationship with the street. This would test the idea of providing existing traders at the centre with street frontage, without the initial large investment in rebuilding. Subsequent phases would then be larger, permanent building proposals to create new enterprise spaces out of previously blighted, wasted space.
