arts council of Northern Ireland Logo
 

Find in the title only
Home » News
Site Map

Arts Council Takes The Lead on Architecture

The Arts Council today, Jan 15 2003, unveiled a ground-breaking policy on the built environment, set to transform the design quality of new buildings and the way public space is developed across Northern Ireland.

The policy, four years in the making, was launched in St Patrick’s School, Donegall Street, Belfast, in the company of Dr Aideen McGinley (Permanent Secretary, Department of Culture, Arts & Leisure), Marie-Thérèse McGivern (Director of Development, Belfast City Council) and the distinguished architects Ciaran Mackel and Dawson Stelfox. The launch was followed by a formal discussion among the more than 40 invited stakeholders of the issues raised in the policy.

Launching the policy, Arts Council Chief Executive Roisin McDonough said "For many people, their built environment does not meet even the simplest of their needs – a decent home, access to local amenities and open space, a pleasant and stimulating place to work, opportunities for leisure, fresh air and a quiet, clean and safe environment. Our ability to meet these needs largely depends on the quality of the built environments we make."

Ms McDonough took the opportunity to welcome Paul Harron, recently appointed as the Council’s Architecture & Public Art Officer, the first time such a post has existed on a par with literature, music, drama and the other artforms. She went on to announce that, from April, the Council is offering Special Initiative funding of £120,000 to kick-start smaller-scale projects such as lectures, exhibitions and publications, while the Council’s Capital fund, which has already supported buildings as radical and striking as the Marketplace Theatre in Armagh City, the Millennium Forum in Derry City, the Burnavon in Cookstown and the Island Arts Centre in Lisburn City, is still available for application.

Ms McDonough welcomed Belfast City Council’s recent Built Environment Conference, held last October, and the commitment shown by government to the values expressed in the policy. She went on "This is a beginning, certainly, but it also represents a major commitment on behalf of all the agencies and individuals involved in drafting this policy to setting the development of our buildings and public spaces on an entirely new footing."

Endorsing the document. Dr Aideen McGinley welcomed the Arts Council’s Policy as a basis for interdepartmental co-operation on issues relating to architecture and the built environment. She said "There are clearly implications for a number of government departments and I intend to convene a working group to consider how these can be taken forward".

Click Here to Download Architecture and Built Environment Policy (PDF)

SELECTED KEY RECOMMENDATIONS

  • Government to adopt a policy on architecture and the built environment, one which supports high quality design and raises awareness among clients and the wider public and through its own procurement processes.
  • Ensure that quality of design and universal accessibility are key components of procurement processes in capital building projects.
  • Support the establishment of an Architecture Centre for Northern Ireland.
  • Promote excellence in architectural design through individual and civic awards.
  • Review the planning process to support high quality contemporary design and sensitive conservation.
  • Establish a Built Environment Task Force for Northern Ireland.
  • Establish a ‘Quality Watchdog’ based on existing European models.
  • The policy document is the result of an extensive process of consultation and review undertaken by the Council under a specially-convened working party of professionals which was set up in 1998.
  • Membership of the working party: Brian Ferran (artist & former CEO Arts Council of Northern Ireland) chair; Mary Kerrigan (architect, recipient of Sustainable Communities Millennium Award, examining exemplary urban design in Europe) secretary; Kevin Baird (architect & Heritage Lottery Fund Manager for Northern Ireland); Ian Campbell (architect); Esther Christie (former member, Northern Ireland Housing Executive); Doug Elliott (property developer); Joe Fitzgerald (architect); Alastair Hall (architect); Alistair Keys (architect); Ciaran Mackel (architect); Joan McCoy (architect).
  • Since 1995, the Arts Council has spent more than £23.5 million on buildings in Northern Ireland.
  • St Patrick’s School, Donegall Street, was the first National School in Northern Ireland, is one of the most important historic buildings in Northern Ireland. It was restored in 2000 at a cost of £900,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The original architect was Thomas Duff of Newry and the building is thought to be the last remaining example of Gothic style in Belfast.
  • Paul Harron worked with the fine art publisher Phaidon Press as editor of architecture and design, with Laurence King Publishing as Senior Editor in architecture and design and with Appletree Press in Belfast as Publishing Manager. He is an Associate Lecturer with the Open University and took up his post at the beginning of January 2003.