Landmark book on Modern Ulster Architecture launched today

The Ulster Architectural Heritage Society today (October 12 th) launched a new book which the Arts Council of Northern Ireland has called a “landmark architectural publication”. Modern Ulster Architecture presents a detailed and accessible picture of the development of Ulster architecture from the 1900s to the present day.

(L-R): Authors Mark Hackett, Charles Rattray, David Evans, Alastair Hall and Paul Larmour, pictured with Jane McClure, Chair of the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society and Rosemary Kelly, Chairman of the Arts Council.

Launching the book, Shane O’Toole, Sunday Times architectural correspondent , commented that, “This definitive publication highlights the buildings that are shaping the community and mirroring Ulster’s growing social and economic confidence. This is tomorrow’s cultural heritage”.

Modern Ulster Architecture makes a huge contribution to the body of knowledge about architecture in Northern Ireland. It picks up where David Evans’s pioneering Introduction to Modern Ulster Architecture (1977) left off, but the scope of this richly illustrated, 192-page book is yet more ambitious, with critical essays by leading architectural experts, supported by detailed case study descriptions, photographs and architectural drawings of Ulster’s most influential Modernist buildings.

(L-R): Celebrating the launch of the new publication by the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, Modern Ulster Architecture - Shane O’Toole, Sunday Times Architectural Correspondent, Roisín McDonough, Arts Council Chief Executive, and architectural historian Dr Paul Larmour

David Evans writes in the book that Ulster “can lay claim to a range of good Modernist design”. Some fine examples highlighted include the fortress-like concrete extension to the Ulster Museum, the exquisite St. Aengus’s Church, noted for how its circular sculptural form blends perfectly with the mountainous setting overlooking Lough Swilly in County Donegal, up to present day projects like the Giant’s Causeway Visitors’ Centre, whose grass roof and glass walls are designed to sit sympathetically beneath the lie of the land, leaving the ridge line of the approach to the Causeway unbroken.

Speaking at the launch, Karen Latimer, editor of Modern Ulster Architecture , said , “The Ulster Architectural Heritage Society has been at the forefront of architectural publishing here for over 30 years and is delighted to add this excellent book to its list. The Society exists to promote the appreciation of good architecture of all periods and Modern Ulster Architecture will raise awareness of the important and often unappreciated buildings of the twentieth century”.

(L-R): Paul Harron, architecture specialist at the Arts Council, Editor Karen Latimer, and architectural historian Dr Paul Larmour.

Rosemary Kelly , Chairman of the Arts Council , the main funder of the publication, congratulated the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society on the successful completion of such a huge and complex undertaking. She said, “ Modern Ulster Architecture is a landmark architectural publication covering the nine counties of Ulster. It is a valuable critical insight by leading authorities on the built environment, but perhaps more than this, it is a testament to the important and influential buildings that inspire the Ulster architectural landscape”.

Modern Ulster Architecture is published by and available from the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, priced £30 hardback and £20 paperback. Tel: +44 (0)28 9055 0213 for details.