The Royal Society of Ulster Architects (RSUA) has announced that the winner of the Belfast Flare Design Competition will have their unique architectural structure built on a site adjacent to the EastSide Visitor Centre and CS Lewis Square.

The competition, which RSUA is running in partnership with JP Corry, challenges early-career architects to design a temporary or semi-permanent structure which will draw attention to the enormously important role that architecture can play in the future success of Belfast.

RSUA and JP Corry have agreed to work together with the EastSide Partnership to deliver the project at the site which is established as the gateway to east Belfast.

Ciarán Fox, Director of RSUA said, “The Belfast Flare Design Competition is about creating a temporary man made structure of intrigue and inspiration - a place and space that both locals and visitors will want to experience. Whilst the project will be modest in scale we believe it can help signal a shift toward a better designed city and showcase the creative talents of younger architects from the island of Ireland.”

Chris McComb, Specialist Sales Manager at JP Corry said, “The Belfast Agenda sets out the ambition of a city re-imagined, beautiful, culturally vibrant and a place of innovation and creativity. It’s a tall order but this project seeks to encapsulate that ambition is its own way. We are delighted to support the competition and are excited to see the wonderful ideas that will be brought forward.”

Maurice Kinkead, Chief Executive of EastSide Partnership, said, “There has been so much progress made already in this area with the establishment of the EastSide Visitors Centre and CS Lewis Square. This design competition provides the opportunity to enhance what we have by encouraging greater use of the outdoor space in all weather conditions. I think this structure can be another symbol of the renewed vibrancy of our city and particularly here in the east.”

The Belfast Flare initiative follows on from last year’s hugely successful multi-comfort pavilion design competition which was won by Aileen McConaghie. The big difference this year is that the winning design will be fully developed and will become a physical landmark in 2018.

This competition is open to any architect either living or born on the island of Ireland who has been actively in work as an architect for less than 15 years.

The competition closes on 15th October and the winner will be announced at Architecture Night on 27th October 2017.

For full details on the competition’s purpose, eligibility, brief and submission requirements please see the Belfast Flare Design Competition Overview.

A competition for architecture students is running in parallel with the main competition.  The key difference between the student competition and the architect competition is that the winning student's design will not be constructed but there will be a prize for the winning student.  The entry requirements for students are also less onerous. 

Click here to find out the details of the Student Competition