Belfast Magnets Wins Ideas Competition To Attract People Back To Belfast City Centre

02 November 2018

The winners of the MyBelfastIdea design competition were announced at Architecture Night 2018, an annual event celebrating architecture and the important role it plays in Northern Ireland.

Architects developed a series of ideas in response to the fire at Bank Buildings / Primark in Belfast City Centre.  These ideas, which were the product of a design competition, were unveiled recently at Architecture Night and the winner, titled #BelfastMagnets by Robert McCluskey and Darragh Collins, proposed the creation of an art and cultural quarter along Royal Avenue.  Other entrants included ideas for a city centre playpark, and the pedestrianisation of Castle Place.

The brief for the #MyBelfastIdea Design Competition challenged Early Career Architects to react to the fall-out from the devastating fire at Bank Buildings/Primark in Belfast City Centre by generating ideas for a temporary intervention or interventions to the built environment which will help attract people to the surrounding area.  



Speaking after the winners were announced, RSUA President Joan McCoy said: “The RSUA / JP Corry #MyBelfastIdea Design Competition shows architects have a constructive role to play following the Primark fire.  Belfast is evolving, and we need to think differently about how we design for the future of our city centre.  Through a focus on art and culture, Belfast Magnets offers us a glimpse of Belfast re-vitalised and places people at the centre of the city – where they should be.  We hope these ideas inform policymakers as they work to renew Belfast City Centre.”

Chris Mc Comb, JP Corry Specialist Sales Manager, commented: “This competition gets more difficult to judge each year, with the calibre of entries continuing to be outstanding. The panel of judges were truly impressed by all submissions, and I would like to congratulate Robert and Darragh on their winning design.”

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