The architecture of Belfast comprises
architectural style
An architectural style is a set of characteristics and features that make a building or other structure notable or historically identifiable. It is a sub-class of style in the visual arts generally, and most styles in architecture relate closely ...
s ranging from
Georgian through to modernist buildings such as the
Waterfront Hall
Belfast Waterfront is a multi-purpose conference and entertainment centre, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, designed by local architects' firm Robinson McIlwaine. The hall is located in Lanyon Place, the flagship development of the Laganside Co ...
and
Titanic Belfast
''Titanic'' Belfast is a visitor attraction opened in 2012, a monument to Belfast's maritime heritage on the site of the former Harland & Wolff shipyard in the city's Titanic Quarter where the RMS ''Titanic'' was built. It tells the stories ...
. The city's
Victorian
Victorian or Victorians may refer to:
19th century
* Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign
** Victorian architecture
** Victorian house
** Victorian decorative arts
** Victorian fashion
** Victorian literature ...
and
Edwardian
The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...
buildings are notable for their display of a large number of sculptures. Many of Belfast's Victorian era landmarks, including the main Lanyon Building at
Queens University Queen's or Queens University may refer to:
*Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario, Canada
*Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
**Queen's University of Belfast (UK Parliament constituency) (1918–1950)
**Queen's University of Belfast ...
, were designed by
Sir Charles Lanyon
Sir Charles Lanyon DL, JP (6 January 1813 – 31 May 1889) was an English architect of the 19th century. His work is most closely associated with Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Biography
Lanyon was born in Eastbourne, Sussex (now East Sussex) in ...
.
Chronology and styles
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingd ...
became a substantial settlement in the 17th century, after being established as a town by
Sir Arthur Chichester
Arthur Chichester, 1st Baron Chichester (May 1563 – 19 February 1625; known between 1596 and 1613 as Sir Arthur Chichester), of Carrickfergus in Ireland, was an English administrator and soldier who served as Lord Deputy of Ireland from 160 ...
.
None of the buildings from Belfast's first century as a market town on the river Farset survive today. The only significant structures in those early years from 1613 would have been a castle established by Sir Arthur Chichester, and the parish church at the foot of High Street, where a 'chapel of the ford' had been erected by 1306, and where St George's church now stands.
Georgian
File:Clifton_House,_Belfast_-_geograph.org.uk_-_574718.jpg, Clifton House
(1771–1774; Grade A)
File:The Exchange and Assembly Rooms - geograph.org.uk - 485089.jpg, The Exchange and Assembly Rooms
(1769)
Remodelled in 1845
Victorian
File:Flower bed, Botanic Gardens, Belfast - geograph.org.uk - 1454550.jpg, Botanic Gardens Palm House
(1839–1840)
File:Belfast Queen University.jpg, Lanyon Building
(1849)
File:Bank office, Victoria Street, Belfast - geograph.org.uk - 771288.jpg, 16 Victoria Street
(1852; Grade B)
File:The Union Theological College, Belfast - geograph.org.uk - 395032.jpg, Union Theological College
Union Theological College is the theological college for the Presbyterian Church in Ireland and is situated in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is governed by the Council for Training in Ministry. It is responsible for training people for ministry ...
(1853; Grade A)
File:The Custom House, Belfast - geograph.org.uk - 111624.jpg, The Custom House
(1856)
File:Ulster Hall, Belfast - geograph.org.uk - 1593924.jpg, Ulster Hall
The Ulster Hall is a concert hall and grade A listed building in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Situated on Bedford Street in Belfast city centre, the hall hosts concerts, classical recitals, craft fairs and political party conferences.
Histo ...
(1859–1862; Grade B1)
Renovated 2009
File:Victoria Street building, Belfast, July 2010.JPG, The Headline Building
(1863)
File:Clarence House, Belfast - geograph.org.uk - 736930.jpg, Clarence House
(1867)
File:Belfast_Castle,_Northern_Ireland.jpg, Belfast Castle
Belfast Castle ( Irish: ''Caisleán Bhéal Feirste''Ireland Highlights: Belfast Castle. https://www.irelandhighlights.com/info/belfast-castle/ ) is a mansion located in Cave Hill Country Park in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in a prominent position ...
(1811–1870; Grade B+)
File:Queen Street Childrens Hospital.jpg, Queen Street Children's Hospital (1878)
File:The Old Town Hall, Belfast - geograph.org.uk - 1304214.jpg, The Old Town Hall
(1860–1879; Grade B1)
File:Queen's Arcade, Belfast - geograph.org.uk - 1627248.jpg, Queen's Arcade
(1879–1880; Grade B1)
Renovated 1987, 1994
File:The Scottish Provident Institution, Belfast - geograph.org.uk - 383924.jpg, The Scottish Provident Institution
(1899–1902; Grade A)
20th century
Edwardian
File:Belfast_City_Hall_2.jpg, Belfast City Hall
Belfast City Hall ( ga, Halla na Cathrach Bhéal Feirste; Ulster-Scots: ''Bilfawst Citie Haw'') is the civic building of Belfast City Council located in Donegall Square, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It faces North and effectively divides the com ...
(1898–1906; Grade A)
Pre-World War II and Art Deco
File:Ulster Museum 3.JPG, Ulster Museum
The Ulster Museum, located in the Botanic Gardens in Belfast, has around 8,000 square metres (90,000 sq. ft.) of public display space, featuring material from the collections of fine art and applied art, archaeology, ethnography, treas ...
(1929; extended 1962; Grade B1)
File:StormontGeneral.jpg, Parliament Buildings
(1922–1932; Grade A)
File:North Street Arcade, Donegall Street, Belfast, December 2017.jpg, North Street Arcade
(1936–1938; Grade B1)
File:Telephone_House_Belfast_at_night.jpg, Telephone House
(1920–1939; Grade B2)
File:BBC_Northern_Ireland_Belfast.jpg, Broadcasting House
Broadcasting House is the headquarters of the BBC, in Portland Place and Langham Place, London. The first radio broadcast from the building was made on 15 March 1932, and the building was officially opened two months later, on 15 May. The m ...
(1938–1941; Grade B1)
Late 20th century
File:Windsor House, Belfast, May 2010 (02).JPG, Windsor House Windsor House may refer to:
* Windsor House (Belfast) – a high-rise building built in 1974
* Windsor House (Hong Kong) – a high-rise building built in 1979
* Windsor House, London – an office building built in 1973
It may also refer to:
* H ...
(1975)
File:Belfast City Hospital.jpg, Belfast City Hospital
The Belfast City Hospital ( ga, Ospidéal Chathair Bhéal Feirste) in Belfast, Northern Ireland, is a 900-bed modern university teaching hospital providing local acute services and key regional specialities. Its distinctive orange tower block d ...
Tower
(1986)
File:The Waterfront Hall, Belfast - geograph.org.uk - 495209.jpg, Waterfront Hall
Belfast Waterfront is a multi-purpose conference and entertainment centre, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, designed by local architects' firm Robinson McIlwaine. The hall is located in Lanyon Place, the flagship development of the Laganside Co ...
(1995–1997)
File:The BT Tower, Belfast - geograph.org.uk - 1153638.jpg, BT Riverside Tower
BT Riverside Tower was built in 1998, as a headquarters of British Telecom for Northern Ireland. The Tower is located at Lanyon Place in Belfast City Centre. The building is currently the 7th tallest building in Belfast.
Moving in to the building ...
(1998)
File:The "Hilton" hotel, Belfast (1) - geograph.org.uk - 1249088.jpg, Belfast Hilton
(1998)
21st century
In 2011 and 2012 Belfast saw the creation of two buildings described as "two of the most stunning new British buildings of the century",
namely the
Lyric Theatre (2011) by Irish architects
O’Donnell and Tuomey, and the
Metropolitan Arts Centre
The Metropolitan Arts Centre, usually referred to as the MAC, is an arts venue in Belfast's Cathedral Quarter and is home to all kinds of exhibitions, theatre performances, experimental works.
The MAC is a cultural hub and a vital shared space ...
(2012) by local architectural practice
Hackett Hall McKnight
Hall McKnight (formerly Hackett Hall McKnight) is an architectural firm based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. In 2008 it won the Young Architect of the Year Award sponsored by Building Design magazine and Autodesk.
Background
The firm was create ...
. In contrast, the new boat-shaped
Titanic Museum (2012) was described by ''The Telegraph'' as "startlingly inane".
File:Obel Tower Belfast.png, Obel Tower
The Obel Tower is a highrise building in Belfast, Northern Ireland, located on Donegall Quay on the River Lagan beside the Lagan Weir. Measuring in height, the tower is the tallest storeyed building in Ireland, dominating the Belfast skyline. ...
(2006–2011)
File:Victoria Square, Belfast (3) - geograph.org.uk - 716074.jpg, Victoria Square (2008)
File:The Boat, Belfast, April 2010 (06).JPG, The Boat (2010)
File:Titanic Belfast side view.jpg, Titanic Belfast
''Titanic'' Belfast is a visitor attraction opened in 2012, a monument to Belfast's maritime heritage on the site of the former Harland & Wolff shipyard in the city's Titanic Quarter where the RMS ''Titanic'' was built. It tells the stories ...
(2012)
File:MAC (exterior), Belfast, April 2012 (06).JPG, The MAC
Mac or MAC most commonly refers to:
* Mac (computer), a family of personal computers made by Apple Inc.
* Mackintosh, a raincoat made of rubberized cloth
* A variant of the word macaroni, mostly used in the name of the dish mac and cheese
* Mac, ...
(2012)
File:No 8 Lanyon Place, Belfast (14) - geograph.org.uk - 1716262.jpg, Lanyon Plaza (2014)
See also
*
List of parks and gardens in Belfast
*
List of tallest buildings and structures in Belfast
This list of the tallest buildings and structures in Belfast ranks buildings and structures in Belfast, Northern Ireland by height. There are at least 10 structures in the city taller than and there are at least 36 habitable buildings in the c ...
*
Buildings and structures in Belfast
The buildings and structures of Belfast, Northern Ireland comprise many styles of architecture ranging from Edwardian through to state-of-the-art modern buildings like the Waterfront Hall. The city's beautiful Edwardian buildings are notable for ...
References
Notes
Bibliography
External links
Communities-NI Buildings DatabaseArchiseek - Belfast ArchitectureFuture BelfastCulture NI - The Architecture of BelfastUniversity of Ulster Belfast School of ArchitectureQueen's University School of Planning Architecture and CivilEngineering (SPACE)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Architecture Of Belfast
Buildings and structures in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingd ...