Re-think the Region: Volume 3 - Geology Materials and Culture

Geology, Materials and Culture Geology Planning Materials Culture Traditions Nasser Al Amri Victor Lam Yunyan Wang Nicola Wildman

Geology Victor Lam

Pre-Cambrian Era 600 million years ago (Earth born 4.6 billion years ago)

Cambrian Era 540 million years ago

Ordovician Era 470 million years ago

Devonian Era 400 million years ago 232

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Eocene Era 50 million years ago

Permian Era 280 million years ago

Miocene Era 20 million years ago

Triassic Era 240 million years ago

Pleistocene Era 1.8 million years ago

Jurassic Era 200 million years ago

Present day 3 million years ago humans began populating the planet Still images captured from: Tectonic plate movement (2010)

Key Geological Charateristics of the British Isles and Ireland Cretaceous Era 120 million years ago

The whole of the region shares a similar geological heritage dating back to 470 million years. Goudie, A., (1994) It was at this time the plates were forced together by underground tectonic movements to bring together the two plates to form the Clogherhead Suture. This coming together of two land masses caused layers of rock to crumple together. It is along this fault that the shared geology of Edinburgh, Glasgow and Belfast were determined.

After this time the combined land drifted north and separated from what we know as the Americas. The Geology, Material and Culture

soil was eroded by wind and changes in sea levels. This caused the rocks to become exposed before further layers of sediment were deposited during periods ranging between full desertification and jungle swamp climates and volcanic activity. The Ice age 1.8 million years ago was then responsible for further carving the contours that form the landscape of the region. Glacial deposition was also responsible for limestone and softer rock formations further south towards Dublin and Cork in Ireland and as far as Bristol in the British Isles.

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Explaining the Clogherhead Suture

Cambrian Era 540 million years ago

Ordovician Era 470 million years ago

Devonian Era 400 million years ago

Permian Era 280 million years ago Still images captured from: Tectonic plate movement (2010)

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Clogherdhead Suture Still images captured from: Clogherhead Suture (2011)

The horizontal layers of land begins to crumple under immense pressure from two tectonic plates

The land has been folded from horizontal to vertical.

Erosion via water and glacial events wear down the rock

New layers of sediment are deposited ontop of the crumpled rock layers

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The effect of the Ice age

Miocene Era 20 million years ago

Pleistocene Era 1.8 million years ago

Present day 3 million years ago humans began populating the planet Still images captured from: Tectonic plate movement (2010)

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Three ice ages during this period eroded the landscape as glacial ice carved rock as it receded and grew. A change in the earths orbit 20,000 years ago caused an increase of solar radiation to the Northern hemisphere.

This heating melted the edges of the ice sheet and flooded the ocean with fresh water, this had the effect of slowing down the Atlantic conveyor current which plunged the North into a colder spell. The warm water from the southern hemisphere eventually causes the deep waters from the southern oceans to rise and release trapped carbon dioxide.

Three and a half thousand years later the planet had warmed by 3.5 degrees which was enough to cause the ice sheets to recede. Ice age (2009)

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The region locations

Glasgow

Edinburgh

Belfast

Dublin

The region of four cities: Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast and Dublin 1:250000

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Mining information

Sandstone rock resources and workings in 2010

Igneous and metamorphic rock resources and workings in 2010

2000 mines in operation in the UK some of which produced an average of 235,000 tonnes of construction materials, a value of approximately ÂŁ335 million pounds between 2006-2008.

Directory of Mines and Quarries (2010)

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Coal mining resources and workings in 2010

The geological relationship between the regions

Glasgow

Edinburgh

Belfast

Dublin

Terrain map showing the shared terrain around Edinburgh, Glasgow and Belfast. 1:250000

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Key Geological Charateristics of Edinburgh and Glasgow As the weight of the 1km thick ice sheet receded, the land slowly began to rise causing raised beaches and sheer cliffs. Some areas continued to rise by a few mm a year and Scotland’s land mass is predicted to continue heading north over the next 200 million years.

The cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow are cited within the geological regions of the Central lowlands or the Midland valley bordered by the Highland Boundary fault and the Southern Upland fault. 400 million years ago this area used to be close to the equator and was part of a chain of volcanic regions. As the land moved further North the land masses closed to their current position there was again violent volcanic activity which caused extensive lava fields. The remains of volcanoes can be seen in Arthur’s seat and the igneous plug that that Edinburgh castle was built upon.

The Ice streamlined the hills and valleys as it carved its way through mountain ranges. Evidence of this eroded material deposition can be seen in the drumlin field area of Glasgow. Quarternary (2003)

Glasgow

Edinburgh

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Scotland_(Location)_Named_(HR).png Geology, Material and Culture

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Edinburgh and the surrounding landscape (1:200000 scale)

Edinburgh city and River Forth (1:100000 scale)

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McAdam, D., (2003)

Edinburgh Geological history

Geological Highlights

The earliest evidence of geological events in Scotland is between 520 and 440 million years ago where large deposits of mud and sands had been accumulated in the Lapteus Ocean. McAdam, D., (2003) At around 420 million years ago, a piece of the earth’s crust which we now know as Scotland collided with the equivalent England crust. This caused the folding of the crust to form the Southern highlands.

10 million years later a series of volcano and lava events built up Edinburgh’s famous Pentland Hills, Braid Hills and Blackford Hill. These volcanic events occur through till 345 million years and form further landmarks such as Arthur’s seat and the Castle rock. From this period until the Ice age 2.4 million years ago the past layers of sand and peat are laid down through sedimentation, further folding of the land compress and create the rocks and coal that will later be mined to create the fabric of historical Edinburgh. During the ice age, glaciers carve out valleys and gorges around the Edinburgh area.

Castle Rock Arthurs Seat Pentland Hills Braid Hills Growth of a defensive city The area now referred to as Old Town was developed around castle rock, and development spreads down the Royal Mile, itself the result of a glacial tail feature. From 800 years and 200 years ago Newtown was built around the ridge at George street, Princes street and Queens street during the 18th Century were primarily built from limestone quarried from Gilmerton and Cousland.

Modern day Edinburgh has since witnessed the closure of coal mines which were opened over 800 years ago.

The natural crag-and-tail features that were revealed, after the trees that had once covered the higher mass of Edinburgh, provided a natural defensive structure which Geology, Material and Culture

were further fortified through hill forts. During the 19th and 20th Centuries further suburbs were developed in harmony with the landscape, and followed the flow of the land, examples of this can be seen at Barntown, Morningside and Corstorphine.

The city terrain Edinburgh shows many pronounced elevation changes with the city boundary. From the highest points at Edinburgh castle, the landscape gradually falls at an incline northeast towards the channel opening.

Sandstone The Sandstone extracted from opencast quarries left a dramatic scar on the landscape. The stone was used to build most of the historic fabric of Edinburgh, lime was also extracted for use in mortar and cement and as fertiliser to improve arable farming.

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Glasgow and the surrounding landscape (1:200000 scale)

Glasgow city and the main river flowing through it, the River Clyde. (1:100000 scale)

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Gordon, J (2006)

Glasgow Geological history The area that became known as the Midland valley was formed through the collision of two continents 400 million years ago. Gordon, J (2006) The resultant terrain formed a valley through which rivers from the Highlands and Southern Uplands drained into and depositing sediments. As the combined continent drifted north past the equator the land dried giving rise to desert like conditions. Rocks from this period are rich in iron and give a red-brown appearance to the sandstone. The persistence of volcanic activity for 100 million years built up a lava plateau and layers of ash.

The uneven thicknesses of the lava plateau helped to produce the uneven landscape in this area. 330 million years ago this region then cycled between sea and river conditions. The submerged land grew from layers of limestone, siltstone, sandstone, and coal. Before the land then settled into the current position that we know as Scotland, there were repeated floods and further volcanic disruptions, at fault lines and cracks and magma rose and cut through the softer sedimentary

rocks. Just as all the cities within this region, the ice age played a part in shaping the landscape and deposition.

This is referred to as “till” and is a mix of rocks that were carried by the force of the glaciers. The South highlands are an example of mass deposition from the last ice age. Glasgow, which is within the lowlands can be found with areas of red till from Devonian rocks and grey rocks from the carboniferous rocks.

Geological Highlights River Clyde Tinto Hill The Clochodrick stone The Drumlin landscape City development The river Clyde is the reason why the city of Glasgow grew. The deep waters allowed for international trade and rapid industrial enterprises. The rich natural resources were exploited and generated much wealth Geology, Material and Culture

for the city. Now within a post industrial era the city is turning to forestry, open cast mining and wind power to power the future fortunes.

Description of city terrain Glasgow itself sits within a concaved basin which rises higher in the north than to the south of the river. From the mouth of the channel hill formations flank round the city to the east.

Limestone and coal These two local materials which were formed during the carboniferous period and were instrumental to fuelling Glasgow’s, and Scotland’s, industrial revolution.

The coal which is still being mined today is used to turn limestone into lime, a product that was vital for agriculture and for creating lime mortar and plaster.

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Granite: Granite has a distinctive gritty appearance that is lightcoloured and speckled.

Schist: Schist can be split into flat pieces with a wavy surface and silky sheen, tiny flakes of shiny mica can be seen to fall if scraped. Its colour is usually golden brown or silvery grey.

Cork Red Limestone

6 common rocks found in Ireland Sandstone: The common colour for sandstone is pale creamy brown, similar to the colour of sand on the beach.

Sandstone breaks into hard knobbly chunks.

Leinster Granite

Mudstone: The mudstone is grey in colour and exhibits the properties of mud when made wet. The solidified rock breaks into smooth pieces with flat shapes, the surface of the rock can be easily scratched.

Limestone: The limestone is a pale grey rock that breaks into chunky pieces. It is harder than mudstone and can be scratched with the tip of a pen-knife blade.

Basalt: Basalt is a darker and harder colour than limestone but shares similar qualities in that it breaks into knobbly grey pieces.

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Connemara Marble

Liscannor Flagstone

Key Geological Charateristics of Belfast and Dublin Belfast is sited on the boundary between the Midland Valley basin and the Longford-Down Massif geological provinces. Holland, C.H., Sanders, I. (2008) Therefore the city and its geological history is similar to that of Edinburgh and Belfast. The key difference is that a higher exposure to the sea and elements has caused more erosion of the edged land mass leaving a bedrock of hard granite and sandstone edged with chalk.

Belfast

Dublin’s local connection to the other three cities in the region come from deposits of glacial till or boulder clay brought from Scotland regions by glaciers flowing down the Irish sea. This rock overlay the existing limestone bedrock that Dublin in built upon.

Dublin

Cork

Map 2 (2010) Geology, Material and Culture

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Belfast and the surrounding landscape (1:200000 scale)

Belfast city and the main river flowing through it, the River Lagan. (1:100000 scale)

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Precambrian Dalradian rocks Ordovician Devonian Lower Carboniferous limestone Triassic & Jurassic Cretaceous chalk Paleogene volcanic rocks Paleogene Lough Neagh clays Paleogene Granite

Geological history 2 (2003)

Belfast Geological history

at the Giants Causeway.

undulations in contours but is otherwise relatively flat.

The sandstones, mudstones and limestones found in the Northeast of County Antrim can been seen as part of a large array of rocks spreading into western Scotland and provides clues as to the connection between the landmasses. Geological history 2 (2003) The Northern Ireland landmass drifted northwards 200 million years ago, at this time the area was submerged beneath a shallow subtropical sea, It is during this period, 200-120 million years ago, that the mudstones and limestone deposits were formed. As the area became further submerged layers of white chalk were formed from billions of microfossils. As the land mass moved and the rocks were formed the softer mudstones and squeezed together with harder cretaceous rocks, this often gave way to landslips which can be seen along the coastal road. Wilson, H.E.,, (1972) 60 million years ago this area became volcanically active which lead to the flows of hot basaltic lava after erupting from the Atlantic Ocean rift. The lava that cooled more slowly formed the polygonal columns such as the ones seen

Geological Highlights

Red sandstone

Giants Causeway Glens of Antrim Antrim coast road Slemish Volcanic Plug

In Ireland, thick sequences of various types of Old Red Sandstone are extensively represented in Munster where they form the highest mountains.

A city built on sandstone Belfast is based in the city county town of Antrim. The entire city is based on a bedrock of 200 million year old sandstone that extends 30km from the bay area in an arrowhead shape, this rock area of stone was surrounded by huge areas of basalt to the north and 400 million year old sandstone to the south.

Red Sandstone dating from the Triassic period. In Ireland, rocks of this period are mainly represented in parts of the north-east.

Description of city terrain Belfast is within a basin flanked to the east and west by hills that protect it. The sandstone basin has only small Geology, Material and Culture

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Dublin and the surrounding landscape (1:200000 scale)

Dublin city and the main river flowing through it, the River Liffey. (1:100000 scale)

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Cambrian Ordovician & Silurian Silurian Ordovician volcanic rocks Lower Carboniferous limestone Upper Carboniferous shales Granite

Geological history 3 (2003)

Dublin Geological history

Geological Highlights

Limestone

Dublin is situated on a bedrock of 500 million year old limestone with a dirtribution of a green flakey volvanic rock called Andesite. Geological history 3(2003) This rock was forced deep into the crust and the granite metamorphasized into schist.

During the ice age the the glaciers carried rocks from Scotland and microgranites from the Irish Midlands.

Howth Head quartzites Granite mountains, volcanic rocks at Portrane and Lambay Carboniferous limestone along north Dublin coast Killiney metamorphic rocks and glacial deposits

The most famous stone from Dublin is Calp Limestone which is muddy black in appearance. This stone was used in the construction of Christ church Cathedral and the old library in Trinity College.

The city sits on the Dublin Basin, a shelf of Caledonian granite, Leinster granite and Lower Palaeozoic rocks which stretches from County Dublin to Lancashire and Yorkshire. This is connected under the Irish sea via the Craven Basin.

Dublin is a relatively flat city with no significant hills and elevation changes towards the Irish sea.

Description of city terrain

Dublin was built from granite from local quarries at Dalkey quarry, and Leinster Granite from Blessingham.

Local limestone also came from the Skerries.

Lead Lead was mined briefly during the 1700s for 100 years till resources ran out.

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Cork and the surrounding landscape (1:200000 scale)

Cork and the main river flowing through it, the River Lee. (1:100000 scale)

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Silurian Devonian sandstones and conglomerates Lower Carboniferous sandstones and mudstones Lower Carboniferous limestone Upper Carboniferous shales and coal

Geological history 1 (2003)

Cork Geological history

Geological history

Cork is situated within the Munster basin, a sedimentary basin based in the southwest of Ireland. This area was subject to a seasonally wet climate which caused flash flooding, this carried coarse stone and pebbles which collected downstream. Geological history 1 (2003) During the carboniferous period the land remained under a deep ocean in which limestone weas deposited over mudstones and shale formed. Subject to erosion, this many exposed limestone and sandstone ridges can be found.

Cork is situated within the Munster basin, a sedimentary basin in the southwest of Ireland. This area was subject to a seasonally wet climate which caused flash flooding, this carried coarse stone and pebbles which collected downstream. Geological history 1 (2003) During the carboniferous period the land remained under a deep ocean in which limestone was deposited over mudstones and shale formed. Subject to erosion, this many exposed limestone and sandstone ridges can be seen.

Geological Highlights

Geological Highlights

Copper mines Cork Red Limestone Kanturk coalfield Jurassic and Palaeogene infill deposits.

Copper mines Cork Red Limestone Kanturk coalfield Jurassic and Palaeogene infill deposits.

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Conclusion The entire region covered by the four main cities are linked by events from 470 million years ago. The shared event of the coming together and welding two continents laid the foundations for the development of these cities.

The similar starting terrain and material makeup then diverged as each area was subject to local environmental factors. It is difficult to truly comprehend the cycles of flooding, desertification, volcanic activity and glacial movements over time that resulted in the formation of rocks that we can now exploit as resources. These chaotic forces also shaped the terrain which humans found useful for developing settlements and industry.

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References 1. Tectonic plate movement (2010) Earth 100 Million Years From Now (released 12 Feb 2010) [video programme]. Avaliable at: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=uGcDed4xVD4 [Accessed 10 Jan 2015] 2. Goudie, A., (1994). The environment of the British Isles: an atlas. Oxford University Press, New York.

3. Tectonic plate movement (2011) Clogherhead Suture (released 23 Jan 2011) [video programme]. Avaliable at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSF36ZOJ_8A [Accessed 12 Jan 2015]

12. Wilson, H.E., British, G.S., Geological, S. of G.B., (1972). Regional geology of Northern Ireland, British regional geology. HMSO, Belfast.

13. Geological history (2003) Dublin Geology [online].

Avaliable at: http://geoschol.com/counties/DUBLIN_ GEOLOGY.pdf [Accessed 11 Dec 2014] 14. Geological history (2003) Cork Geology [online].

Avaliable at: http://geoschol.com/counties/CORK_ GEOLOGY.pdf [Accessed 11 Dec 2014]

4. Ice Age (2009) Climate through time [online].

Avaliable at: https://www.gsi.ie/NR/rdonlyres/ D8069F13-7C8B-4C1A-BB6C-6B07B1C0BDED/0/1_5mi llionClimatemap_small_file.pdf [Accessed 15 Jan 2015] 5. Directory of Mines and Quarries 2010 (2010) Directory of Mines and Quarries 2010 [online].

Avaliable at: https://www.bgs.ac.uk/mineralsuk/mines/ dmq.html [Accessed 3 Jan 2015] 6. Quarternary (2003) Scotlands Geology [online].

Avaliable at: http://www.scottishgeology.com/geo/ geological-time-scale/quaternary/ [Accessed 4 Nov 2014] 7. McAdam, D., (2003). Edinburgh and West Lothian: A Landscape Fashioned by Geology. Scottish Natural Heritage and British Geological S, Perth.

8. Gordon, J (2006). Glasgow and Ayrshire, Scottish Natural Heritage and British Geological S, Perth.

9. Holland, C.H., Sanders, I. (Eds.), (2008). The geology of Ireland, 2nd ed. ed. Dunedin Academic, Edinburgh.

10. Map 2 (2010) Bedrock Geology Map of Ireland [online]. Avaliable at: http://www.gsi.ie/geogical_survey. pdf [Accessed 11 Jan 2015] 11. Geological history (2003) Belfast Geology [online].

Avaliable at: http://geoschol.com/counties/BELFAST_ GEOLOGY.pdf [Accessed 17 Dec 2014]

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Bibliography Gordon, J (2006). Glasgow and Ayrshire, Scottish Natural Heritage and British Geological S, Perth.

Goudie, A., 1994. The environment of the British Isles: an atlas. Oxford University Press, New York.

Holland, C.H., Sanders, I. (Eds.), 2008. The geology of Ireland, 2nd ed. ed. Dunedin Academic, Edinburgh.

McAdam, D., 2003. Edinburgh and West Lothian: A Landscape Fashioned by Geology. Scottish Natural Heritage and British Geological S, Perth.

Wilson, H.E., British, G.S., Geological, S. of G.B., 1972.

Regional geology of Northern Ireland, British regional geology. HMSO, Belfast.

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Materials and Planning Nicola Wildman

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Edinburgh As a city Edinburgh is highly prescriptive within its planning policy. The city aims to preserve and enhance the city’s visual quality. Edinburgh aims to control development and the quality it beholds by enforcing strict guidelines upon designers.

The planning policy framework dictates five key ideas for the use of materials within the design process; • Harmonise materials on new development with the materials used on surrounding buildings.

• Use sandstone where sandstone is the commonly used building material.

• Where alternative materials are used, these should either harmonise or provide a striking contrast.

• Keep the number of materials on new development to a minimum.

• Detail buildings to ensure they have a good visual appearance that lasts over time.

For facades other than stone there is a limit on the types and styles of materials that can be used. Brick and render can be used as long as it highlights or improves the buildings surrounding the development with concrete/cast stone being allowed where their uniform appearance is appropriate and where measures have been taken to avoid adverse weathering such as the build-up of dirt, streaking and staining.

Cladding The surface finish of the cladding should be raw or treated metal which does not have a coating. In this instance the fixings of any cladding should be hidden.

Where resin based panels are used as cladding, synthetic prints which aim to emulate wood should be avoided. These are not considered to have as positive a visual effect as natural timber.

Timber is perceived as a good alternative to masonry finishes however durable species include European Oak, Western Red Cedar and Sweet Chestnut are recommended. Moderately durable species can be used on smaller proposals which are not in sensitive sites.

Moderately durable species include Larch, Douglas Fir and European redwood

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Edinburgh Edinburgh’s predominant material is Sandstone; there are a great variety of sandstone finishes. From the very smooth surface used on more modern buildings to a specifically sculpted and heavier textured block normally used at the base of older buildings or for windows and door reveals.

Some of the most interesting materialistic effects in sandstone come from repairs to buildings such as shown here. The contrast between the colour of the new and weathered material provides an indication of the age of the building and how it has weathered over time.

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The use of sandstone stone from local sources is preferable especially in areas where the surrounding is also sandstone. For street facing facades, this is especially important. Much of Edinburgh’s sandstone was hewn from local quarries that are now closed; most famously Craigleith.

Scottish sandstone is still available from a few quarries, such as Clashach in Moray and Cullaloe in Fife, which provide an excellent match for Craigleith stone. Pennine Sandstones – Crosland Hill can also provide suitable matches.

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Slate is the overwhelming roof covering in Edinburgh and often the only thing that is accepted under planning. There is now a tendency to allow other dark roof coverings such as dark grey zinc but the colour must be similar. Light roof coverings do not fit in with vernacular and Edinburgh and therefore are often refused.

Render is the main material used in contrast with the yellow sandstone of the majority of buildings in Edinburgh. It is often used on buildings that are not on major routes or shopping streets. For the vast majority the renders range from off white to sandy yellow.

Unnatural coloured renders are discouraged. Render should be used when a contrast from the normal frontage is required but it should be carefully detailed to ensure no staining occurs.

Brick is also a material often used for contrast within the city. In comparison to some of the other places covered, the colour pallet of bricks is fairly minimal with most in the range from light brown to dark yellow with some traditional red in less prominent locations. Similarly to the render the result wanted seems to be to keep to the natural stone colours found in the surrounding buildings.

Geology, Material and Culture

For most modern buildings in the city there is now a preference towards using timber clad to show a difference to the surrounding vernacular. This is not discouraged by the council so long as the finish is as natural as possible whilst still maintaining a good lifespan for the material. Painted timber and timber stained to look unnatural are very rarely seen in the city centre.

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Glasgow Glasgow’s strategic planning framework sets out the following points in reference to building materials to be used during the design of new structures.

• specify high quality facing and roofing materials that complement and, where appropriate, enhance, the architectural character and townscape quality of the surrounding area and are capable of retaining their appearance over time; • select materials in accordance with life cycle assessment. There is a preference for materials which attain an A rating under the British Research Establishment’s (BRE) Green Guide to Specification (see policy DES 2: Sustainable Design and Construction); • specify only durable materials that will fit their context, are capable of retaining their appearance over time and are appropriate to Glasgow’s climate. Evidence of the maintenance requirements of the materials specified will require discussion with the Council and will be a consideration by the Council in assessing development proposals; These guidelines intimate the idea that using materials which are local to the area or represent the areas vernacular are preferable. If modern materials are to be used they must be because of their environmental properties rather than purely their aesthetic.

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Glasgow As a pose to the restricted material pallet of Edinburgh the Metropolitan ideals of Glasgow are more open to new and experimental materials. Red sandstone is more common here and seems to be used on buildings of significance as a contrast to surrounding materials.

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Grey cladding seems to be the most common modern material used. A variety of different materials and composite finishes are used, often leading to a matt grey finish. The grey colour of the cladding can sometimes look bland in comparison to the rick bricks and stone used around it.

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Similar to Edinburgh there is a large amount of yellow sandstone, not as prominent as in Edinburgh but certainly available in a wide variety of finishes. From smooth sandstone to more rough finished and worn.

Render is on almost every street within the city centre and in a wide variety of colours. The more restricted pallet of Edinburgh gives a more formal appearance and a more unified street view than Glasgow with the possibility still available to show new and old within the same material pallet.

In comparison to the more formal flags and cobbles in Edinburgh Glasgow has taken a cheaper approach to finishing the streetscape with large concrete pavers.

Concrete is also present within the city although it feels at odds with a lot of the warmer coloured materials within Edinburgh.

Geology, Material and Culture

Brick is seen in abundance within the city, there is a very large variety of both size and colour of brick. In some areas this provides an interesting contrast with other brick buildings. In other areas with less brick there seems to a patchwork of materials separating the street.

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Belfast Belfast has no enforced material pallet within the planning framework. The policies orientate themselves towards the preservation of conservation areas and areas of significant townscape which cover a large proportion of the Metropolitan City area.

The city’s development plans clearly point to the Planning Policy Statement (PPS) 6 which must be referenced. PPS 6 outlines the policy for, Planning, Archaeology and the Built Heritage. PPS 6 states that buildings within these areas must follow the pattern of existing development to help protect and enhance the urban fabric. From this statement it can be concluded that the city policy makers would like to see a continuation in the use of materials which are present in the city, predominately being brick, sandstone and render.

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Belfast Belfast brick is a widely used all within Belfast as it has a long history in brick making “Brickworks in Belfast were established in the area between the Ormeau Road and Annadale from c1830 onwards.� Despite there being more of an abundance of sandstone which could have been quarried the preference was more for brick with

local Clay sources being used. Although some of the brick works still exist for the vast majority they are now imported.

The vast majority of bricks within the city centre are the traditional red colour of the MAC in Belfast.

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Similar to both Edinburgh and Glasgow slate is the prevailing roofing material. This is hardly surprising considering the restricted roofing materials available before modern methods were brought about.

Concrete is not commonly used but has been allowed mostly on larger buildings but some high quality concrete has also been used near and on historical buildings. Unlike Edinburgh building that rise above the skyline have been allowed in Belfast but are not often of high quality design and concrete slabs are often open to view even if painted.

Geology, Material and Culture

As in Edinburgh render can be used to provide contrast and in the city centre it is generally applied in a sensitive manner and with restricted colour pallets to contrast with the surrounding deep red brick. As you leave the city centre the render colour pallet becomes less restricted and often colours that are not complimentary next to the vernacular red brick are seen.

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Dublin ‘Councils can play an active role in supporting recognition of vernacular building patterns, materials and built forms.’ Dublin’s city council does not have an available planning policy documents but from recent buildings it is possible to draw conclusions. They look for designs which are of a similar colour pallet to the surrounding materials, there are however a wide variety of different types of each materials. The different types of brick are especially noticeable as well as the variety of render colours. The height of the proposal in the city centre tend to be around 4 or 5 stories and the rhythm of the street is generally maintained.

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Dublin Although with a much wider variety of materials than Edinburgh the restricted colour pallet for the most part gives a uniform appearance to the city. There are many different tones of red brick but complimented with sandstone for features, this creates a range of colours between light sandstone and dark red brick for which

As with all of the other cities within our area slate is the predominant roofing material. Where roofs are visible they are dark in nature to fit in with the historical use of slate.

most of the city fits within.

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Sandstone is also seen in Dublin but in more of a variety of colours than in any of the other cities. There are also other types of stone present but not in any notable amount within the city.

Render is again used between brick buildings and facades for contrast. Often in stone colours to fit within the range of colours within the city centre.

Geology, Material and Culture

Of all of the cities within the study area the greatest variety of brick colours occurs in Dublin. Often as many as five different brick types and colours can be found on the same street. The different stages of weathering and pollutants on the brick give an even wider range of colours from new to old.

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References Anon., n.d. [Online] Available at: http://www.mb3d.co.uk/mb3d/Plaster_ Seamless_and_Tileable_High_Res_Textures_files/ Concrete_12_UV_H_CM_1.jpg [Accessed 23 January 2015].

Anon., n.d. [Online] Available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/40212214@ N08/sets/72157621094229448/ [Accessed 12 January 2015].

Anon., n.d. Bricks, Belfast. [Online] Available at: http://www.geograph.org.uk/ photo/3461124 [Accessed 2 January 2015].

Anon., n.d. The Industrial Heritage of South Belfast.

[Online] Available at: http://www.culturenorthernireland. org/features/heritage/industrial-heritage-south-belfast [Accessed 20 January 2015].

Council, E., n.d. Edinburgh Design Guidance. [Online] Available at: http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/downloads/ file/2975/edinburgh_design_guidance [Accessed 18 January 2015].

Council, G., n.d. Part 3 planning policy and design guidance. [Online] Available at: http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/CHttpHandler. ashx?id=7479&p=0 [Accessed 24 January 2015].

Service, T. P., n.d. Planning Poli cy Statement 6. [Online] Available at: http://www.planningni.gov.uk/index/ policy/policy_publications/planning_statements/ pps06-archaeology-built-heritage.pdf [Accessed 14 January 2015].

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History Background Nasser Al Amri Culture is created through the social and history development

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Oil paint showing Edinburgh in 1794

17th Century Edinburgh

Edinburgh 6th Century：Edinburgh Castle become a royal fortress

Army

12 Century: The Royal Burgh was founded by King David I.

17th Century: Edinburgh still defined by the city’s defensive town walls, expansion took place, houses increased in hight up to 11 stories.

1544: Destruction caused by an English assault, the town slowly recovered.

1583: University of Edinburgh was founded, one of the earlist university in the world.

1603: King James VI of Scotland succeeded to the English throne, Scotland and England became Union of Crowns.

1638: King Charles I’s attempt to introduce the Anglican church in Scotland encountered stiff Presbyterian opposition culminating in conflicts and the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.

1650: Edinburgh occupied by Oliver Cromwell’s Commonwealth of England forces – the New Model 282

1706-07: The Acts of Union were passed by the Parliaments of England and Scotland uniting the two kingdoms into Great Britain. Meanwhile, a lot of riots happened in city.

1745: Edinburgh is occupied by the Jacobite “Highland Army” before its march into England.

1770s: The professional and business classes gradually deserted the Old Town in favour of the more elegant “one-family” residences of the New Town, a migration that changed the social character of the city.

1840: Railways expansion

development

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further

1860-70: Began rebuilding the old town, transferred to the current Victorian Old Town.

1960/70: Major slum clearance took place during this time.

1990: New “financial district” grew mainly on demolished railway property to the west of the castle, stretching into Fountainbridge, this enabled Edinburgh to maintain its place as the second largest financial and administrative centre in the United Kingdom after London.

Glasgow Scotland’s largest city Glasgow is recognized as the center of fashion, design and architecture.

543: An earlier religious site established by Saint Mungo in the 6th century. The bishopric became one of the largest and wealthiest in the Kingdom of Scotland, bringing wealth and status to the town.

1114: Glasgow was a farming village, with a monastic church and water mill; the reach of Glasgow’s bishops extends to Cumbria; the church is elevated to temporary cathedral status by young David of Strathclyde, later David I. 1451: The founding of the University of Glasgow and elevation of the bishopric to become the Archdiocese of Glasgow in 1492 served to increase the town’s religious and educational status, and landed wealth.

1611: Glasgow was subsequently raised to the status of Royal Burgh. Glasgow’s substantial fortunes came from international trade, manufacturing and invention starting in the 17th century with sugar, followed by tobacco, and then cotton and linen.

1960s: Britain’s lack of investment and innovation led to growing overseas competition from countries like Japan and West Germany, which weakened the once pre-eminent position of many of the city’s industries.

1999: Glasgow became UK City of Architecture and Design

1970-1980: the decline of heavy industry led to rising unemployment and low living standards.

1980s: There was a significant recovery of economy with many financial companies move into Glasgow.

1983-1985: With the opening of the Burrell Collection, Scotish Exhibition and Conference Center, Glasgow became an European centre for business services and finance and promoted an increase in tourism and inward investment.

1993: Glasgow Caledonian University established; Opening of the new St Mungo’s Museum, the UK’s only Museum of Religion, next to the city’s 13th century cathedral.

1800: River Clyde deepened to 14 ft (3.1m), so that larger vessels can be sailed to the river further upstream, supports 200 wharves and jetties; shipbuilding became a major industry on the upper stretches of the river.

1814: Glasgow Green became Europe’s first public park 19th Cenrury: Glasgow shipbuilding, heavy industry, coal mining and steel industrys expand.

End of 19th Century: End of the Victorian period, Glasgow was one of the cities known as the “Second City of the Empire” and was producing more than half Britain’s tonnage of shipping and a quarter of all locomotives in the world.

During this period, the construction of many of the city’s greatest architectural masterpieces and most ambitious civil engineering projects were founded.

1930s: Glasgow’s economy began to decline because the impact of the Great Depression and two world wars.

1951: Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama was formed by merger.

Shipping on the Clyde, Atkinson Grimshaw, 1881, oil on cardboard Geology, Material and Culture

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Belfast 1641-49 & 1688-90: Two major Catholic risings were put down, first by English Protestant revolutionary Oliver Cromwell, then the Dutch King William lll of Orange.

The fledgling Protestant plantation was secured and Ireland becomes firmly British.

18th Century: Belfast became a major linen-producing centre, earning the tag Linenopolis.

19th Century: Belfast experienced a ‘golden age’ under Queen Victoria. The Harland & Wolff shipyard was founded in 1862 and city status was granted in 1888.

Belfast becomes one of the world’s leading industrial cities and most of its great buildings are constructed.

The 1847 Famine re-awakens Irish Catholic Nationalism.

1911: RMS Titanic was launched from Harland & Wolff.

The following year the White Star liner sinks on its maiden voyage, killing over 1500 passengers.

1994: August 31 The IRA announces ‘a complete cessation of military operations’. The Combined Loyalist Military Command follows on 13 October

1912: The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) was formed and Unionists sign the Ulster Covenant, pledging to militarily fight Home Rule.

1995: Security measures are relaxed and troop numbers reduced throughout Belfast and Northern Ireland.

1921: Following the 1919-21 Irish War of Independence, six of Ireland’s 32 counties remain British and the state was named Northern Ireland. Belfast became its capital city and the Unionist-controlled government oversees directly ruled from the purpose-built Stormont.

1941: Belfast Blitz. During World War Two, the city was bombed three times by the German Luftwaffe.

Northern Ireland becomes a staging post for over 300,000 American GIs. 1968: The Civil Rights movement grows as Nationalists protest Unionist bias at Stormont. The British Army was deployed in the streets of Belfast and Derry.

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1985: November 15 The British and Irish governments sign the Anglo Irish Agreement, giving the Republic of Ireland a greater say in Northern Ireland affairs.

Early 90s: Violence continues on both sides as both

1914-1918: The UVF, and most of the Irish Volunteers, joins up to fight for Britain - both hoping to gain support for their causes. In 1916 Ulster Division suffers heavy causalities at the Battle of the Somme.

Belfast City Hall during construction

1972: January 30 Bloody Sunday. During a Civil Rights march through the streets of Derry 14 unarmed civilians are shot dead by British troops. Both internment and Bloody Sunday ensure increased support for the IRA. Meanwhile, the British government introduces direct rule from London. July 21 Bloody Friday. Nine people die when, without warning, bombs exploded across Belfast.

1901: Belfast was the largest city in Ireland. The city’s

importance was evident by the construction of the lavish City Hall, completed in 1906.

1907 Construction of an ocean liner at the Harland and Wolff shipyard

fighting as massive gun battles break out across North and West Belfast.

1971: August 9 the city experiences a week of intense re-Think the Region

the British and Irish governments attempt to break the political impasse.

1998: The Good Friday Agreement is voted in by 71% of the population. It marks a new power-sharing Assembly, early release of all paramilitary prisoners and looks toward withdrawal of British troops and decommissioning of paramilitary weapons. August 15 IRA dissidents plant a bomb in Omagh killing 29 people making it the single worst atrocity in the history of the Troubles. November 30 US President Clinton pays an historic visit to Northern Ireland.

Since the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, there has been major redevelopment in the city including Victoria Square, the Titanic Quarter and Laganside as well as the Odyssey complex and the landmark Waterfront Hall.

Dublin 8th Century: Dublin was established by the Vikings.

River Liffey became their natural defense barrier during Norwegian invasion. Dublin’s name comes from the ancient Irish Án Dubh Linn, meaning black pool.

1028: Danes modified Christianity, the first church built in Dublin. Due to frequent Nordic invasion, Dublin, Ireland became a wholly strategically important city.

12th Century: Dublin became the capital of the English Lordship of Ireland in 1171 and was peopled extensively with settlers from England and Wales.

St Catherine’s Church built in 1185 and St Patrick’s Cathedral construction begins in 1191.

1348: The Black Death 1541: Dublin becomes capital of Ireland, buildings with new living standard (have chimneys and windows) were built during 16th Century.

1592: Elizabeth I opened Trinity College, a symbol of Irish higher education (still one of the best universities in the higher education system in Ireland).

1646: English Civil War ended, most Catholic were expelled from the cities, nearly half died from the plague and scourge.

18th Century: the social situation has improved, the city started to build churches(St. Luke’s Church 1709), hospital( Dublin Lying-In Hospital 1745) and other public facilities 1779: After the navigation of the Grand Canal, the conditions of public transportaion improved within the Irish counties.

Sackville Street (now known as O’Connell Street) around 1900

1937: City becomes capital of the newly formed Republic of Ireland 1960s: Substantial progress was made in removing Dublin’s tenements, thousands of Dublin’s working class population being moving to suburban housing estates around the edge of the city.

1970s: Numerous bomb attacks took place in Dublin.

2000: Dublin Writers Festival begins

19th Century: Dublin became part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801. The ity gradually develops, with lots of constructions including transportation, public building and civic space.

1916: Easter Rising occurred. There were about 500 citizens, rebels and British soldiers killed in the uprising for independence.

1923: Dublin was the capital of the Irish Free State

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City Appearance Nasser Al Amri Building as Cultural Artefact

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Royal Mail

Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo

Edinburgh Edinburgh has many historic buildings, such as Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace, the churches of St. Giles, Greyfriars and the Canongate, and a 18th century Georgian New Town. Edinburgh’s Old Town and New Town are jointly listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The city has long been known abroad as a centre of education, particularly in the fields of medicine, Scots law, the sciences and engineering. The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583.

The city is also famous for the Edinburgh International Festival and the Fringe, the latter being the largest annual international arts festival in the world. In 2004 Edinburgh became the world’s first UNESCO City of Literature, an accolade awarded in recognition of its literary heritage and lively literary activities in the present.

Edinburgh International Festival is an annual festival of performing arts in Edinburgh, Scotland, over three weeks from around the middle of August. By invitation from the Festival Director, the International Festival brings top class performers of music (especially classical music), theatre, opera and dance from around the world to perform. The festival also hosts a series of visual art exhibitions, talks and workshops.

display teams on the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle in the Scottish capital, Edinburgh. The event takes place annually throughout August, as part of the wider Edinburgh Festival (a collective name for many independent festivals and events held in Edinburgh during August).

The Hub, at the top of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, is the home of the Edinburgh International Festival, and a central source of information on all the Edinburgh Festivals. Its gothic spire - the highest point in central Edinburgh - towers over the surrounding buildings below the castle. The building design was the result of a collaboration between Edinburgh architect J Gillespie Graham and the famous gothic revivalist Augustus Pugin. It was constructed between 1842 and 1845.

The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is an annual series of Military tattoos performed by British Armed Forces, Commonwealth and International military bands and Geology, Material and Culture

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Edinburgh city planning over view

Grassmarket

Old Town There is an extinct volcano on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Edinburgh is the first of its suburbs began to develop in the mountains, and then slowly built the Edinburgh Castle, after several centuries of development, urban development began at the bottom of Castle.

Calton Road

Due to space constraints planning Edinburgh, Old Town, there has been early high-rise residential buildings, which has become a standard for high-rise residential after the 16th century. In the 18th century, the Old City had 80,000 inhabitants.

In 1824 a fire destroyed many of the city building, reconstruction work based on the original buildings started, it has also changed the ground plane within the city limits, in the Old City area there were many underground tunnels and cellars.

The Old Town is divided into specific sections, over and above the four sections which make up the Royal Mile, namely (from west to east): West Port, the old route out of Edinburgh to the southwest; Grassmarket, the area to the south-west; St

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Cuthbert’s; Edinburgh Castle; The Cowgate, the lower southern section of the town; The Mound, the area linking Princes Street to the Royal Mile; Calton Road, the lower northern section of the town; Canongate, a name correctly applied to the whole eastern district; Dumbiedykes, an area now mainly of Council housing to the south-east, formerly the site of the deaf and dumb school (though few realise the lack of political correctness in the name); Holyrood, the area containing Holyrood Palace and Holyrood Abbey; Croft-An-Righ, a group of buildings north-east of Holyrood

Drumsheugh Gardens. Part of the further western, Victorian extension to the New Town

National Museum of Scotland, by Francis Fowke, 1861 and Benson and Forsyth, 1999

Bakehouse Close – Holyood Road

Scottish Parliament Building, Enric Miralles, 1999 Geology, Material and Culture

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New Town Today Edinburgh’s New Town is the largest and best preserved example of Georgian town planning in the world. In 1995 this international importance was recognised by UNESO who designated the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh as a World Heritage site, The New Town plan changed Edinburgh dramatically, transforming the city from the medieval ‘Auld Reekie‘ of the past to the grandeur and classical style of the city as ‘Athens of the North‘.

In 1766 James Craig followed the natural contours of the land, proposed a simple axial grid, with a principal thoroughfare along the ridge linking two garden squares. Two other main roads were located downhill to the north and south with two minor streets between.

Several mews off the minor streets provided stable lanes for the large homes. Completing the grid are three north-south cross streets. The idea was to bring grandeur and prosperity to the city by attracting back to Edinburgh the aristocracy and ‘people of rank‘.

Plan for the New Town by James Craig (1768)

The first New Town was completed in 1820, with the completion of Charlotte Square. This was built to a design by Robert Adam, and was the only architecturally unified section of the New Town. Adam also produced a design for St. George’s Church, although his design was superseded by that of Robert Reid. The building, now known as West Register House, now houses part of the National Archives of Scotland. The North side of Charlotte Square features Bute House—formerly the official residence of the Secretary of State for Scotland.

Since the introduction of devolution in Scotland, Bute House is the official residence of the First Minister of Scotland.

The New Town was envisaged as a purely residential suburb. In the Second New Town, townhouses generally occupied the east-west streets, with blocks of flats (called tenements in Scotland) along the north-south streets. Shops were originally restricted to the lower floors of the wider north-south streets. The larger houses had service mews running behind and parallel to their terraces. In the First New Town this pattern was less rigid, and it had few planned commercial ground floors.

The second New Town, followed the original grid orientation of Craig’s First New Town, with entire streets

First New Town

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Moray Place. Part of the western extension to the original New Town

being built as one construction. Building continued on an extended Hanover Street, called Dundas Street and, beyond Great King Street, Pitt Street (later renamed to Dundas Street in the 1960s), almost 1 km north towards the Water of Leith at Canonmills. Broad streets and grand squares were laid out to either side. The Picardy Place extension (including Broughton Street, Union Street and East London Street) was mostly finished by 1809.

Royal Circus by W.H. Playfair,1820

Terrace were built but the developments to the North of London Road were never fully completed. On the South side of Calton hill various monuments were erected as well as the Royal High School in Greek revival style.

The New Town is home to the National Gallery of Scotland and the Royal Scottish Academy, located on The Mound.

National Gallery of Scotland

In order to extend the New Town eastwards, the Lord Provost, Sir John Marjoribanks, succeeded in getting the elegant Regent Bridge built. It was completed in 1819. The bridge spanned a deep ravine with narrow inconvenient streets and made access to Calton Hill much easier and agreeable from Princes Street.

Designs by the Architect William Henry Playfair were used to develop Calton Hill and Edinburgh’s Eastern New Town from 1820 onwards. Playfair’s designs were intended to create a New Town even more magnificent than Craig’s. Regent Terrace, Calton Terrace and Royal

Scottish National Portrait Gallery, by Sir Robert Rowand Anderson, 1889 Geology, Material and Culture

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Glasgow city centre Buchannan Street

the Theatre Royal

Royal Concert Hall

the Pavilion Theatre

Glasgow King’s Theatre

south and west are the shopping precincts of Argyle Street, Sauchiehall Street and Buchanan Street, the lastly featuring more upmarket retailers and winner of the Academy of Urbanism “Great Street Award” 2008.

University.

Glasgow City of Architecture and Design Glasgow is evolved from the Royal Borough diocese, with the establishment of the University of Glasgow in the 15th century and become a regional cultural center, plays an important role in the Scottish Enlightenment of the 18th century, the British North America and the British there was frequent trade between the West Indies. Glasgow’s city originates, from Wembley Tuen phrase “glaschu”, meaning “green space”.

The city built by St Mungo in the 6th century church and the University of Glasgow in 1451 which gradually established itself as the centre, but now, in addition to the cathedral, Glasgow has been unable to find any other medieval town related history.

The city centre is based on a grid system of streets on the north bank of the River Clyde. The heart of the city is George Square, site of many of Glasgow’s public statues and the elaborate Victorian Glasgow City Chambers and the headquarters of Glasgow City Council. To the

Glasgow is the home of Scotland’s ballet, Scottish Opera, and the Royal Scottish National Symphony Orchestra. The city centre is home to most of Glasgow’s main cultural venues: the Theatre Royal (performing home of Scottish Opera and Scottish Ballet), the Pavilion Theatre, the King’s Theatre, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow Film Theatre, Tron Theatre, Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA), Mitchell Library and Theatre, the Centre for Contemporary Arts, McLellan Galleries and the Lighthouse Museum of Architecture. The world’s tallest cinema, the eighteen-screen Cineworld is situated on Renfrew Street. The city centre is also home to four of Glasgow’s higher education institutions: the University of Strathclyde, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow School of Art and Glasgow Caledonian Geology, Material and Culture

The commercial and residential district Merchant City to the east, was formerly the residential district of the wealthy city merchants in the 18th and early 19th centuries, particularly the Tobacco Lords from whom many of the streets take their name. The Industrial Revolution and the wealth it brought to the city resulted in the expansion of Glasgow’s central area westward, the original medieval centre was left behind.

From the late 1980s onwards, the Merchant City has been rejuvenated with luxury city centre flats and warehouse conversions. This regeneration has supported an increasing number of cafés and restaurants. The area is also home to a number of high end boutique style shops and some of Glasgow’s most upmarket stores.

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University of Glasgow

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

Glasgow’s West End is a bohemian district of cafés, tea rooms, bars, boutiques, upmarket hotels, clubs and restaurants in the hinterland of Kelvingrove Park, the University of Glasgow, Glasgow Botanic Gardens and the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, focused especially on the area’s main thoroughfare, Byres Road.

Glasgow Green

The spire of Sir George Gilbert Scott’s Glasgow University main building (the second largest Gothic Revival building in Great Britain) is a major landmark, and can be seen from miles around, sitting atop Gilmorehill. The university itself is the fourth oldest in the English-speaking world.

The East End extends from Glasgow Cross in the City Centre to the boundary with North and South Lanarkshire. It is home to the famous Glasgow Barrowland market, popularly known as “The Barras”, Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow Green, and Celtic Park.

East of Glasgow Cross is St Andrew’s in the Square, the oldest post-Reformation church in Scotland, built in 1739–1757 and displaying a Presbyterian grandeur befitting the church of the city’s wealthy tobacco merchants.

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The South Side includes many great parks, including Linn Park, Queen’s Park, Bellahouston Park and Rouken Glen Park, and several golf clubs, including the championship course at Haggs Castle.

North Glasgow extends out from the north of the city centre towards the affluent suburbs of Bearsden, Milngavie and Bishopbriggs in East Dunbartonshire and Clydebank in West Dunbartonshire. The area also contains some of the city’s poorest residential areas.

The Forth and Clyde Canal passes through this part of the city, and at one stage formed a vital part of the local economy. It was for many years polluted and largely unused after the decline of heavy industry, but recent efforts to regenerate and re-open the canal to navigation have seen it rejuvenated.

Glasgow School of Art

Wilow Tea Room

Glasgow Riverside Museum of Transport , by Zaha Hadid

The city is notable for architecture designed by the Glasgow School, the most notable exponent of that style being Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Mackintosh was an architect and designer in the Arts and Crafts Movement and the main exponent of Art Nouveau in the United Kingdom, designing numerous noted Glasgow buildings such as the Glasgow School of Art, Willow Tearooms and the Scotland Street School Museum. A hidden gem of Glasgow, also designed

by Mackintosh, is the Queen’s Cross Church, the only church by the renowned artist to be built.

Glasgow Michell Library, 1877 Geology, Material and Culture

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ial Priorities

nks the university area, through the city centre to the edges rucible of the regional economy and is the most important gy for the centre city moves away from the previous der strategy based around functionality and

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Belfast City Hall, 1906

Belfast The centre city is defined as the central corridor that links the university area, through the city centre to the edges of the Harbour Estate and Titanic Quarter.

This is the crucible of the regional economy and is the most important economic space in the Region.

The Masterplan strategy for the centre city moves away from the previous strategy of multiple project driven interventions to a wider strategy based around functionality and cohesion.

Belfast style reflects the city state in the Victorian era, the former prosperity of the magnificent buildings, most of which are still available to see today. Most buildings in the city are based on a model of grand Victorian and Edwardian building construction, which is reflected in its churches, banks, theatres and colleges.

The architectural style of Belfast’s buildings range from Edwardian, like the City Hall, to modern, like Waterfront Hall. Many of the city’s Victorian landmarks, including the main Lanyon Building at Queen’s University Belfast and the Linenhall Library, were designed by Sir Charles

Lanyon. The City Hall was finished in 1906 and was built to reflect Belfast’s city status, granted by Queen Victoria in 1888. This landmark building can be seen from miles around in all its tall and magnificent Renaissance-style glory. The Grand Opera House is another representative building of Belfast’s, so-called Victorian luxury.

Lagan River and wharf area is the commercial and cultural centre of the city. Waterfront Hall is a cultural flagship of Northern Ireland, where the concert hall and conference centre attracts artists from around the world every year in this show.

Belfast Lagan River

The Royal Courts of Justice in Chichester Street are home to Northern Ireland’s Supreme Court. Many of Belfast’s oldest buildings are found in the Cathedral Quarter area, which is currently undergoing redevelopment as the city’s main cultural and tourist area.

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St. Anne’s Cathedral

Samson and Goliath gantry cranes

Named after St. Anne’s Cathedral, the oldest part of the city has evolved from Belfast’s old trade and warehousing district. Today it is home to fascinating architecture, narrow cobbled streets and alleyways to explore.The Cathedral Quarter also contains the former “Little Italy” area, centred on Little Patrick Street.

The Cathedral Quarter is home to a bustling culture and arts scene, cosy pubs, underground music venues and a host of contemporary restaurants to suit all tastes.

Wandering around the Cathedral Quarter you will come across hidden gems such as the Oh Yeah Music Centre located in a former bonded whiskey warehouse, which houses an exhibition of Northern Ireland’s music history from fabled legends such as Dana to Snow Patrol. Tucked away in one of the alleyways is a piece of art painted on the wall illustrating some well known faces. This area of town hosts year-round festivals, such as Festival of Fools, Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival and Belfast Pride.

The Mac at the Cathedral Quarter 300

On the outskirts of the Cathedral Quarter, the Belfast Barge is moored on the River Lagan and contains an interactive museum portraying Belfast’s proud maritime history with video accounts of the personal stories of re-Think the Region

those connected to the shipping industry. The location manages to bring together the industrial heritage of the city and good local food. During the evenings visitors can finish their meal, push back the tables and enjoy the talents of local artists.

Queen’s University Belfast is a member of the Russell Group of 24 leading UK research-intensive universities, providing world-class education underpinned by worldclass research. Founded as Queen’s College in 1845, it became a university in its own right in 1908. Today, it is an international centre of research and education rooted at the heart of Northern Ireland.

Belfast Queen University

The Lyric Theatre is located on the edge of the River Lagan in the south of the city and is constructed from the same red brick as the surrounding residential terraces. The building replaces a 1960’s theatre that occupied the site previously and the new plan follows the outline of the irregularly shaped site.

http://www.discovernorthernireland.com/belfast/The-Cathedral-Quarter-Belfast-A2042 http://www.qub.ac.uk/home/TheUniversity/AboutQueens/ http://www.dezeen.com/2012/07/25/lyric-theatre-by-odonnell-tuomey/

Belfast Lyric Theatre, designed by Irish architects O’Donnell + Tuomey Geology, Material and Culture

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Dublin Trinity College

Dublin Trinity College

Dublin Dublin has a world-famous literary history, having produced many prominent literary figures, including Nobel laureates William Butler Yeats, George Bernard Shaw and Samuel Beckett. Other influential writers and playwrights include Oscar Wilde, Jonathan Swift and the creator of Dracula, Bram Stoker. It is arguably most famous as the location of the greatest works of James Joyce, including Ulysses, which is set in Dublin and full of topical detail. Dubliners is a collection of short stories by Joyce about incidents and typical characters of the city during the early 20th century. Other renowned writers include J. M. Synge, Seán O’Casey, Brendan Behan, Maeve Binchy, and Roddy Doyle.

Ireland’s biggest libraries and literary museums are found in Dublin, including the National Print Museum of Ireland and National Library of Ireland. In July 2010, Dublin was named as a UNESCO City of Literature, joining Edinburgh, Melbourne and Iowa City with the permanent title.

National Print Museum of Ireland, the Irish Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery of Ireland, where a large gallery, Beatty Library, and the National Museum of Ireland’s three main hall are located in Dublin. Among the many galleries, most of them are located in the city centre.

Temple Bar is an important place for the city’s nightlife, often have visitors from the UK and even further afield to visit at the weekends. The city is one of the world’s youngest cities, about half of the population are aged less than 30 years old. While its multi-ethnic, multicultural characteristics of the development of it and add more charm.

Temple Bar

Dublin has more green spaces per square kilometre than any other European capital city, with 97% of city residents living within 300 metres of a park area.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dublin#cite_note-67) Geology, Material and Culture

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St Stephrn’s Green is Ireland’s best known Victorian public park. Re-opened by Lord Ardilaun in 1880 for the citizens of Dublin. This 9 hectare / 22 acre park has been maintained in the original Victorian layout with extensive perimeter tree and shrub planting, spectacular spring and summer Victorian bedding. The herbaceous border also provides colour from early spring to late autumn.

Sanctuary from inclement weather can be obtained in the Victorian lakeside shelter or in the Victorian Swiss shelters in the center of the park. (http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/dublin/ststephensgreen/)

St Stephen’s Green, by William Sheppard, 1880

Apart from the port area and the docks, Dublin is a lowbuilt, steepled city, with few buildings dating from before the 17th century. The Roman Catholic churches are 19th- and 20th-century structures. The 17-story Liberty Hall (built 1961–65 as a trade-union headquarters), long Dublin’s tallest building, has been joined by a spate of new high-rise offices and apartments. Still, most of the buildings are no higher than 5 or 6 stories.

Dublin Castle

The three elements that constitute the architectural legacy of Dublin: Norse, Norman, and Georgian, all of these meet in Dublin Castle. In the first two decades of the 13th century, the Normans obliterated the Norse stronghold and raised a château-fort. When the Georgians built the present red-brick castle, they left two towers of the old structure standing.

Close to the castle a Norse king of Dublin built Christ Church Cathedral (c. 1030), it was replaced about 140 years later by a more magnificent Norman structure.

St. Patrick’s, which is outside the city walls, was also originally a Norse church that may have been built on an earlier Celtic foundation. Rebuilt by the Normans in 1191, it was enlarged and partially rebuilt over the

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centuries.

Dublin’s early private speculators had a sense of order and beauty as acute as their sense of profit. The city’s streets were broad and its garden squares spacious. The red-brick houses, ranged from detached to long terraces and were built with well-proportioned windows, this made a harmonious whole that still stands as a happy achievement of urban architecture.

Leinster House at the end of Molesworth Street, is a Twin of Victorian buildings, which were constructed on either side of Leinster House in the 1880s, containing the National Library and the National Museum of Ireland.

Merrion, immediately to the east, and Fitzwilliam, to the south, are two of the great 18th-century squares.

Along the Liffey’s northern quays is James Gandon’s Neoclassical masterpieces of the Custom House (1781– 91) and the Four Courts (1786–1802). Both have since been rebuilt.

At the top of O’Connell Street, Bartholomew Mosse constructed his Rotunda Hospital, the “Lying-In,” which remains a maternity hospital to this day.

Municipal Gallery of Modern Art

Behind the hospital is Parnell (formerly Rutland) Square, laid out in 1750, with many of its original Georgian houses still intact. One of these, built for the earl of Charlemont in 1762–65, it now houses the Municipal Gallery of Modern Art.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/172746/Dublin/60381/The-city-layout

Calatrava bridge, by Santiago Calatrava, 2007 Geology, Material and Culture

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Image Reference Edinburgh bird eye view, http://www.globalvoices.co.uk/wp-content/ uploads/2013/07/Edinburgh_Castle_Rock.jpg Edinburgh city planning over view, http://upload.wikimedia.org/ wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Edinburgh_map.png Grassmarket, http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/ East_end_of_the_Grassmarket,_Edinburgh_(composite).jpg National Museum of Scotland, http://projects.fourtheye.co.uk/wpcontent/uploads/2012/12/museum1_2_3_tonemapped.jpg Scottish Parliament Building, http://i3.dailyrecord.co.uk/incoming/ article1377756.ece/alternates/s2197/Scottish%20Parliament%20 building%20Holyrood.jpg New Town Plan, http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ e2/1768_James_Craig_Map_of_New_Town,_Edinburgh,_Scotland_ (First_Plan_of_New_Town)_-_Geographicus_-_Edinburgh-craig-1768. jpg First New Town, http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/66511000/

Samson and Goliath gantry cranes, http://s0.geograph.org.uk/geoph otos/02/27/19/2271978_78f4fe12.jpg Belfast Queen University, http://www.bluesbelfast.com/wp-content/ uploads/2014/10/belfast-23.jpg Dublin Bird eye View, http://www.watersidehousehotel.ie/images/ uploads/Dublin-View.jpg Temple Bar, http://www.lauwers.be/LibraryUploads/IERLAND/ DUBLIN/Foto%201%20-%20Temple%20Bar%20Dublin.jpg St Stephen’s Green, http://cf.broadsheet.ie/wp-content/ uploads/2013/10/StephensGreen.jpg Dublin Castle, http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/ d2/E4395-Dublin-Castle.jpg Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, http://upload.wikimedia.org/ wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Dublin_City_Gallery_The_Hugh_Lane.JPG Calatrava Bridge, http://www.kettlesyard.co.uk/wp-content/ uploads/2014/12/Samuel-Beckett-bridge-1400x1050.jpg

jpg/_66511113_standrewssquare.jpg Charlotte Square, http://www.charlottesquarecollection.com/sites/ default/files/North-Elevation-1a-72.jpg Glasgow riverside bird eye view, http://smartercitieschallenge. org/wps/wcm/connect/4882240041249cdaacf2ed5e2785d2db/ city_Glasgow_large.jpg?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=4882240041249c daacf2ed5e2785d2db Glasgow city bird eye view, http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ commons/e/e5/Glasgow_panorama.jpg Glasgow city centre Buchannan Street, http://blog.9flats.com/wpcontent/uploads/2011/08/buchanan-street1.jpg the Theatre Royal, http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ commons/5/5b/Theatre_Royal,_Glasgow.jpg Royal Concert Hall, http://static.panoramio.com/photos/ large/34133749.jpg the Pavilion Theatre, http://s213.photobucket.com/albums/cc163/ djbellboy/pavilion.jpg Glasgow King’s Theatre, http://farm2.static.flickr. com/1361/1012518942_470f6da655.jpg University of Glasgow, http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ commons/7/77/Glasgow_University_3.jpg Glasgow Green, https://contessabessa.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/ peoples-palace.jpg St Andrew’s Church, http://www.fergusmuirhead.com/media/2109/ standrews.jpeg Wilow Tea Room, http://www.visitscotland.com/cms-images/5x3large/regions/glasgow-clyde-valley/the-willow-tearoom Belfast Bird eye View, http://empowerednews.net/wp-content/ uploads/2014/08/1357828467-belfast-harbour-8095.jpg Belfast City Hall, https://farm9.staticflickr. com/8098/8502056543_0b67e22218.jpg St. Anne’s Cathedral, http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LDK3jXSM-gs/ UjYvEZ-38yI/AAAAAAAAXCE/SVx0obbcKts/s1600/DSC05910.JPG Geology, Material and Culture

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Cultures and Traditions Yunyan Wang

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Edinburgh and Glasgow The Historic Classes The upper classes can be marked by speech; the way of pronouncing the words differs from one class to other.

The quality of the language spoken can be a sign of education and middle to upper class status.

Social classes in Scotland, most labours and urban working classes are catholic while the upper middle and upper classes are associated more with Presbyterian, the aristocracy has a historical association with the Episcopal Church. The industrial evolution and the transformation from handcraft to machinery increased the gap between Middle class and working class.

However, Scottish Government believes in a strong sense that social egalitarianism must be inherent in the democracy and national culture. (Countries and Their Cultures) Politics Since 1885, Scottish Office administratively has its own legislature. The UK parliament has the permission to appoint the secretary of state for Scotland. Scottish Office receives a block grant from the UK treasury 310

every year to be legislated in different ways on health, education and training, local government, social work and housing, economic development and transport, law and home affairs, environment, agriculture, forestry and fishing, sport and the arts, and public registers and records.

Every four years locals elected around 129 minsters to be the members of Scottish Parliament. Social – cultural Scottish changes are organized by Scottish- and UKbased Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs, sometimes called “quangos”). (http://www.everyculture. com) Marriage Marriage in Scotland has shifted from being fully religious to one third of it being civil. The tradition type of weddings in Edinburgh and Glasgow are very similar, like other parts of the U.K though the dress code differs. The bride and the groom should be prepared in traditional formal clothes. The weddings traditionally take place next to the bride’s house on Friday or Saturday. (Countries and Their Cultures) re-Think the Region

Symbolism The great names of Scottish heroes are the images which remain from the Independence wars during the thirteenth and fourteenth century. In Edinburgh and Glasgow, mainly, the attendance and the importance of Scottish symbols like William Wallace, Robert the Bruce and Saint Andrew’s cross is very clear, the Scottish look at them as an icon of Scottish Culture which evokes the past into the present. For instance, the image of Saint Andrew’s cross and the Lion are on the Scottish flag, which can be presented as evidence for increasing the impact of the national symbols which dominate the loud voices for political devolution and changing the orientation toward the Euro Countries. (Countries and Their Cultures) The languages The Gaelic spoken in Scotland derives from Q-Celtic.

Only a portion of the Highland-Island population speaks it as a first language in a bilingual milieu, although those areas have bilingual education and road signs and Gaelic newspapers. Major governmental

policy statements and the slogans and publications of political parties are translated into Gaelic.

Scotland used to be known as the country of the three voices. In which it is referring to the three different languages that locals in Scotland speak. Gaelic is the first of them; it is an ancient language was found hundreds of years ago. Although Gaelic is the oldest language in Scotland, it is still active in many places in the north side of Scotland. Nowadays, around 60,000 people in the south part speak this language most of them from Glasgow, a percentage of 20% more than Edinburgh.

Locals look at Glasgow as the home of Gaelic, at which point Glasgow has the largest schools for Gaelic.

Scots, in the order of history is the second language in Scotland. Around 30% of locals have the ability to use it, most of them are from the large cities mainly in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Scots became officially the main language of Scotland, but since eighteenth century, it was displaced officially as a first language as a result of the union between Scotland and England at the time the English language became the official language for the united countries. Nowadays, 93% of Scottish can speak English fluently more than other three languages.

The use of the English language in Scotland overall created an interaction with the scots regional dialects which is known by the English – Scottish.

In Glasgow, another dialect was found by the Scottish which is called Glaswegian (The Glasgow Patter) (Menzies, 1991). The only places that can this dialect be heard are Glasgow and its surrounding area. However, it is influenced by Highland English and Hiberno-English which is originally comes from Ireland. The patter dialect

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is one of the features of the cultural traits in Glasgow and is accepted by different local generations.

Scottish Food As with many other aspects of culture and traditions in Edinburgh and Glasgow, the popularity of Scottish food remained and preserved by the new Scottish generations. Scottish ingredients basically come from the national resources. Scotland is a rich country with its natural resources, the green lands and the abundance of water like rivers, lakes with the fertile soil yielded to the diverse of perfect growing for Vegetable, Oats and soft fruits and raising different types of animals which provided the meat for Scottish food. In addition to natural resources, Scotland is mainly surrounded by the sea as such fishing is a part of the culture alongside raising sheep and farming in Edinburgh and Glasgow (Countries and Their Cultures).

The ingredients of traditional Scottish meals provided by the natural resources, here is a list of the essential ingredients: Meat includes Beef, venison, lamb and mutton and Game.

Seafood: Salmon is the main type of fish provided by the sea with some other different types of fish and seafood.

Vegetable: root vegetables, Peas and leeks, Crops and Grain and Fruit like Soft fruit, Apples and rhubarb.

In Scottish culture, tradition food gives energy when they need it. Tradition food in Scotland is very similar in all of the southern parts of Scotland with a

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small addition provided to the meals in Edinburgh like Whiskey (Scottish Food - Way More Than Haggis).

Haggis: The haggis is made from a sort of sausagemeat made from the offal (or innards - lungs, heart, liver etc.) of a sheep with ground beef served with boiled or mashed potatoes(Tatties) and sweed and carrot mash (Neeps) .

For breakfast, Traditional Scottish porridge is made with ‘porridge oats’ (medium ground oatmeal, NOT ‘quick cooking’ or ‘rolled’ varieties), water and salt (Scottish Food - Way More Than Haggis). The homemade dessert is very popular in Scottish culture which made out of soft fruit, sugar, chocolate and butter (Countries and Their Cultures).

Festivals The establishment of the cultural festival in Edinburgh demonstrates the cultural and historical depth of this city and the surrounding cities.

The start of the festival was in the summer of 1947 in Edinburgh, where it aims to show the cultural momentum of this ancient city and highlighted internationally through the establishment of various artistic and cultural events over three weeks.

The Comprehensiveness of this annual festival created an icon that annually attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors and those interested in the customs and traditions of the Scottish.

The festival is distributed to dozens of old buildings and courtyards in Edinburgh as well as Edinburgh Castle and the large slope leading to the castle. There is the famous tattoo event which is provided by using bagpipes and fireworks during the festival days. The international festival also consists of theatre, ballet, music, films, and art expositions and the general excitement (Ehrlich, 2014).

The city also establishes other important cultural and scientific festivals and celebrations which are to emphasize and maintain the great Scottish identity and the cultural and traditional heritage of Edinburgh for example, the book festival, which is held in August and the Science Festival in April and the New Year Festival in the month of December (Ehrlich, 2014).

In Glasgow, the first thing to welcome visitors is the life time tradition of music and bagpipes which distinguishes the city from other cities. Traditional music is the Civilized facade of the City Glasgow. It was appointed a UNESCO City of Music on 20 August 2008 and it was named the fourth most musical city in Geology, Material and Culture

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2010, is a home of many musical and dancing theatres, like the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, The Hydro, the SECC and Glasgow Cathouse (Smith, 2010).

Museums and Art Galleries During 20th century, Edinburgh and Glasgow sought to increase the economy and building up a base for social integration. The cities turned out to be competitors, each one of them was concentrating on building infrastructure, to increase the population and to improve the industrial side of developments. The cities are both of rich in a strong Scottish history full of cultural momentum which was one way to promote and to enrich the cultural heritage. Each city marked by other city in spite of the obvious existence of convergence between the two cities culturally.

This convergence provides the opportunity for one cities successes to help the other develop. Therefore these two cities have become international culture host stations.

Museums and galleries in historic cities are considered as a window to represent the cultural legacies of those cities where the highlight of which is the intellectual, artistic and cultural productions (Markusen, 2012). “In this 21st century, cities may be better off nurturing their distinctive assets and the unique face they present to the rest of the world� Ann Markusen In Glasgow the cultural events contributed to the culture and traditions of the city for the new generations and future. Culturally, Glasgow has successfully reinvented itself through museums and events. In 1990, most of the cultural sites celebrated as a result of Glasgow became the European City of Culture at that time (Glasgow City Council, 2008). Glasgow became at the time. the place of most of Scottish cultural agencies and

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arts organisations including: Scottish Opera, Scottish Ballet, National Theatre of Scotland,Royal Scottish National Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Scottish Youth Theatre ( (Hancox, 2007).

In addition, the city homes a number of museums and galleries like: The Burrell Collection which houses an extraordinary collection of around 8,000 objects, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall (Museums Galleries Scotland ), the Hunterian museum, which is the oldest public museum in Scotland, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, National Museum of Rural Life, The National Piping Centre (euro-hostels).

One of the great cultural distinctive is the largest library in European countries for public which is The city’s principal library (the Mitchell Library). It holds around 1.3 million referenced books (glasgow life).

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A number of cultural projects were erected in Edinburgh and Glasgow at that time to present their distinctive talents. A major performing arts centre, a stadium, a convention centre, as well as corporate branch plants – had been erected.

Edinburgh used these exhibitions to emphasise the national cultural identity through art galleries and museums, and highlight the technical and industrial production of Scottish metal which was presented through scientific and industrial exhibitions.

The National Galleries of Scotland are highlighted as one of the pillars of the relevant national direct supervision and management of galleries and museums in Edinburgh (Museums Galleries Scotland ).

The art exhibitions of Scottish and international Artists are hosted every year among the programs of the National Galleries. It also operates most of the museums and galleries in Edinburgh. The National Museum comes top of the list which also includes the Royal Museum and the National War Museum which is located in Edinburgh Castle, the Museum of Flight which conserves Concorde aircraft and Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

The most popular theatres in Edinburgh excluding Traverse (the leader of international contemporary theatre) are the refurbished Festival Theatre which is famous for Ballet and Opera, The Royal Lyceum, Queen’s Hall which hosts the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and is located in a reused 19th-century church and other number of small theatres around the city of Edinburgh.

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City Appearance

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Dublin & Belfast The changes in the population of Dublin in the last few decades represent the impact of the locality and the original culture of the city. Twenty years ago, the city became the target of immigrants who accepted Dublin as a new home. Most of them came from United Kingdom and Scandinavia, as well as from China and Russia. In fact, each one the immigrants came to Dublin with this inherent tradition and culture which is integrated into the new look of city culture. For instance Muslim and Chinese communities, each one of these communities has its own customs, celebrations, culture and religious rituals. The pure cultural image of Dublin is like “a melting pot of nations and a flourishing cultural centre� (europe cities).

Because of multiculturalism varies celebrations in Dublin, which attract a lot of visitors. This cultural diversity dominated much on local culture. As a result, it has become difficult to determine where the local cultural traditions arose from compared to the Scottish cities. After all, if we talked about the local culture in the period of time before the cultural integrations we can highlight some of the features and cultural distinguishes, which are the city characterised by (europe cities).

The culture of Belfast is created by two different groups of religious communities, Catholic and Protestant.

Each one of them contributes to the culture of the city in its own way. Although the city was suffering from troubles, it kept going to improve itself culturally and economically. Belfast is much closer to other parts of the United Kingdome than the European Cities unlike Dublin. However it has some big similarities with other Irish cities (europe cities).

Festivals and Theatres The diversity of cultures enriches the city with the festivals and celebrations along the year. The most significant one of the local cultural and religious celebrations is that the Feast of Saint Patrick provided by a festival Dublin Dance Festival. This colourful event attracts a lot of international arts of dance to gather in the city centre at the beginning of April. It was found in remembrance of Irish Saint Patrick (europe cities).

Another event that interests the locals and visitors is the traditional and cultural Night Dublin. The event is a celebrated event for every one when all of the cultural places (museums, churches, galleries, theatres, cathedrals and cultural institutions) open for visitors to discover them and to explore during night time and show of the diverse cultural life of Dublin.

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shamrock clover is associated with Ireland’s patron Saint Patrick, and with the Holy Trinity of Christian belief. A Saint Brigid’s cross is often found over the entrance to homes, as are representations of saints and other holy people, as well as portraits of the greatly admired, such as Pope John XXIII and John F. Kennedy.

Green is the color associated worldwide with Irishness, but within Ireland, and especially in Northern Ireland, it is more closely associated with being both Irish and Roman Catholic, whereas orange is the color associated with Protestantism, and more especially within Northern Irish people who support Loyalism to the British crown and continued union with Great Britain. The colors of red, white, and blue, those of the British Union Jack, are often used to mark the territory of Loyalist communities in Northern Ireland, just as orange, white, and green mark Irish Nationalist territory there. Sports, especially the national ones organized by the Gaelic Athletic Association such as hurling, camogie, and Gaelic football, also serve as central symbols of the nation” (every culture).

Taste of Dublin is the name of the largest food festival in Ireland. This festival which takes a place in Iveagh Gardens in Dublin every summer, it attracts the most prestigious restaurants and the most renowned cooks to prepare foods enough for more than 30,000 people within four days (europe cities).

Theatres in Dublin embrace the musical traditions and dance and the Irish visual arts.

Mahony Hall in the suburb of Glasnevin which was named in “honour of the late Dr. Tim Mahony, who is a long time supporter of the Arts in Ireland” (publication), and others like the Gaiety, the Abbey, the Olympia and the Gate.

Museums and Galleries A part of the Irish cultural contribution to world literature is a number of museums in Dublin that house the history and productions of a number of Irish writers. (the genius Oscar Wilde 1854 - 1900, the Noble laureates George Bernard Shaw 1856 - 1950, William Butler Yeats 1865 - 1939, and Samuel Beckett, the enchanting Jonathan Swift 1667 – 1745, and the creator of Dracula, Bram Stoker).

The languages in Ireland The official languages in Dublin are Irish (Gaelic) and English. Both of the languages were originally brought 320

to Ireland during the Celtic migration between the sixth and seventh century and the domination of the United Kingdome of Northern Ireland. Irish, the oldest language known in Ireland was considered as a symbol of the Irish state nation. As a result of two languages being used in a same place, in the nineteenth century, a vernacular language was created called HibernoEnglish. Which is occasionally English mixed with some of the Irish language characters. Hiberno-English has an influence on most of Irish – English literature, theatres, art and education (every culture).

Irish symbolism In Ireland, there is no stronger than the flag, or in fact the flags. The flags in Ireland are one of most sensitive parts of Irish culture.

“The flag of Ireland has three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and orange. This tricolor is also the symbol of the Irish nation in other countries, most notably in Northern Ireland among the Irish national minority. Other flags that are meaningful to the Irish include the golden harp on a green background and the Dublin workers’ flag of “The Plough and the Stars.”

The harp is the principal symbol on the national coat of arms, and the badge of the Irish state is the shamrock.

Many symbols of Irish national identity derive in part from their association with religion and church. The re-Think the Region

Irish food The ingredients of Irish food emphasize the local products: vegetables, fruits and meat. The massive green farms in Irish lands provide the opportunity to grow different types of vegetables and raise animals.

Unlike the Scottish traditional daily meals, Irish meals involved four meals: “breakfast, dinner (the midday meal and the main one of the day), tea (in early evening, and distinct from “high tea” which is normally served at 4:00 P.M. and is associated with British customs), and supper (a light repast before retiring)” (every culture).

The main meal usually centred by a piece of meat (Roasts and stews, of lamb, beef, chicken, ham, pork, and turkey) (every culture). Irish meals are also consists of the diversity of fish and seafood which are provided by the surrounded Sea. However, the Etiquette of Irish meals is nowadays affected by some of the social cultural changes in Ireland.

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Glasgow.pdf Menzies, J. (1991). An Investigation of Attitudes to Scots. Museums Galleries Scotland. (n.d.). Burrell Collection. Retrieved from Museums Galleries Scotland: http://www.museumsgalleriesscotland.org.uk/ member/burrell-­collection publocation. (n.d.). The Helix, GLASNEVIN, Dublin. Retrieved from publication: http://ie.publocation.com/pubs/dublin/glasnevin/thehelix Scottish Food­‐Way More Than Haggis. (n.d.). Retrieved from scottish-­at-­heart: Scottish Food­‐ Way More Than Haggis! http://www.scottish‐at-heart.com/scottish-­ food.html#ixzz3PpbmCD8B Smith, R. (2010, 3 13). Bristol named Britain’s most musical city. Retrieved from mirror: http://www.mirror. co.uk/3am/celebrity-­news/bristol-­named-­britains-­ most-­musical-­207581

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