Rural Dwelling / Living City III

from Perspective January/February 2023

Architect’s Account

Our SuperStudio at Ulster University is primarily interested in making better places for people to live, in both rural and urban contexts within Northern Ireland. We seek to generate community-led proposals that will have a positive impact on physical health, mental health and partnerships. We embed a sustainable approach to design, construction and technology –exploring material choices such as timber and natural recycled insulation materials, high levels of thermal performance and site strategies aiming to achieve Zero Emission Neighbourhood (ZEN) standards. Themes explored through student work include deep retrofit, designing for an ageing population, accessibility, shared space(s) and self-sufficiency in terms of food growing and energy production. This report looks back on the work from the last academic year, the third the Studio has run.

In the first semester we continued our research into Dispersed Rural Communities (DRCs) and the possibilities for contemporary ‘Clachan’ settlements. Focusing on an area of mid-Ulster to the east of the Sperrins, sites at Broughderg, Sixtowns and Carntogher were identified. This area is rich in history with settlements dating back to the Neolithic Period 6000 years ago, as recorded at the Beaghmore Stone Circles. During site visits some of the groups discovered ruins of stone buildings which would form key points of reference for their proposals. Students were formed into mini vertical studio groups (ranging from 1st to 5th year) which required extensive collaboration to develop and agree site strategies within each group.

In the second semester the studio shifted its focus to Sandy Row and the top of Great Victoria Street in Belfast. We wanted to question how this community can sit in such close proximity to Belfast’s city centre yet feel so disconnected from it? Students were tasked with using film as the medium for their initial site analysis. Following this, a series of workshops were held, involving all students (years 1 to 5), to assess the existing context and put forward a conceptual masterplan that would seek to connect these existing houses and businesses with the city centre. Projects for new homes (and ancillary programs) were defined that increased in scale and complexity up through the year groups. First year were given the existing terrace at 117 – 127 Great Victoria Street to adapt and make proposals for new dwellings to the rear. Adaptive reuse is not easy, whether for a student or live project, but we feel now, more than ever, in the midst of a climate emergency, it is essential for our students to get to grips with it. Thesis students (6th year) are given the freedom to develop their thesis across the full academic year, for the most part independently from the main studio group. This results in diverse and varied work which still has many of the core themes of the studio embedded in it. Projects to note were Samantha Gibson’s ‘Beyond the Street’ which explored adaptive re-use of a cluster of buildings at the bottom of Royal Avenue and Peter Scott’s ‘Village Reclamation’ which sought to rediscover a forgotten sense of community in Dundonald.

Thanks to our Guest Critics;

Susan Vericat (Studio Vericat)

Petrina Tierney (Craftstudio Architecture)

Fearghal Murray (MMAS)

SuperStudio 4

Studio Lead: Rory Caithness

Studio Support: Laura Cushnahan

Students:

Agnieszka Dutka

Samantha Gibson

Peter Scott

Megan White