[Uchimata]

Have to wonder who/what decides the architectural culture?. How is it buildings liked by many [architects/institutions/magazines and awards], most regular folks find ugly and demoralising. 🤔

For them it's a rejection of the four olds (Old Customs, Old Culture, Old Habits, and Old Ideas).

 

[newcastlepubs]

For them it's a rejection of the four olds (Old Customs, Old Culture, Old Habits, and Old Ideas).

Grab the red book

 

[philosopher_yogi]

Lost building
Corner of Queens St. and Mill St. (now Castle St.)

Today

 

[hypnotoad24]

Look at that. And there's me complaining that modern architecture isn't as good as the older stuff.

[/s]

At least that drivel is due to be replaced. A shame it isn't with the former building, or something resembling the older building, but of course that would be "historicist".

 

[hypnotoad24]

I can't remember where i came across these, but still. Royal Avenue. Why can we not build like this again?


Royal Avenue 2 by hypnotoad24, on Flickr


Royal Avenue by hypnotoad24, on Flickr

 

[philosopher_yogi]

I can't remember where i came across these, but still. Royal Avenue. Why can we not build like this again?

Many historic architectural plans are kept at PRONI. Unfortuantly, not many are digitized.

Some were made public a number of years back. Like the one below on Royal Avenue, which is still there 😮.

Would it make more sense just to copy the old drawings?. They are proportioned beautifully.

An earlier version of Anderson McAuley building with a cupola/tower on the corner, which I think looks better.

And the first stage of Scottish Provident building.

All these buildings were designed by Young and Mackenzie.
I got a book Architects of Ulster: Young & MacKenzie – A Transformational Provincial Practice 1850-1960 a couple of years ago, lots of info and plans. Written by Paul Harron, here's a wee video explaining it.

 

[philosopher_yogi]

Some photos of Royal Avenue

 

[hypnotoad24]

Some were made public a number of years back. Like the one below on Royal Avenue, which is still there 😮.
View attachment 511761

Always thought this building would make a great European style bar/restaurant. Ground floor would only stock local drinks, upper floor would offer a range of world beers. Food service on both floors.

Would it make more sense just to copy the old drawings?. They are proportioned beautifully.

Nice proportions, properly arranged windows, curved corners, styling and details, nice roofs... these are all BAD and HISTORICIST. Today's practice of oversized featureless slabs, no details, windows all over the place, no variation in floor heights... is the CORRECT way to design buildings, and everything else be damned.

 

[Not Tall Enough]

I try not to look at this thread as it depresses me. Every time I see the Grand Central I think it could have been refurbed and turned into a mini Harrods for Belfast, instead we got a Debenhams. It's more if a pity the office developments approved on the other side of Royal Avenue as part of Tribeca could not have attempted to fit in more with their victorian neighbours.

 

[philosopher_yogi]

I try not to look at this thread as it depresses me. Every time I see the Grand Central I think it could have been refurbed and turned into a mini Harrods for Belfast, instead we got a Debenhams. It's more if a pity the office developments approved on the other side of Royal Avenue as part of Tribeca could not have attempted to fit in more with their victorian neighbours.

Perhaps there will be a great awakening. in the world of architecture and a return to the design principles accumulated over the past couple of thousand years. Who knows? Quite an opportunity for a paradigm change in the design and build of towns and homes. Best may be yet to come. stay positive

 

[philosopher_yogi]

Bedford Street

 

[philosopher_yogi]

General Post Office
1886 - archiseek

Belfast’s General Post Office that stood on Royal Avenue, by James Owen of the Board of Works. It was built from Dungannon stone with a machicolated cornice and Romanesque windows. Demolished in June 1985 to make way for the CastleCourt Centre.

 

[newcastlepubs]

The new way to see your area’s past and how you can bring old photos to life

and

Old Belfast: Then & Now

 

[philosopher_yogi]

Aerial Photography

Donegall square

Cathedral Area

Great Victoria street

Queen's University

Royal Victoria Maternity & Children's' Hospital and surrounding area

 

[Conor]

How unrelentingly depressing it is to realise that Belfast was once up there with all the other revered 19th century European cities, architecturally.

 

[hypnotoad24]

View attachment 617162

I doubt many will agree, but I would prefer those buildings in place of Cathedral Gardens, with a proper square developed around St Anne's Cathedral.

 

[hypnotoad24]

How unrelentingly depressing it is to realise that Belfast was once up there with all the other revered 19th century European cities, architecturally.

Yes, and precious little signs of addressing that reversal, looking at the amount of Mcaleer and Rushe muck proposed for the city.

The photos also demonstrate what a total mistake it was to prioritise room for the motor vehicle in the city centre. Obviously this can be said with tremendous hindsight, and we got off lightly compared to other UK cities, but still- contrast the sweeping streets from GVS to Smithfield, and around Clifton House, to the clunky mess that is the Belfast inner ring road as an example.

 

[Conor]

I'd absolutely love it if the city adopted a Central European style approach to rebuilding parts of the centre of town, even if it was just High Street, Castle Place and Royal Av. The regained ornateness of those thoroughfares would be phenomenal.

 

[phillips01]

Yea I'm not hugely into restoring lost buildings for the sake of it, they are gone. But honestly I'd make an exception to Royal Avenue. We did that ourselves in the 80s/90's. If CastleCourt even went under they really must rebuild what was lost even if Pastiche.

 

[wakka12]

How unrelentingly depressing it is to realise that Belfast was once up there with all the other revered 19th century European cities, architecturally.

These threads are honestly just too much for me, like I get really genuinely angry and upset. It's interesting and I can barely resist looking at them because of that but I just feel really affected by them in a bad way. It's such an unbelievable tragedy. And it;s the same story everywhere in the world, literally every city in the world was properly beautiful and it was almost all just thrown away for no reason with a select few exceptions which are now just disneyfied hellholes that attract throngs of tourists because theyre the only good looking places left