[belfastuniguy]

It’s a great idea but you’d need to pump water in to maintain an attractive water level.

The Farset has a limited source and is a very narrow river.

 

[Not Tall Enough]

Yeah it's a nice idea but it looks like we would need to divert a lot water from the lagan to fill it up which would be expensive.
I do agree with pedestrianising it though and putting in more trees. What happened to this urban forest that was meant to stretch from UU to City Hall.

 

[hypnotoad24]

My thinking is a pipe from the lagan on the upper side of the weir that mixes with the Farset under castle place. It then drains out its normal exit over a gate the same height as the weir. At high tide the water would reverse flow like as happens on the lagan, or you could close the gate. The supply pipe could also be closed if needed.

Typically, the Farset would be maintained at the same height as the upper Lagan.

I don't think just pedestrianising the street would be enough, it is quite wide, so it would feel dead.

 

[belfastuniguy]

What happened to this urban forest that was meant to stretch from UU to City Hall.

That was part of the European Capital of Culture bid. Brexit put the kibosh on that.

The council did recently though vote to support the project to plant one million new trees across the city over the next 15 years.

 

[citybus]

That was part of the European Capital of Culture bid. Brexit put the kibosh on that.

The council did recently though vote to support the project to plant one million new trees across the city over the next 15 years.

There should really be a massive scheme to plant countless millions of tees in the country as a whole. Real trees, mind, not spruce. Ireland has less trees than anywhere in Europe, and it is enormously less attractive because of it. Compare Cavehill with it tree cover to Black Mountain which can be miserable looking. I think it's safe to say that the farms round those parts are not all that productive so if agriculture is going to continue being such a subsidy heavy industry then they should really force them to plant trees on lands that is of low value anyway.

 

[Conor]

Had some free time this week so I got to work designing a new office block to replace the Housing Executive monolith behind city hall. (lol very sad, yes)

The new block is called 'THE SQUARE SOUTH' and adopts the same basic dimensions of the existing building. The top floor has been replaced by a glazed crown and the internal court yard has been glazed over to create a dramatic six-storey atrium. The main facade has been fixed with gold-coloured bespoke metal cladding and floor-to-ceiling glass. Five retail/restaurant units have been incorporated into the ground floor, with active frontages onto all streets. The Alfred Street facade has also been designed purposely to appear as if it is two separate structures, to help break up massing and create a more varied streetscape.

Untitled by Conor2k9, on Flickr

Untitled by Conor2k9, on Flickr

Untitled by Conor2k9, on Flickr

Untitled by Conor2k9, on Flickr

Untitled by Conor2k9, on Flickr

Untitled by Conor2k9, on Flickr

I'll maybe post some more screen grabs below.

So with lockdown my workload is smaller and I've had some extra time to work on my modelling. 🤟 I've went back to this one and polished it up a bit.

exec2 by Conor2k9, on Flickr

exec1 by Conor2k9, on Flickr

exec3 by Conor2k9, on Flickr

exec4 by Conor2k9, on Flickr

exec6 by Conor2k9, on Flickr

exec7 by Conor2k9, on Flickr

exec9 by Conor2k9, on Flickr

exec10 by Conor2k9, on Flickr

exec11 by Conor2k9, on Flickr

exec12 by Conor2k9, on Flickr

exec13 by Conor2k9, on Flickr

 

[Conor]

And a few from the inside:

exec15 by Conor2k9, on Flickr

exec16 by Conor2k9, on Flickr

exec17 by Conor2k9, on Flickr

exec18 by Conor2k9, on Flickr

exec19 by Conor2k9, on Flickr

exec20 by Conor2k9, on Flickr

Been working on a few other ones like finally finishing an airport design I've been working on for 2 years, so I might post it soon too.

 

[thevanishin]

Been working on a few other ones like finally finishing an airport design I've been working on for 2 years, so I might post it soon too.

Those renders that you've knocked together in your spare tome look a lot better than some of the renders used on actual planning applications. If you're not involved in this type of work already, maybe you should be! They look great.

 

[Conor]

I've been using sketch since I was like 13, so it's really just years or compounded practice at this point. In a totally unrelated workplace unfortunately atm, but I do sometimes feel like the most obsessive architecture geek in the world who doesn't actually work in architecture. 🤓😅

 

[acathal]

They're good sketchup models and you understand how buildings are modelled for sure. If not in an architect's office you could for sure work for a visualisation firm like Modelworks or 3D Design Bureau, should you ever wish to go down that path. Lovely renders!

 

[Conor]

Thanks, would love to! Maybe in the future 🤞

So I mentioned the airport design I have been working on for sooo long now a few posts above. It's still not finished, but at this point I'm not sure it ever will be, so I thought I might as well show the design in its current circumstances, considering the lack of activity round here lately.

My design statement (LOL I take this shit way too srs) was to incorporate motifs into the architecture that were reflective of Northern Irelands natural landscapes. So I have drawn especially from the iconic geometry of the Giants Causeway, which influenced the sky-lights, the flooring design and the general industrial design of the airport furniture, including the lamp posts, baggage reclaim belts, floor-based air ventilation systems and the planters. I also drew inspo from the Dark Hedges (fun fact, I've still never watched an episode of GoT) for the design of the support columns which hold the roof in place. Finally there is a public 'meadow' on the roof of the carpark, which would feature only native vegetation and wildflower. Throughout the interior, native trees have been placed to add a sense of peace and natural tranquility in what can sometimes otherwise feel like a stressful and artificial environment. Wood has been used to clad the carpark and various parts of the walls and ceiling within the actual terminal building, again to diffuse the unnatural, sterile feeling typical of many airports. Importantly, the terminal is carbon-neutral.

As a piece of infrastructure, the plan would be to consolidate the three existing NI airports into one on the grounds of the current International Airport. A train would provide a direct link to Belfast and elsewhere on the island, with an obvious major road upgrade into the city as well. The greater goal would be to create a landmark gateway into Northern Ireland as well as providing actual competition with Dublin. Pre-Covid horror show the new airport would probably have been able to grow to 12- 14 million passengers by the end of the decade.

Exterior

air1 by Conor2k9, on Flickr

air2 by Conor2k9, on Flickr

air6 by Conor2k9, on Flickr

air13 by Conor2k9, on Flickr

air5 by Conor2k9, on Flickr

air3 by Conor2k9, on Flickr

air4 by Conor2k9, on Flickr

air12 by Conor2k9, on Flickr

air14 by Conor2k9, on Flickr

air8 by Conor2k9, on Flickr

air10 by Conor2k9, on Flickr

air11 by Conor2k9, on Flickr

air9 by Conor2k9, on Flickr

 

[Conor]

Interior (which is where most of the work I still have to do is)

air15 by Conor2k9, on Flickr

air16 by Conor2k9, on Flickr

air19 by Conor2k9, on Flickr

air20 by Conor2k9, on Flickr

air17 by Conor2k9, on Flickr

air18 by Conor2k9, on Flickr


Cross-sections

air21 by Conor2k9, on Flickr

air22 by Conor2k9, on Flickr

 

[belfastuniguy]

That looks fantastic! You should tweet those and tag those that need to see them!

 

[Conor]

Thanks! No idea what anyone would do with them if I shared them around, but I might if I ever finish the model ahaha