University of Ulster

• Location:

  Northern Ireland

• Site Area:

  6.5 Hectares

• Client:

  University of Ulster

• Architects:

  Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios

• Engineers:

  Mott MacDonald

• Quantity Surveyors:

  EC Harris

• Project value:

  £170 million, £1.3 million landscape works

The University of Ulster’s Greater Belfast Development (GBD) will create an exemplar 21st century University Campus to promote the core activities of teaching, learning, research and innovation.

The shape, scale, forms and orientation of the built form and public realm draw upon the surrounding landscape of Belfast for inspiration.   For the public realm this translates into a distinctive paving pattern aligned with the York Lane facade that reinforces the main pedestrian axis through the site. The paving will be a dark natural stone, inspired by the dark basalt outcrops of the surrounding landscape and the dark Caithness stone used extensively throughout the city. The rock strata metaphor is continued from the paving into the stone benches, creating layered interventions within the landscape that provide opportunities to sit, perch and lie.

The vegetated roofscape and terraces promote the use of planting designs which draw upon the surrounding landscape of the city.  This includes intensive and extensive roof conditions using plant species of both local and national significance to increase the development’s biodiversity value and habitat provision.

Phase one will be complete for the academic year commencing September 2015 with the final phase being ready for the academic year commencing September 2018.