Situated between the Bog Meadows nature reserve and the terraced streets of St. James’ in West Belfast, a piece of vacant, publicly owned land was identified by local people as a potential community resource. A proactive group of residents decided to adapt the space as an urban farmyard, cultivating some crops and introducing a few livestock. The group was initially offered funding for several shipping containers. MMAS approached them initially on a pro-bono basis to help develop a more appropriate vision to spend the money on.
The design intention was to use a linear form of simple mono–pitched buildings to shelter central, interior space from road noise, fumes and excessive breezes, thus creating a micro–climate conducive for growing, playing and hosting performances, discussions and events. These pre–fabricated modular forms are clad in reflective metal to refer to typical agricultural buildings while creating a robust ‘shell’ to the outside. Within the main farm and garden space, the buildings are clad by the farm’s volunteers with ‘found’ timber, that was treated and fixed on site.
The resulting structure of the community building displays tactile and characterful facades, reflecting the ad–hoc and self–build spirit of the farm. With the involvement in the construction and curation of the building’s external appearance, a deeper pride and ownership of the finished project has been cultivated. A ‘colonnade’ of ‘V’ shaped timber posts support the projecting roof on the inner side of the buildings, heightening the sense of enclosure within the courtyard garden and orientating the space up toward the Belfast Hills beyond the roofs of surrounding Belfast brick terraces.
These columns are planted with creeper species, allowing the buildings to embed within the garden over time. St James’ Community ‘farm’ has become a much–loved aspect of the neighbourhood, with inner city dwellers waking to the stirring sound of a cock crowing, while a growing collection of animals graze adjacent Bog Meadow grassland given over to the group by Ulster Wildlife. Local children learn about life and food and gain new skills and interests within the peripheral space between city streets and landscape. ‘And the imagination fills Bog meadow and surrounding hills . . .’ Michael Longley, ‘Letters’, from, An Exploded View (Gollancz 1973).
