Last Thursday, RSUA hosted three panel discussions under the banner ‘Blueprints for a Bolder Belfast: Designing the City We Need’, as part of the Summer Solstice from the Brink! environmental festival held on Union Street.
The first panel, featuring speakers Alex Knowles and Fearghal Murray, was titled ‘Meanwhile for quite a while – What can we do with empty sites where development is years away?’
The discussion centred on Alex’s work on meanwhile use projects in his role as Chair of RSUA’s Early Career Architects’ Forum, and on Fearghal’s experience as Director of MMAS Architects in Belfast. MMAS are recognised specialists in this field, having delivered a number of innovative and award-winning projects across the city.
RSUA’s second panel, titled ‘Walk the talk – What is needed to turn plans for active travel in the city centre into a reality?’, featured Karen McShane and Olivia Laughlin.
The conversation drew on Karen’s expertise as a Civil Engineer and Transport Planner, focusing on the policy challenges associated with implementing active travel infrastructure. Olivia contributed insights from her role as a project architect, demonstrating how sustainable transport solutions can be integrated into sound design.
The final panel, comprising James Grieve and Lisa Park, was titled ‘Home time – How do we deliver sustainable homes in Belfast city centre?’
James shared knowledge from his work as an award-winning architect and Director of his own practice in Belfast, while Lisa brought additional perspective through her specialism in sustainable building design, including lessons learned from her time working as an architect in Australia.
RSUA would like to thank all our panellists once again for what was an interesting and engaging event, as well as all the members who took the time to attend.
