Sound Yard on track for summer arrival

27/01/2021

Sound Yard, designed by Hannah Wilson in collaboration with Matthew Kernan and Eunan Deeney, was the winner of the 2019 RSUA / JPCorry CityPlay Design Competition and is expected to be completed this summer.

The project along the Maritime Mile has received funding from Maritime Belfast Trust, JP Corry, Tourism NI and Belfast Harbour to enable the design to be built. In being constructed, Sound Yard will join the 2017 winner of the RSUA / JP Corry Design Competition Built:East.

Sound Yard will celebrate Belfast’s maritime heritage, add to the animation, accessibility, and vibrancy of the Maritime Mile, as well as help reconnect and educate children and adults of the significance of the shipyard. Children will enjoy the sensory experience whilst playing within the structure while adults connect with the sound and interpretation within the site. In response to ongoing Covid-19 guidelines, the installation will be activated by motion sensors to reduce the need for children to touch the apparatus.

Approvals are now in place for the all-weather structure which will be located on the waterside, next to the Odyssey Complex and Belfast Harbour Marina, which was once the site of a brass foundry and Kelly’s Coal yards. The design and sound were inspired by the noise of striking metal emanating from the old shipyards.

Maritime Belfast Trust is currently procuring a contractor to build the installation.

Imagery courtesy of Matthew Kernan