Genius Loci: A settlement on the Antrim Plateau
This thesis project is set in the Belfast Hills. Analysis of the city discovered that in Belfast there has been a gradual blurring of local identity with the demolition of the past 80 years. Communities have disconnected from the city and in turn the city has disconnected from the landscape leaving an empty deindustrialised hillside, riverside and harbour. Genius Loci was therefore chosen as the theoretical basis for the design of the city framework, masterplan and space as it offers a holistic approach to development, reclaiming an identity for Belfast that is deeply rooted in locality by connecting the city to the environment. The designs remove the idea that civilisation is independent from nature, instead placing landscape at the forefront and developing building typologies and spaces that emphasise the landscape character.
