A year ago, we asked architects to imagine how the Mackie's site could be transformed to help communities respond to the cost of living, housing, and climate crises in line with a set of principles developed by homeless families. The response was outstanding. Here you can see the winning design, meet the architects behind it, as well as hear from the judges who chose the winners. Read on to learn why Belfast needs this inpiring project and how it can be realised.
Over the past 25 years Matthew Lloyd Architects has worked on community regeneration projects mostly in East London. Much of this has been centred on new-build housing and mixed-use provision, where their work has helped to transform run-down localities.
Matthew Lloyd on Mackies: "Mackies is a wonderful site characterised by an outstanding and unusual urban topography. We agree that it is an ideal location for a major piece of city regeneration and renewal that could have a huge impact on the city of Belfast for the very long term."
Pauline O'Flynn is a community organiser and mental health practitioner working in Belfast. She's been working with the TBTC coalition since 2019, first as organiser on the campaign, and then through her work in community food growing, land and environmental justice. Grow who she now works for is a community growing organisation who have been collaborating with PPR on a number of growing projects along the Forthmeadow Greenway since 2020, helping to create opportunities for creative occupation of land aling it. She is interested in how we create ecologically, financially & socially sustainable neighbourhoods where access to growing space and nature is a given and where people have access to healthy & affordable food.
Martin Dunn is a leader in the field of housing and community development in New York City. Over the last 22 years, Martin has been involved in the development of more than 3,000 units of new housing. Since 1998, he has been President of Dunn Development Corp., a socially conscious, award-winning real estate developer with expertise in affordable and supportive housing. Martin is also an active advocate on housing and homelessness issues in New York City and New York State.
Kelvin is the Specialist Adviser on planning policy to the House of Commons Levelling Up, Housing, Communities Select Committee and on development and the environment to the House of Lords Built Environment Committee. He is Chair of the Board of Brighton Housing Trust, having previously been a member of the Board of Trustees of Shelter. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, of the Royal Town Planning Institute and of the Royal Society of Arts and he is a 'Distinguished Professional' Member of the Chartered Institute of Housing.
Wadah is an electrical engineer who has worked on different types of projects, including Commercial, Residential Complexes, High Rise Buildings, Government and Ministry Buildings. He is an experienced lighting designer and project planner. “I wanted to be part of the coalition because I wanted to give back to the community that welcomed me and offered me refuge and safety when I was in need. I knew that my experience could be of use to the campaign and that I’d be be able to learn and expand my knowledge from the panel of experts involved in the campaign.”
Agustina Martire is an urbanist, activist and senior lecturer in architecture specialised in the study of everyday streets, their fabric, histories and experiences. She is especially interested in the way people experience the built environment, and how design can enable a more inclusive and just urban space. She has worked in schools of architecture in Buenos Aires, Delft, Dublin and Belfast and collaborates with a range of government and non-government organisations to explore ways in which housing, mixed use and mobility can provide better cities for all. Her book: Everyday Streets, edited in collaboration with Birgit Hausleitner and Jane Clossick, is released in May 2023.
Urjwan AlKamil is and experienced architect and project manager, over the last 25 years he has developed his skills on a range of commercial, residential and industrial projects in his home country of Sudan. He was interested in being part of City of the Future competition as someone directly impacted by homelessness and to engage in this meaningful cause.
Seán is a Take Back The City Campaigner. Sean was homeless on and off for 16 years. He started campaigning with the Homeless Not Voiceless Campaign back in 2018. He is also a campaigner with the Take Back The City Campaign and volunteers with Hope Harbour who help feed the homeless in Belfast City Centre.
Hugh Ellis is Policy Director of the Town and Country Planning Association. He is currently leading on the promotion of the Healthy Homes Act and on long term planning for climate crisis. Hugh’s responsibilities at the TCPA include leading on policy development, and briefings and engagement with central government. Hugh was closely involved in the passage of the 2004 and 2008 Planning Acts in England, including providing evidence to public bill committees and working closely with parliamentarians on both Commons and Lords committee stages of subsequent planning legislation. Hugh has given oral evidence to House of Commons Select Committees on various inquiries on planning, land tax and climate.
Dessie Donnelly is a member of rabble.coop: Ireland's first, and currently only, technology cooperative. rabble.coop supports social purpose organisations to develop ethical, independent and community-owned tech in order to maximise their impact. Prior to setting up rabble.coop, Dessie was Director of the Belfast-based Participation and the Practice of Rights (PPR). He was among the first staffing cohort employed in the organisation in 2006 and helped to develop its unique and groundbreaking human rights-based organising model. Dessie learned his organising trade in the labour movement, working with the Service Employee's Industrial Union (SEIU) in the USA (2000-2002) and with UNISON (2002-2006).
Pauline O'Flynn is a community organiser and mental health practitioner working in Belfast. She's been working with the TBTC coalition since 2019, first as organiser on the campaign, and then through her work in community food growing, land and environmental justice. Grow who she now works for is a community growing organisation who have been collaborating with PPR on a number of growing projects along the Forthmeadow Greenway since 2020, helping to create opportunities for creative occupation of land aling it. She is interested in how we create ecologically, financially & socially sustainable neighbourhoods where access to growing space and nature is a given and where people have access to healthy & affordable food.
Martin Dunn is a leader in the field of housing and community development in New York City. Over the last 22 years, Martin has been involved in the development of more than 3,000 units of new housing. Since 1998, he has been President of Dunn Development Corp., a socially conscious, award-winning real estate developer with expertise in affordable and supportive housing. Martin is also an active advocate on housing and homelessness issues in New York City and New York State.
For ten years Take Back the City activists have been photo-mapping available land in Belfast which could be used to tackle the housing crisis. Since 2020 we have hosted seminars that brought together international experts and homeless people with the goal of finding solutions. Surveys and workshops involving local people, housing associations and council duty-bearers have explored the potential of the Mackie's site. In 2022, we launched our international design competition and the shortlisted entries drew thousands of visits, comments, votes and downloads of the plans. In 2023 NI Opera produced the acclaimed opera, Nobody/Somebody, about our Mackie's campaign, attracting enthusiastic audiences and packing out the theatre.