# data[].attributes.body
Start on site: November 2017
Completion: February 2019

Builder: FORRME Construction

Function: Transport Hub

Cost: £2.38 million

Location: Poleglass, Belfast, Northern Ireland

# data[].attributes.body
Start date: December 2009

Completion: April 2012

Function: Recreational Space

Cost: £17,900,000

Location: Cathedral Quarter, Belfast, Northern Ireland

# data[].attributes.body
The MAC replaced the Old Museum Arts Centre (OMAC) at College Square North. The building comprises of 5,500m² of facilities which include 2 theatres, 3 art galleries, a rehearsal space, a dance studio, 3 workshop rooms, 4 offices, a café/bar and an art studio.

# data[].attributes.headline
Using Context to inform building and site design decisions

# data[].attributes.subject
Using Context to inform building and site design decisions

# data[].attributes.body
The MAC is the key cultural element in the regeneration of Belfast’s emerging Cathedral Quarter, historically the Merchant City of Belfast. This is a cultural hub that offers an eclectic programme of visual art's, theatre, dance, family workshops and many more. Surrounding the building we have St. Annes Cathedral, Buoy Park, Deep love mural and Northern Ireland war museum. As all of these places are tourist attractions, placing the MAC in this area is ingenious. The contrast of the gothic St. Annes Cathedral alongside the modern and minimalistic MAC invites people to visit it. The MAC is only a 15 minute walk from Belfast city centre but visitors can also take many different forms of public transport to get there.

# data[].attributes.body
The MAC secured funding to install an energy monitoring system. This system tracks real-time energy usage, including gas, electricity, and water. It promptly flags any unusual consumption patterns, such as leaks or equipment left on outside normal operating hours. By benchmarking energy usage, the MAC can assess the impact of changes like LED lighting, insulation, or adjusted building hours.

# data[].attributes.body
The MAC is Belfast's home of international art exhibitions, the best live theatre, top shows and events. It attracts a wide range of people with 2.5 million tourists visiting it. It operates as a creative space for the Arts varying from music and dance performances & art exhibitions.

# data[].attributes.body
Comparisons-

Large square & rectangular windows on both buildings.

Use of contrasting colours/ use of colour accents.

Both buildings were part of a regeneration project.

Interior walls are both a red dyed poured concrete.

Contrasts-

The size & scale of each - The MAC is 5,500m² & the Transport Hub is 450m².

The transport hub has a more unique contemporary shape whereas the Mac is modular.

The roof is visible from the ground on the transport hub.

The front of the MAC is redbrick and black granite whereas the transport hub is light grey granite.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Activities outside the transport hub bringing the community together

# data[].attributes.headline
Impact of both buildings on Rural & Urban Environments

# data[].attributes.subject
Impact of both buildings on Rural & Urban Environments

# data[].attributes.body
Both of these buildings have had a positive impact to both their respective urban and rural environments.

The MAC: The MAC has become a popular location for tourists to visit. These visitors have attended more than 3,000 live performances, 45 visual art exhibitions, 100s of workshops, and collectively drunk over 400,000 cups of coffee. It had an economic impact of £14.8 million, therefore making a positive contribution to the urban region.

Colin Connect Transport Hub: The transport centre has been designed to house the new bus service that connects the Colin and Poleglass neighbourhood with the city centre, improving the public transport systems in the city, as well as the general inhabitants social interactions.

# data[].attributes.headline
Critique of the Metropolitan Arts Centre

# data[].attributes.subject
Critique of the Metropolitan Arts Centre

# data[].attributes.body
"It has transformed Belfast. Its a project of such scale and ambition from a contemporary perspective that it hasn't only contributed to the regeneration of the Cathedral Quarter in the city centre but it's also created so many opportunities for artists and audiences"

Anne McReynolds the Chief Executive of the centre.

In our opinion, the MAC was an amazing feat of architecture and engineering. The space on the site for the building was extremely limited and it was located in a historic location. It had to be designed do that it merged with the existing buildings and was accessible for all and Hall McKnight achieved their goal.

# data[].attributes.headline
Critique of the Colin Connect Transport Hub

# data[].attributes.subject
Critique of the Colin Connect Transport Hub

# data[].attributes.body
Donard Leonard, site manager at Forrme said:

“We're particularly proud of the Colin Connect transport hub. Not only is it a striking building with strong architectural merit, it has been built to have a positive and lasting legacy for local residents for generations to come."

We agree with what Leonard said. It has definitely had a positive impact on the area by linking East Belfast with West Belfast.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Forrme completes £2m transport hub and civic scheme in west Belfast

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
COALISLAND construction company Forrme has transformed a former Belfast greenfield site into a brand new transport hub as part of a wider regeneration masterplan.

# data[].attributes.body
The MAC is wedged between two existing buildings on a hemmed-in corner plot. A long and narrow atrium divides the building into two halves and is surrounded by walls of exposed concrete and brickwork. The use of local basalt stone cladding for this element of the project asserts the civic significance of this new cultural venue for the city.

Internally, in-situ concrete is recurrently exposed as an internal finish for walls and soffits. Brickwork also extends to interior walls for an internal exposed finish.

# data[].attributes.headline
Design concept, form, function, spatial organisation and features

# data[].attributes.subject
Design concept, form, function, spatial organisation and features

# data[].attributes.body
The MAC has a distinctive angular shape that fits into the irregular site between existing buildings. The building is composed of six stacked boxes of different sizes and materials, creating a dynamic and varied appearance. The interior spaces are flexible and adaptable, allowing for different configurations and uses. The foyer is designed as a public space that recalls the tight streetscape of the neighbourhood, with natural light coming in from above.

# data[].attributes.body
Its dusty coloured brick walls with horizontal concrete stripes form a cool, lean elevation to the surrounding streets, paying respect to the industrial buildings of Belfast. The red brick, concrete and basalt reminds visitors of the city’s rich history while heralding a new cultural future.

Indian black granite was chosen for the façade due to its superior strength and durability.

# data[].attributes.body
The transport hub is part of a master plan for the Colin neighbourhood of Belfast, which seeks a regeneration in this part of the city that had been disconnected and isolated.
The transport centre has been designed to house the new bus service that connects the Colin and Poleglass neighbourhoods with the city centre.

# data[].attributes.headline
Using Context to inform building and site design decisions

# data[].attributes.subject
Using Context to inform building and site design decisions

# data[].attributes.body
The project brief called for an 'iconic piece of high-quality architectural design'. It must support open social interaction and engagement so there are number of spaces where varied community user groups can meet.

Two granite squares define the plan - a new public square & the building. They did this due to the lack of immediate context, as it was originally a problematic area located between two neighbourhoods (Belfast's Divisions). The architects wanted this building to have a sense of civil identity and a strong performance which resulted in a modern building for the local community to be proud of.

# data[].attributes.headline
Clients and end users, how well it operates as intended

# data[].attributes.subject
Clients and end users, how well it operates as intended

# data[].attributes.body
The Colin Connect Transport Hub in Belfast operates as a bus station and facilitates the new local service called 'Glider' which started in 2019. However it also provides a hub for events, exhibitions and seasonal celebrations for the local community. Many people use this hub each day to travel in and out of the city centre and beyond.

# data[].attributes.body
The outside of the building has an area known as the Civic Square. It provides the area with a great venue to host a range of events. There are benches and shrubs to give the space an inviting atmosphere. It is a busy transport connector hub with many people passing each day waiting for bus services.

# data[].attributes.body
The interior of the transport hub is made with in–situ concrete which is dyed with a red pigment evoking the tones of Victorian brickwork from the history of Belfast. Two windows jut out from the interior and present to the main public elevations - a tall window faces the new Civic Square and a raised horizontal window looks out on the main road and green area on the opposite side.

# data[].attributes.body
Hall McKnight is an architectural practice established in 2003. In 2014 the practice won the Downes Medal for the MAC, the most prestigious award to be bestowed by the Architectural Association of Ireland.

The practice has experience of working on a wide range of different building types from houses to large and complex public buildings and landscapes, and has delivered projects in the UK and Europe.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Hall McKnight is an architectural practice based in Belfast, established in 2003.

# data[].attributes.body
The name Hall McKnight derives from two architects, Alister Hall and Ian McKnight.

Alastair Hall was born in Belfast in 1969. He studied architecture at Queens University. Ian McKnight was born in Lisburn, Co Antrim in 1971. Originally, the practice was established in Belfast by Alastair Hall and Mark Hackett who were joined by Ian McKnight in 2008, however Mark Hackett retired from the firm in 2010.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A glazed tower sits atop the volcanic stone facade of this performing arts centre in Belfast to create a beacon above the surrounding rooftops.

Designed by Irish architects Hackett Hall McKnight (now Hall McKnight), the Metropolitan Arts Centre is wedged between two existing buildings on a hemmed-in corner plot that sits beside the city cathedral.

A long and narrow atrium divides the building into two halves and is surrounded by walls of exposed concrete and brickwork.

Skylights bring natural light down into the seven-storey space, where balconies accommodate cafe and bar areas.

An auditorium is located on either side of the foyer, while dance studios and exhibition galleries fill the floors above and below.

Also recently completed in Belfast is a maritime museum dedicated to the RMS Titanic.

See more stories about projects in Ireland "

Photography is by Christian Richters.

Here's some more information from Hall McKnight:

￼The MAC Arts Centre, Belfast

The MAC is the key cultural element in the regeneration of Belfast's emerging Cathedral Quarter, historically the Merchant City of Belfast.

The building completes the newly established St Anne's Square, a new public space for the city, and engages with the pre- existing street network.

The Square is addressed with a tower that registers the building on the wider city skyline.

The solidity ￼￼￼￼and substance of this tower offers a contrast to the 'pattern book' pastiche of the square, conferring a sense of age and permanence to the space.

The use of local basalt stone cladding for this element of the project asserts the civic significance of this new cultural venue for the city.

The project deploys an architectural language drawn from the traditional brick warehouse and mill buildings of Belfast. The qualities of these buildings derive from the methods of construction and the simplicity of the details.

It is to these robust qualities of pragmatism and strength that the practice has referred in developing the design of the MAC.

In addition to the presence of the tower the project is defined by two brick blocks, constructed from in-situ concrete, which contain the main spaces.

Clad in brick, the expression of each block is distinct due to minor adjustments to the architectural language.

One is a regular cuboid form expressed with a repeated elevational treatment that reflects the wrapping of large spaces with cellular accommodation; the other is a less regular form with large, individual openings offering into larger, more volumetrically generous spaces.

The foyer occupies the tall voids between these two brick-clad forms.

The main spaces of the building are the foyer and cafe bar, 2 auditoria, 1000m2 of gallery and dance studios.

The gallery spaces are connected together by the multi-level foyer.

The foyer spaces recall the tight streetscape of the neighbourhood - a compressed space characterised by top-light and defined by internal elevations of brick and concrete.
Click above for larger image
Site constraints 'force' the building into the adoption of a stacked section- with galleries on top of the theatres - a kind of 'plateau' to which one ascends via the staircases that traverse and ascend their way around the foyer.
Click above for larger image
Above this, 2 large spaces accommodate dance/rehearsal activities.
Click above for larger image
Studies of the brick elevations influenced the approach to the stone and concrete walls that have been developed with similar qualities of surface relief.
Click above for larger image
The brick cladding of one of the concrete boxes has been peeled away to reveal a 5 storey high concrete wall to the foyer.
Click above for larger image
The deliberate introduction of pattern to the wall is expressed as a kind of abstract drawing through the use of smooth concrete framing to fields of highly textured board-marked concrete.
Click above for larger image
This 'drawn' or 'marked' elevational approach is also employed on the exterior where the basalt surface of the tower presents a relief texture to the Square.
Click above for larger image
Internally, in-situ concrete is recurrently exposed as an internal finish for walls and soffits.
Click above for larger image
Brickwork extends to interior walls that address the urban qualities of the foyer where terrazzo floors prevail.
Click above for larger image Click above for larger image
The project has achieved a BREEAM 'Excellent' rating from the BRE which reflects a high level of environmental performance.
Click above for larger image Click above for larger image

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A glazed tower sits atop the volcanic stone facade of this performing arts centre in Belfast by Hackett Hall McKnight.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
We'd love you to join our mailing list

We want you to enjoy the communications you receive from the MAC so here's our promise to you:

Exclusive announcements - hear it here first

Get the season brochure by post twice a year

We only email twice a month

Relevant emails matched to your interests

If that sounds good, then we'd like to sign you up.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The MAC Belfast | Metropolitan Arts Centre

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We want you to enjoy the communications you receive from the MAC so here's our promise to you: Exclusive announcements - hear it here first Get the season brochure by post twice a year We only email twice a month Relevant emails matched to your interests If that sounds good, then we'd like to sign you up.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Two theatres with associated rehearsal space, three art galleries, a dance studio, a suite of eight workshop and education spaces, as well as a café and bar on a wedged shaped site next to some of Belfast's oldest buildings

The theatre's entrance and seven-storey honed basalt tower, capped with a three-story glass lantern, faces a small square. The short red brick facade on Exchange Street is sliced open the to form a wedge-like second entrance to the building. Both entrances are connected by a cranked internal foyer around which the galleries and theatres are arranged.

Sandwiching this internal street, which is lit from three rectangular slots in the roof, are two blocks; one with a punctured brick skin imitating the exterior, the other a solid concrete form modulated by board-markings.

Stacked vertically, the lower levels contain café, bar and entrances to a flexible 350-seat auditorium and a 120-seat studio space with retractable seats.

Above this are publicly accessible visual arts rooms, on the third floor, three temperature and humidity controlled white-box spaces, each with a single sliding shutter that allows views out and daylight in. On the fifth floor, there is a 280 square metre, six metre-high gallery, and above this are more private floors, housing experimental and education spaces where local and international artists can prepare new work.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Two theatres with associated rehearsal space, three art galleries, a dance studio, a suite of eight workshop and education spaces, as well as a café and bar on a wedged shaped site next to some of Belfast’s oldest buildings

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Belfast's MAC (Metropolitan Arts Centre) in the Cathedral Quarter, a complete architectural gem!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Civic sense: Hall McKnight’s transport hub and square in Belfast

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The sculpted, granite-clad terminus building and small public square invest a civic solidity to its suburban site

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The new transport hub designed by the architect Hall McKnight, part of an ambitious master plan for the Colin neighborhood of Belfast, which seeks a regeneration in this part of the city that had been disconnected.

The transport center has been designed to house the new bus service that connects the Colin and Poleglass neighborhood with the city center, being, together with the square that surrounds the building, the first pieces for the regeneration master plan.

The new transportation building built by the Hall McKnight studio takes on a different geometry due to the lack of immediate context. They start from the creation of two squares, a square and a building, where in the latter, curved carvings appear on top of it.

The interior of the building is made of in-situ concrete with red pigmentation that evokes the tones of the Victorian brick that defines the historic city center of Belfast. The use of heavy construction materials gives the building a sense of robustness despite the small scale of the building.

View more images View less images

Hall McKnight is an architectural practice based in Belfast, led by Alastair Hall and Ian McKnight. In 2008 the practice won the prestigious UK and Ireland 'Young Architect of the Year Award' (as Hackett Hall McKnight).

In addition to receiving a number of RIBA Awards, the work of the practice has been recognised with success in International Design Contests, notably the MAC Arts Centre, completed in February 2012 and Vartov Square Copenhagen, completed in Autumn 2012. Hall McKnight were announced as the winners of the RIBA design contest for the Quadrangle Building at King's College London, Strand Campus in October 2012.

The practice's work has been nominated for the BSI Swiss Architectural Award, the European Union Mies Van der Rohe Award, the European Public Space Awards and the Design Museum 'Designs of the Year'. In 2013 the practice received the Downes Medal, awarded by the Architectural Association of Ireland, for the MAC.

The practice has experience of working on a wide range of different building types from houses to large and complex public buildings and landscapes, and has delivered projects in the UK and Europe.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Curves for regeneration. Transport hub in Belfast by Hall McKnight

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The new transport hub designed by the architect Hall McKnight, part of an ambitious master plan for the Colin neighborhood of Belfast, which seeks a regeneration in this part of the city that had been disconnected.

# data[].attributes.headline
Design concept, form, function, spatial organisation and features.

# data[].attributes.subject
Design concept, form, function, spatial organisation and features.

# data[].attributes.body
The transport hub was built to join two areas with conflicting neighbourhoods, Poleglass & Colin. It was originally an empty space with no immediate context. Hall McKnight used two squares as the plan layout, to give the site more context.

The building is immediately recognisable with it's prow-like peak rising at the roadside corner of the square plan. It has 2 major windows - two heavy, rust coloured granite framed oriel window elements, one grounded portrait and one suspended landscape. The windows give a suggestion of the space inside as it breaks through the exterior grey granite carapace.

# data[].attributes.headline
Construction of Colin Connect Transport Hub

# data[].attributes.subject
Construction of Colin Connect Transport Hub

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Belfast Rapid Transit System: Colin Connect Hub

# data[].attributes.body
Kings College, London

Yellow Pavilion, King's Cross, London

Metropolitan Arts Centre, Belfast

St. Mary's Convent, Wantage, Oxfordshire

Colin Connect Transport Hub, Belfast

Vartov Square, Copenhagen

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Situated in the heart of Belfast’s bustling Cathedral Quarter, the MAC is the key cultural element in the regeneration of Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter, historically the Merchant City of Belfast.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Location: Belfast

Client: MAC, Belfast

Architect: Hackett Hall McKnight Belfast

Awards & Accolades

Winner of the Best Public building prize and the highly coveted Supreme Award at the Brick Development Association's 2012 Brick Awards

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Wienerberger's Mellowed Red Sovereign Stock was the ideal choice to link Belfast's contemporary MAC (Metropolitan Arts Centre) with the city's historic past.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
It’s only been open for three years, so why is The Mac crumbling before our eyes?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Just three years after Belfast’s arts venue The Mac opened its doors, stonework at the entrance of the £18m award winning building has begun to crumble.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Colin Connect Transport Hub and Town Square

The transport hub project provides facilities at the terminus of the new rapid transit service in Belfast, including community space, public conveniences and a new public square.

This project went on to win Northern Ireland's Best Building of the Year, Living Places Award, a RIBA National Award and 'Project Architect of the Year' award.

This transport hub facility is the first project in the regeneration of a large residential area as one of a small number of designated 'Urban Villages' within Belfast.

The masterplan for the regeneration of 'Colin Town Centre' was developed in advance of the progress of this initial project. This project was co-funded by several government departments and funding bodies.

The project brief called for an iconic and civic piece of high-quality architectural design with a number of 'catalyst' spaces where varied community user groups can meet within shared, democratic space - designed to support open social interaction and engagement as well as providing accessibility and connectivity with other parts of Belfast.

In response to the lack of immediate built context, we wanted the building to offer a sense of robust permanence and civic identity - a high quality piece of architecture for the local community to be proud of.

Two granite squares define the site plan - a new public square and the building providing a discipline around which to plan and articulate the programme. The building is carved with curved excisions to the north and west elevation (i.e. to the public square and to the main road). The interior of the building is characterised by in-situ concrete that is dyed with a red/terracotta coloured pigment which evokes the tones of Belfast's historic Victorian brickwork.

Key to the success of this project was the early involvement of a wide group of stakeholders and end-users in the design process. The addition of community facilities and a new civic square has helped to provide a shared space that brings the place to life with public events and community activities. This building is anticipated to bring in significant capital investment that will build capacity for the local community and foster positive community identities.

The Transport Hub is designed as a passive building; a combination of natural and mechanical ventilation strategies has been carefully integrated into the design and use of the high levels of thermal mass (from the building's in-situ concrete structure) helps to maintain good thermal comfort; contributing to a very stable thermal environment and the well-being of the building's users.

This government infrastructure project was generously funded and supported by the Urban Villages Initiative and Department for Infrastructure creating a sense of civic identity at the centre of this planned regeneration project.
Despite the modest scale, the building is designed to offer a sense of robust permanence and civic identity at the outset of the Masterplan's development - establishing a determined character derived from visible construction of heavy materials in the hope that such values might inform future development of the adjoining sites.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The transport hub project provides facilities at the terminus of the new rapid transit service in Belfast, including community space, public conveniences and a new public square. This project went on to win Northern Ireland's Best Building of the Year, Living Places Award, a RIBA National Award and 'Project Architect of the Year' award.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The new transport hub designed by the architect Hall McKnight, part of an ambitious master plan for the Colin neighborhood of Belfast, which seeks a regeneration in this part of the city that had been disconnected.

The transport center has been designed to house the new bus service that connects the Colin and Poleglass neighborhood with the city center, being, together with the square that surrounds the building, the first pieces for the regeneration master plan.

The new transportation building built by the Hall McKnight studio takes on a different geometry due to the lack of immediate context. They start from the creation of two squares, a square and a building, where in the latter, curved carvings appear on top of it.

The interior of the building is made of in-situ concrete with red pigmentation that evokes the tones of the Victorian brick that defines the historic city center of Belfast. The use of heavy construction materials gives the building a sense of robustness despite the small scale of the building.

View more images View less images

Hall McKnight is an architectural practice based in Belfast, led by Alastair Hall and Ian McKnight. In 2008 the practice won the prestigious UK and Ireland 'Young Architect of the Year Award' (as Hackett Hall McKnight).

In addition to receiving a number of RIBA Awards, the work of the practice has been recognised with success in International Design Contests, notably the MAC Arts Centre, completed in February 2012 and Vartov Square Copenhagen, completed in Autumn 2012. Hall McKnight were announced as the winners of the RIBA design contest for the Quadrangle Building at King's College London, Strand Campus in October 2012.

The practice's work has been nominated for the BSI Swiss Architectural Award, the European Union Mies Van der Rohe Award, the European Public Space Awards and the Design Museum 'Designs of the Year'. In 2013 the practice received the Downes Medal, awarded by the Architectural Association of Ireland, for the MAC.

The practice has experience of working on a wide range of different building types from houses to large and complex public buildings and landscapes, and has delivered projects in the UK and Europe.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Curves for regeneration. Transport hub in Belfast by Hall McKnight

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The new transport hub designed by the architect Hall McKnight, part of an ambitious master plan for the Colin neighborhood of Belfast, which seeks a regeneration in this part of the city that had been disconnected.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
History of the Mac Theatre in Belfast

The Mac Theatre Belfast immediately jumps out to those who pass it by as a truly unique building, and it certainly has an interesting history behind it. It was designed by Hackett Hall McKnight who won the commission following a competition to build on the site. If the centre looks wedged in between two buildings, this is due to the fact that in reality, it is. However, the small space will seem anything but small, once visitors step inside of the Mac Theatre, which is full of wide open spaces, clever architectural pillars, open balconies, and stacked building textures.
Inspiration from Traditional Belfast
According to Hackett Hall McKnight, the design was created using inspiration from Belfast's well-known mill buildings and traditional warehouses. The aim was to have it fit into the city centre just as much as it stands out, and the result is a visual masterpiece. It's hard to miss the glazed tower that leans over the city or the volcanic stone façade that makes up the actual structure of the building. The modern asymmetrical design immediately captures visitors' attention, but any sharpness portrayed by the architecture is absorbed by the artistic design that awaits inside.

The foyer is a glazed and open space that seems to loom above, with auditoriums located on both sides. Exhibition galleries fill many floors above the entrance, along with dance studios. Basalt stone that was locally sourced makes up the ceilings and walls of the building and helps contrast against the sleek cement flooring. The red brick towers contrast sharply against the modern black railings and point to the power of simple and sleek construction. The performance space echoes this feeling with soft plush red stadium seats which really do pop out against a sleek concrete background, and stark iron clad lighting elements.

One of the reasons the MAC was built to be very noticeable was to add to the Belfast skyline in the Cathedral Quarter, which is partly composed of old merchant buildings. The tower of the MAC theatre offers substance and solidarity to the skyline and stands out against the square where all of the brick buildings create a pattern. By interrupting the pattern, the MAC centre stands out as the cultural centre and a symbol of Belfast's ongoing rejuvenation. The fact that the building clearly pays tribute to Ulster only helps validate its membership in the Northern Ireland skyline.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Architecture of the Mac Theatre in Belfast

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Mac Theatre Belfast | Alastair Macnab gives you a brief view into the history of the Mac Theatre's architecture through the years.