Northern Irish architects have been given the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of Bjarke Ingels and design an architectural pavilion that “uplifts the soul and impacts on wellbeing.”

Inspired by the annual Serpentine Pavilion in London’s Hyde Park – which has been created this year by Ingels and his studio BIG – the Royal Society of Ulster Architects (RSUA) have launched a design competition for a temporary public structure in Belfast.

RSUA President Paul Crowe said: “To the best of my knowledge Belfast hasn’t had an architectural pavilion in recent history. We hope this competition can kickstart a process that changes that.

“A temporary pavilion can enrich the cityscape and delight the public by really challenging our preconceived ideas of what buildings should be. This presents a wonderful chance to celebrate the power of architecture.”

Architects entering the competition must design a pavilion that addresses the topic of climate change – following the Saint-Gobain Multi-Comfort building concept of how to improve wellbeing through the built environment – and embraces an overarching theme of 'comfort'.

The pavilion should be designed for a location in a public place with high levels of footfall, such as the botanic park or outside the Titanic Belfast building.

"With buildings accounting for 40 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions in Ireland and the UK the challenge for architects is to create low-energy buildings that provide an attractive, inspiring and joyful environment; to create places where people want to be,” said Ciaran McConnell, managing director of building supplier JP Corry, which is supporting the competition.

Only RSUA or ARB registered architects who are from Northern Ireland and under the age of 40 are eligible for the competition. The registration deadline is 26 August 2016.

The RSUA said that while the winning design may or may not be built in reality, it will “act as a catalyst for the future inclusion of architectural pavilions in Northern Ireland’s physical and cultural landscape.”

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