Metropolitan Arts Centre (the MAC)

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Atrium of Metropolitan Arts Centre with red brick walls in Belfast

Case Study

The Metropolitan Arts Centre (the MAC)

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.

Situated on St Anne’s Square behind St Anne’s Cathedral, the new £18m Metropolitan Arts Centre (the MAC) is a striking contemporary building which has helped transform Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter and create a world-class visitor destination.

Boasting a wide range of arts facilities – including two theatres, three art galleries three education and workshop rooms and an artist-in-residence studio – the MAC is a buzz with exhibitions, dramatic performances, dance shows and experimental works. Funded by the Department for Culture Arts and Leisure, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, the Department for Social Development, the Laganside Corporation and Belfast City Council, the state-of-the-art facility has also been supported by contributions from charitable foundations and the local business sector.

Internal view of the exposed brick with the MAC building with large windows

staircase within the MAC building showcasing the exposed brick

The building’s designer was chosen through an international open design competition with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). Responses were received from architects from all around the world but, following a rigorous selection procedure, Belfast-based Hackett Hall McKnight was appointed to lead an integrated design team to deliver the flagship building.

“We sought to create a building that reflects the heritage of the city’s mills and warehouses, not only in its resilience and constructional legibility, but also in its warmth and texture and essential humanity.” – Ian McKnight form Hackett Hall McKnight.

Ian McKnight form Hackett Hall McKnight said “The project is defined by two brick blocks. 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, reflecting 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 forms, a space characterised by top-light and defined by internal elevations of brick and concrete reflecting the typical streetscape of the area. The foyer is dominated along one side by a four-storey wall of brick piers; a strong and dramatic element within the foyer and a main defining moment of the building.”

“We sought to create a building that reflects the heritage of the city’s mills and warehouses,

not only in its resilience and constructional legibility, but also in its warmth and texture and essential humanity.” – Ian McKnight form Hackett Hall McKnight.

As well as being used for the building’s exterior, a deep brick wall wraps the public spaces, forms the ‘cuts’ in the block and continues into the foyer creating an interior ‘urban room.’ In addition to an extensive use of structural in-situ concrete, the brick was used as an internal exposed finish. In terms of both construction and materials, the architect wished to continue to evoke the relationship between the new MAC and the city’s historic landscape, giving visitors a sense of moving easily from the building’s surrounding streets and square into the world within.

Mellowed Red Sovereign Stock is part of a range of high quality waterstruck bricks available from Wienerberger. Other colours available are Oast Russet Sovereign Stock, Reclaimed Shire Sovereign Stock, Autumn Russet Sovereign Stock and Smoked Russet Sovereign Stock. This attractive waterstruck style of brick has been widely used across Ireland for a number of years and is ideally suited to both traditional and contemporary buildings.

The building’s finish is exceptional. Its dusty coloured brick walls with horizontal concrete stripes form a cool, lean elevation to the surrounding streets, paying homage to the industrial buildings of Belfast. The red brick, concrete and basalt MAC reminds visitors of the city’s rich history while heralding a new cultural future.