Welcome to the Summer edition of the MAG Newsletter
The next few months will be an exciting time for MAG with a process of appointments for new Members and Expert Advisors due to be launched, to take up positions in November. MAG is keen to encourage applications from people from diverse backgrounds who can see how their skills and experience can make a positive contribution to the communities of Northern Ireland, through the passionate advocacy of the planning, design, delivery and stewardship of improved places for all. If you or someone you know is interested, please look out for the advert, or contact the MAG Secretariat at magsecretariat@communities-ni.gov.uk to be included on a mailing list.
Living High Street Update
Following the launch of the Downpatrick Living High Street Pilot last November, MAG has been mentoring the Downpatrick Regeneration Working Group (DRWG) and facilitating workshops, in collaboration with Department for Communities and Newry, Mourne and Down District Council.
The final workshop ‘Co-design your Framework: prioritising what to do when?' was held in the Down Arts Centre on Thursday 23 March 2023, followed by a public event.
The DRWG will be launching their Downpatrick Living High Streets Framework in September. The Framework is co-produced by the Group, with participation from local communities of interest and mentored by MAG. It sets out a series of strategies with actions and projects to deliver change. The vision for Downpatrick is ambitious and the incremental nature of the actions and projects will ensure it remains relevant and continues to bring together key stakeholders.
Learning from the Downpatrick Pilot, MAG intends to develop additional guidance and tools to assist others planning to use the Living High Streets Craft Kit.
The Sound Space Connect - Sound Expo 2023
As part of the Sound Space Connect - Sound Expo 2023, MAG Expert Advisor Marianne O’Kane Boal delivered two principal elements: a presentation and a workshop at the Braid Arts Centre, Ballymena on behalf of MAG. The Sound Festival is the first of its kind in Northern Ireland and reference to it and to Marianne’s presentation was made in a recent article by Belfast Media.
Sound Occupying Space - Presentation
The presentation was based on the potential of sound art to promote wellbeing and invite community engagement while enlivening buildings and public spaces. Examples of local and international best practice including work by Janet Cardiff and Kathy Hinde were explored. There was discussion of the history of sound in contemporary art practice. The challenges of sound artworks was discussed as well as their ongoing maintenance and community engagement.
Bringing Sound To Life - Family Workshop
Marianne O'Kane Boal delivered a workshop in the Atrium for children and their parents, grandparents, carers with found materials. The workshop began by exploring sounds and music in picturebooks through reading and discussion. This was followed by hands-on activity where children used a range of materials to create their own instruments. The workshop was suitable for age 3+. All materials were provided and children brought their instruments home following the workshop.
Image courtesy of The Sound Healing Spa
RSUA Sustainability Conference 1 June 2023
On 1 June 2023, MAG Expert Advisor Barry McCarron attended the Royal Society of Ulster Architects’ Sustainability conference, held at the new Ulster University Campus on York Street, Belfast.
The morning session opened with a keynote from Emma Osmundsen, CEO of Sixty Bricks, and formerly Managing director of Exeter City Living. Exeter City Council was among the first local authorities in the country to build new council houses to Passivhaus standard since 2010, creating homes that dramatically reduced the carbon emissions created by the resident, as well as reducing their energy costs. The homes created are climate-ready until at least 2080, supporting the transition needed to look after the planet now and in the future.
Claire Bailey of Sustainable NI gave a talk on the importance and impact of the recent Climate Change act on public sector and arm’s length bodies. Professor Aoife Houlihan Wiberg, formerly of Ulster University and now of the University of Bath, gave an overview of her work in Sustainability.
Barry was also presenting his own recently completed certified Passivhaus project titled “the EnerPHit in the Room” which tells the journey of a 1970s Irish bungalow that has been retrofitted to a modern high performance family home. Dr Shane Colclough of Ulster University and University College Dublin also presented his research on overheating across a range of buildings on the island of Ireland.
Further presentations included Joe Fitzgerald of Ecological Building Systems talking about the Passivhaus home of Niall Crosson in County Cavan.
MAG Member Sam Tyler, who works at Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios in Belfast, gave a session on the new Ulster University campus building which hosted the conference. His talk provided a context to the design brief and charted the journey to completion.
Tomas O’Leary from the internal Passivhaus consultancy MosArt presented his own project: the first certified Passivhaus home in the English-speaking world.
Tomas outlined how the Erne campus at South West College in Enniskillen has broken a glass ceiling in Northern Ireland, and that there is now £250 million worth of certified Passivhaus public buildings in development in Northern Ireland, representing a significant demonstration of leadership from the various government departments in response to the climate emergency.
The day concluded with a talk from Climate NI and Stephen Jones who provided a final reminder about Climate Change, and an articulation of why the built environment has such a vital role to play in leadership in the face of a climate emergency. Further detail can be found on the Royal Society of Ulster Architects website.
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