Book Bundle: Introduction to Ulster Architecture, Modern Ulster Architecture, Belfast City Hall

Get Introduction to Ulster Architecture, Modern Ulster Architecture and Belfast City Hall for only £50, a saving of £25 off our usual selling price! The three books together are a great introduction to Ulster’s architecture, and would make an attractive gift for anyone with an interest in Ulster’s architectural heritage.

Introduction to Ulster Architecture by Hugh Dixon, 2008, Hardback, 224pp.

This book is designed as a general introduction to the architecture of Ulster. When it was first published in 1975 it won high acclaim for its concise and authoritative text, for its numerous high quality illustrations and for the manageable form of its presentation. In this new edition, the content has been revised and updated.

In the past anyone interested in the architecture of Ulster has been obliged to satisfy their curiosity through a bewildering array of surveys, local histories, guides and gazetteers. This book opens up to the general reader a broad insight into the wonderful variety, richness and chronological range of the provinces architectural heritage. By use of examples drawn from all nine counties, it illustrates the development of local architecture from the prehistoric period to the present day. It identifies many of those characteristics which are particular to Ulster and relates themto the development of styles elsewhere. For anyone wishing to expand their knowledge of Ulster’s architectural legacy, this book offers an indespensible starting point.

Modern Ulster Architecture by D Evans, M Hackett, A Hall, P Larmour & C Rattray. Editor Karen Latimer, 2006, Hardback, 189pp.

The book is divided into three sections. In part one, thematic essays trace the evolution of Modernism, the first by Dr Paul Larmour covers the period 1900-1950 and the second, from 1950 to the present day is by David Evans. Both writers are academics with a specialist knowledge of Ulster architecture. A third essay entitled ‘Ulster Modernism: an outside view’ is by Charles Rattray, of the Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen.

Parts two and three consist of case studies of some fifty buildings and projects belonging to the period 1950-2005. These studies are copiously illustrated with photography by Mark Hackett, an architect in practice, with a special empathy for his subject matter. There are additional contributions from other leading photographers. Architectural drawings accompany each case study and special care has been taken to maintain a consistent format throughout by redrawing material where necessary. Alastair Hall, an architect in practice, joins the two academics Larmour and Evans in providing commentary and analysis for the case studies.

Belfast City Hall by Paul Larmour, 2010, Hardback, 175pp.

The various sources for the elements of the architect Alfred Brumwell Thomas’s design for the building through various changing phases, are identified, while the main elements of the finished building are described and analysed façade by façade on the exterior followed by the main interior spaces room by room.

The development of the grounds around the building is also recounted, with a record of its various monuments, as is the career of the talented architect of the building.

Illustrations include historic sources for the building’s concept; archival views of the exterior and interior including photographs of the building during the course of its construction as well as others taken just as the building was completed; a range of Thomas’s original architectural drawings at various stages of the design and a comprehensive series of modern photographs of the building today, many taken especially for this book.