1 July 2008


At this year’s ACE (Association for Consultancy and Engineering) Engineering Excellence Awards ceremony in London on 25 June, BDP received a Highly Commended award in the Large Projects category for its design work on the mixed use, retail-led Victoria Square scheme in Belfast. John Hutchinson (Structural Engineer Director) and Paul Niblock (Building Services Engineer Director) from the BDP studio in Belfast were presented with their award by BBC presenter and broadcaster Huw Edwards.

Victoria Square is the most ambitious redevelopment project to emerge from Northern Ireland in recent years. It comprises more than 75,000 sq m of retail floorspace anchored by a department store, cinema, 106 apartments, gastrodome and car parking for 1000 cars.

Victoria Square is an open, naturally ventilated covered streetscape. It responds to the existing urban grain, establishing new relationships between previously disjointed areas of the public realm. The design successfully integrates itself with the surrounding streets using a variety of materials to complement the proportion and massing of the building elements. The showpiece of the project is the iconic 37m diameter glass dome which sits on a 24m high circular red sandstone colonnade.

Working with client Multi Development UK Ltd and contractor Farrans Gilbert-Ash (FGA), BDP provided a full interdisciplinary design service on the project. BDP’s submission to the ACE Awards covered environmental engineering and structural engineering solutions regarding the design of the basement and the superstructure (including the dome and dome platforms).