Victoria Square
Published on: 18th of September 2011
Current city: Belfast
A building that stands out in the centre of Belfast is Victoria Square. It is a shopping arcade opened in the past two or three years that has won great reviews for its renovation project. Not only connects several streets but also creates a point of interest in their intersection: a glass dome and a viewing platform that has great views of the city and surroundings during the day. At night, the viewing platform closes to the public and instead becomes part of an abstract show of light and colour.
The glass dome with LEDs, cleverly integrated in its structure and base, washes the viewing platform with light, creating striking coloured light effects. The access lifts and staircase become more sculptural under this light, which obviously changes the perception of this space during dark times. In the rest of the shopping area the roof structure is highlighted as well with a bluish light.
The glass dome can actually be seen from the city and at night it definitely stands out from the skyline of the city. Having it seen during the day as well, I think this is a very successful example of a very functional structure that was seen as an opportunity of integrating lighting into architecture. Lighting and architecture merge perfectly into one and give something back, not only to the passers by, but to the city of Belfast itself.
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