In recent years, Irish architecture has come to the fore through the likes of O’Donnell & Toumey and Grafton Architects. Based in Dublin, these architects have stamped their mark on Ireland and are now extended their reach into Europe. Until recently, the same could not be said for the architectural scene in Belfast despite being just two hours north of Dublin and the capital of Northern Ireland.

The city has had a turbulent past century; as if being heavily damaged during WWII wasn’t enough, it then becoming the frontline itself during the Troubles.The city bears the scars of these times, lacking much of the older fabric that you expect to see in European cities and being dotted with empty plots. Only since the late 90’s and the signing of the Good Friday Agreement has renewed investment in the city really appeared although this was of course significantly hampered by the GFC which hit Ireland – including Northern Ireland – hard. Now in 2015 signs of improvement are only just appearing.

One of these flags of hope is the recently completed Metropolitan Arts Centre (MAC) by local architects Hackett Hall McKnight (now Hall McKnight). The programme for the MAC is straight out of an architecture school brief; theatre combined with art gallery and public lounge all on a tight urban site in an part of town searching for that catalyst project to wrench the area out from the doldrums. Hackett Hall McKnight have managed to capture the fantasy that you often get in student work but have crafted this masterfully into a building which matches this with the technical ability to do all those less glamorous aspects of architecture just as well.

The MAC is approached from a new public square, framed on three sides by a classically inspired mixed-use development built at a similar time. The MAC injects some life into the square as well as framing the the fourth side. The classical rhythm of the surrounding square is sharply disrupted by the MAC which stakes its claim on the square with a six plus storey tower sculpted from polished basalt and glass. In contrast to its classical neighbour which is really just a series of rectangular blocks, the form is peeled away in places to provide glimpses into the complex as well as forming the edge of a pedestrianised lane. In conjunction with the refinement of the polished basalt, simple red brick is used for some of the more recessive forms more reminiscent of the utilitarian warehouses that once filled the city.

Unlike the traditional European gallery or theatre which sits on a pedestal axially worshiped by surrounding vistas, the MAC is like Athfield’s Adam Art Gallery in Wellington, New Zealand, carving out a space of it’s own and makes the surroundings richer for it. It’s frosted glass tower creates a landmark out of an anti-landmark site.

The scale of the building is swiftly diminished as you enter into a low, and somewhat cave-like lobby. The space is the antithesis of the traditional public foyer, completely doing away with the grandeur of ornate porticoes, swooping staircases and oversized doors. If it wasn’t for the large lettering saying ‘step inside’ you may be wondering whether you had just entered through the service entry however Hackett Hall McKnight have used this meanness to great effect by then releasing you into the generous wedge shaped atrium rising the full height of the scheme.

While you have just entered the tempered indoors, the space feels more akin to a backstreet lane – not in a bad way, but rather capturing the excitement and variation that is achieved in the likes of Ferron Hay’s Imperial Buildings in Auckland. Entering into the space, you are greeted by the usual suspects in such an establishment; firstly the literal greeting by the friendly box-office staff, and then of course to your left is the cafe tucked cleverly below a cantilevering concrete form. Surrounding what I’ll term the ‘street’, the forms and walls plays a careful balance between open and closed, and heavy and light offering glimpses into the varied spaces across the building’s six levels while providing acoustic separation where required. Black-box theatres are always difficult beasts to integrate without ending up with endless blank walls however the MAC tucks away two of these without you even realising they are there.

The programme has been arranged essentially into two blocks paired with a pillared party wall to the back edge of the building. The ‘street’ carves a space out between these and connects the building both physically and visually back into its urban context. To reinforce the semi-exterior nature of the space, the red brick from the outside is brought in along with large expanses of cast-in-situ concrete. The building is robust, but gentle at the same time.

Contemporary architects often fall into the trap of creating large open atria while people want to gather at the edges. The MAC avoids this mistake and divides the general foyer space over both the ground and first levels offering a range of spaces both open and enclosed. The upper level of the foyer is essentially a balcony wrapping around the street and connecting to a separate bar at one end. While the space is tough and robust, as you ascend the stairs the smooth touch of leather on the handrail provide the softness and refinement that make this building what it is. Amidst the solid warehouse like walls, there a number of soft touches like this which put you at ease in a space which could otherwise be a little robust for it’s own good.

Rising up through the buildings levels, your spatial senses never fail to be amused with both glimpses and vistas offered into the building’s spaces and out onto the surrounding city. The ‘street’ remains a constant presence with corridors and where appropriate, the spaces themselves opening on and feeding the activity in the ‘street’. Hackett Hall McKnight have extended the brief to not only provide the programmed space but they have also provided an extra layer space of indeterminate space to allow you to stop and pause.

After strolling through the upper gallery there is a polished concrete bench set behind a colonnade which invites you to do just this, to stop, to pause, to ponder. The MAC comes as a surprise; it is the old guard of Irish architecture that you hear about. Shunning a number of recent trends in architecture, they have in the past couple of decades built themselves a reputation for taking real materials and crafting them into beautifully spatial buildings. At The MAC, Hackett Hall McKnight have developed this tradition, and extended it, but in a much more refined way.