



To cheer you up, here's a couple of pictures of the tilting bridge in Newcastle-upon-Tyne (admittedly in the fog), as well as the inside of the Sage concert hall (yes, it's called after the account software package multinational which is based in the area) with its Guggenheim New York style curved floors.
This morning I was also cheered up when I attended a breakfast discussion hosted by Lord Mayor Naomi Long to look at how we can make our city work better.
The Lord Mayor challenged us to ensure the "feelgood" factor was felt across the city, including in our areas of greatest need. Mark Hackett of the Forum for Alternative Belfast gave the great and the good both barrels with a scathing attack on the new library at Queen's, the entire concept of the Titanic Quarter, 'dead' space along the frontage of our new buildings and the disgraceful traffic barrier (blocking entrance to a QUB car park) which prevents access to the main entrance into the Botanic Gardens.
His conclusion (or one of them): "cities and spaces should be designed by people who care about the place". He also posited that Belfast is the "least dense" city in Europe — and that includes some of the trainwreck cities of the old Eastern Europe.
Some of our new (empty) apartment blocks he described as being from the Khrushchev school of architecture.
And I also liked his insistence that what matters is "what you build, not what you write" (in terms of the glowing prose in planning applications and brochures) and "the only thing that matters is results, that is, what you build".
Tomorrow, I'll share with you Mr Hackett's vision of a new Bank Square, beside St Mary's Church in the city centre which would open up a thoroughfare from the west and south to the Cathedral Quarter and new university campus.
The results from today's discussion will be fed into the Council's imminent economic development plan. But no need to wait, let's create some great spaces and buildings now.
Our final picture shows David Gavaghan, ceo of the Strategic Investment Board, the lead body responsible for new infrastructure, taking notes on his computer — or was he watching GMTV — while Mr Hackett spoke. A good sign!














































