School of Music

CLIENT - Fitzroy Presbyterian Church
The architecturally and culturally significant former School of Music, on Donegall Pass, has sadly lain derelict and deteriorating for several years. Its current custodian, Fitzroy Presbyterian Church, wanted to bring it back into use, for the benefit of local communities and came to us looking for creative and sustainable ideas.

Our brief was to identify potential futures that didn’t rely on significant external funding, that supported community participation and reconciliation and were sympathetic to the values and ethos of the church. We brought our creative minds together in a ©Daisy Chain Reaction.

We recommended four phases of action:

First … A Manifesto

Developed with the church initially, then in conversation with the community, to test ideas, develop and evolve, and ensure sustainability.

Next … Making the building visible

Artistic interventions to bring the building back into public attention, piquing interest and exploration before it’s even ready to reopen.

Then … Reasons to inhabit

A creative co-operative occupying the top two floors with the capacity to financially sustain ground floor community-focused activity.

and … Reasons to come in

Developing regular community use of the ground floor, organically, by responding to local community needs, the new energy brought by the creative inhabitants, and all the unexpected and surprisingly wonderful interactions that happen between the two.

We’ve continued our relationship with Fitzroy Presbyterian as they seek to secure the necessary financial investment to make the building safe. We hope that this small but beautiful treasure will be restored and open to the people of South Belfast.