Ulster says yes.

MODERN ULSTER ARCHITECTURE

Edited by Karen Latimer. Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society. 2006. [pounds sterling]30 hardback, [pounds sterling]20 paperback

Many might presume that a book entitled Modern Ulster Architecture would be little more than a slim volume documenting a handful of derivative exemplars. The Ulster Architectural Heritage Society (UAHS), however, has a more ambitious remit and must be commended on their new publication which extends to almost 200 pages and illustrates over 50 buildings. This impressive Lottery-funded project obliges us to reconsider any prejudicial assumptions about Ulster being devoid of good contemporary architecture and supports Frampton's promotion of Critical Regionalism as an 'architecture of resistance'.

The protracted nature of 'The Troubles' has meant that genuine architectural ambition was largely abandoned for several decades and many gifted designers fled Northern Ireland for safer shores. Religious bigotry, provincial myopia and the threat of terrorism proved a crippling combination and conditions were anything but conducive to the nurturing of indigenous talent. However, the ceasefire now appears to be steadfast, the political impasse has thawed and it is encouraging to see that things are changing for the better. Suffice to say, any tome with the temerity to tackle Ulster's turbulent past deserves our respect.

The book's format is familiar; some thematic essays to establish context, a number of worthy case studies, followed by a smattering of prospective projects to hint at things to come. Some of the names will be familiar such as BDP, Glenn Howells and O'Donnell + Tuomey, but surely the main hope lies with local practices such as Twenty-Two Over Seven? The book catalogues a broad spectrum of projects including Francis Pym's audacious extension to the Ulster Museum, and most accord with Colquhoun's assertion that to qualify as 'modern', a building must be '... conscious of its own Modernity and striving for change'.

Certainly this book marks another stage in the resurgence of the province as a cultural dynamo. The astute decision to adopt the historical (rather than the political) definition of Ulster allows the inclusion of some notable new public buildings from the border counties of Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan. You sense, however, that the burgeoning renaissance of Irish contemporary architecture (partly due to the enlightened patronage of the Irish government) is no longer restricted to the Republic of Ireland--it seems that Ulster can meaningfully contribute to this transformative process.

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