Libeskind's peace centre at former Belfast prison given go-ahead
News: planning permission has been granted for Daniel Libeskind's proposed peace centre on the site of the notorious former Maze prison in Belfast.
Northern Ireland's environment minister Alex Attwood announced yesterday that the new Peace building and Conflict Resolution Centre (PbCRC) has been given the green light, along with the conservation of surrounding buildings.
A collaboration between Studio Daniel Libeskind and Belfast architects McAdam Design, the centre will support the work of peace building organisations in the region.
Used to house paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles, the Maze prison, also known as Long Kesh, became notorious for the hunger strikes of 1981, in which ten prisoners died. The prison was closed in 2000.
"It is truly meaningful to build a hope-filled common ground, to tell individual stories and to do so at Maze Long Kesh," said Libeskind.
The redevelopment is set to cost £300 million, with the peace centre itself wholly funded through an £18 million grant from the European Union's PEACE III Programme.
Plans to redevelop part of the site as a showground were approved back in January, with the aim of relocating the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society's annual show from its current Belfast location.
Libeskind's work includes a number of other monuments to conflict, such as the Imperial War Museum North in Salford, England, and the Institute for Democracy and Conflict Resolution, due to be built at the University of Essex in England – see all architecture by Daniel Libeskind.
Other Belfast projects we've featured include a performing arts centre with a volcanic stone facade and a maritime museum dedicated to the RMS Titanic.
Images are by Studio Daniel Libeskind.