The Harvard Crimson

This year, students at the Graduate School of Design will be flying their designs out of the classroom and into the capital of Northern Ireland. Associate Professor of Architecture and Urban Design Richard Sommer and the students in his studio class "Belfast Recast" have developed proposals to help the city overcome a past fraught with sectarian conflict. The 12 students’ most controversial proposal is a plan to build a new parliament building in midtown Belfast. The body’s current home, in Stormont, is closely associated with unionist—mainly Protestant—rule, and Sommer and a student said the move would be symbolic of the recent power-sharing alliance formed between Protestants and Catholics on May 8. "The new building would kind of signal a fresh start," said Jennifer L. Giarratana, who is taking the class. "We conceptualized the site as kind of the birthplace of their new government." Part of the group will travel to Belfast next month to present their findings to their sponsors. In addition to proposing the new parliament building, the class will also suggest that river landscapes be extended to allow more waterfront space to be developed.