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Belfast Technical College - Steam Engines, Cuckoos and Monkeys! |
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When the Tech first opened it was called the Municipal Technical Institute (its official name is now the Belfast Institute of Further and Higher Education at College Square) and the intention was to turn out a steady flood of the skilled hands and trained minds that industrialisation and commerce demanded.
© courtesy of the UAHS
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It was built to a scale, and in a fashion, that reflected the confidence of the times. The city it was built to serve what was then known as Linenopolis, for its stranglehold on the world's flax production.
The north of Ireland had an advantage over other linen-producing areas because the flax plant grew so well in such soil and weather. Other countries had to import flax to make their linen, so Belfast linen had an advantage and was sold all over the world.
But while the mills, factories, shipyards and docks were generating wealth and opportunity for some, the rapid expansion of Belfast and its population created social problems for others.
Did you know- The cost of the original 4 storey structure was quoted at £57,750.
- However the great influx of students during the first session of the new education programme caused the committee to alter the interior design of the Tech bringing the cost up to around £81,000.
- In 1904 a 5th storey was added bringing the final cost to around £100,000.
- The size of the structure is 2,900,000 cubic feet.
- The cost then being 8.5d per cubic foot.
- 89,000 cubic feet of cut Portland limestone and 4.5 million bricks were used.
- 900 tons of steel joists and girders.
- 40 foot piles - 2,756 of them - were driven into the subsoil to support the structure.
- Complete system of intercommunication telephones was installed and each room was fitted with a clock dial, the hands on each electronically controlled by a master clock located on the ground floor.
- The foundation stone was laid on the 24th November 1902 by Lord and Lady Dudley.
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The Tech opened its doors against a background of civil unrest, as poverty and slum housing provided a counterpoint to the thunder of industry and the creation of grand buildings
People were still flocking into Belfast, but not everyone benefited from the booming economy and dockers and carters led the backlash that saw, at one stage, the police force of the city on strike, unable to cope with the strain of public disorder.
So the Tech was born into turbulent times and saw many more during the frequent outbreaks of Troubles during its lifetime. It was able to provide neutral ground throughout, however, for the pursuit of education and training as well as a reassuringly constant presence in the tides of change and violence that have shaped Belfast.
Samuel Stevenson and Sons is still an architects firm today. In a neat piece of architectural symmetry, the practice is presently working on another educational institute- the new Energy and Nanotechnology Research Facility, at the Ulster University, Jordanstown campus, just north of Belfast.
For almost 100 years the college has been the gateway to employment for literally thousands of apprentices, students and trainees from all corners of the province. It's a building that many know of, but few really know much about; and now the future of the College is under threat, with the educational bodies desiring newer premises and the area in need of more housing.
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