Brick Works Belfast

Join Gary Noble, IG Masonry Support and Harry McConnell, RPP Architects, and as they present PBSA Dublin Road – Weavers’ Hall, Queen’s University Belfast’s new purpose-built student accommodation providing 459 bedrooms across a 17-storey development.

Located on Dublin Road in Belfast city centre, the project represents a significant addition to the city’s student accommodation provision and will become Northern Ireland’s first Passivhaus student accommodation and the largest certified Passivhaus project on the island of Ireland.

Designed by RPP Architects, the scheme combines student accommodation with communal facilities and amenity spaces, creating a high-quality environment focused on energy efficiency, sustainability and student wellbeing. The development’s Passivhaus approach incorporates high-performance building fabric and systems to deliver an ultra-low-energy, net-zero-ready building.

The project demonstrates how Passivhaus principles can be applied to large-scale, multi-occupancy student accommodation, balancing ambitious environmental performance with the creation of vibrant communal spaces and a strong addition to Belfast’s city centre.

What makes Ross Street Mews unique is its ability to deliver so much within a modest budget and footprint. It is not a large masterplan or a dramatic architectural gesture. 

Its success lies in its respect for place, its commitment to the community, and its ability to meet practical housing needs through thoughtful design. 

This development proves that people-centric design can restore streets and reconnect communities, and offers a replicable model for how small, well-considered projects can be catalysts for wider positive change

Ross Street Mews is a simple but powerful social housing scheme in the Falls area of West Belfast. It replaces the former Ross Street Flats, a failed model of deck access, high density housing that led to an area synonymous with crime

This project delivers 24 beautiful, spacious social homes which restore a sense of ownership and dignity to its residents. Its strength lies in its clarity and intent rather than architectural excess.

Environmental performance is rigorous and integral. High-performance envelopes are seamlessly integrated within this robust masonry construction resulting in all units achieving EPC A ratings and securing the Energy Efficiency Multiplier grant for exceeding performance standards. A fabric-first strategy combining advanced insulation, airtight construction, triple glazing and integrated solar panels significantly reduces operational carbon and shields residents from fuel poverty. Durable, low-maintenance materials extend building lifespan, while resilient planting supports Belfast’s biodiversity strategy. Operational and embodied carbon are addressed through longevity, build quality and performance rather than add-on technology. 

Delivered below the original estimate, with a final account of £4.118 million (£2,088/m²) against £4.263 million (£2,161/m²), it demonstrates strategic planning, efficient statutory coordination and disciplined project management. 

Savings were achieved through efficient statutory coordination, strategic planning, and disciplined project management. The result is compact, replicable, context-sensitive housing that catalyses renewed confidence in West Belfast and proves that financial rigour and architectural ambition are not mutually exclusive. 

Ross Street Mews asserts a strong architectural presence rooted in Belfast’s historic urban grain. The contemporary mews typology reinstates a legible street structure that restores enclosure, frontage and pedestrian priority to a site previously defined by fragmentation and concealment. Expressed through cohesive red brick terraces, the development re-engages the material and spatial identity of the city, reinforcing the familiar rhythm of Belfast’s enduring terrace streets. Proportioned openings and subtle ground-floor projections reinterpret the Victorian bay, introducing depth and a striking street frontage. 

Constructed in robust masonry and clad in Wienerberger Mozart Blend brick, the scheme anchors itself firmly within Belfast’s red-brick lineage, combining permanence, and durability that feels both authoritative and embedded.

At the scale of the home, the architecture prioritises dignity, light and ownership. Dual-aspect layouts and generous internal proportions ensure spatial quality, while large openings and south-facing orientations draw daylight deep into living spaces. Secure private gardens provide sunlight, privacy and defensible outdoor space, conditions entirely absent from the former Ross Street flats.