The Unit takes the term Alternative Arrangements as it’s starting point, and looks closely at the town of Belleek, the most westerly settlement in the UK. The town lies on the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic, the border runs 310 miles from Lough Foyle to the Irish Sea, dividing the six counties of Northern Ireland from the Republic since 1921, and now the UK from the EU. Conceptually, practically and methodologically the Unit is interested in the role of architecture when used as a lens for examining politics, culture, and society.
The unit takes its name from the text of the Brady Amendment of the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement for an alternative to the so-called Irish backstop. Here, the emphasis is shifted, creating an ‘alternative arrangement’ of sites, materials, histories, archival sources, key dates, and specific architectures and geographies, that inform the design of buildings and spaces.