Ben Weir

artistiek onderzoek - installatie - publicatie - publieke ruimte - schrijven - tekenen

I (Ben Weir *1991, Belfast) work within the discipline (as opposed to the profession) of architecture. I denounce the notion of the architect as a neutral service provider. I draw, write, research and build. I work to uncover hidden spatial and material potentials. I generate projects through the survey of existing conditions, a process that invents as much as records. I favour dynamism, the unfinished, the open-to-change. I reject demolition and tabula rasa. I dissect, re-present and interrogate existing urban artefacts, seeking to express their current condition, situation, or relationship to us. I insert new objects into this milieu, always seeking a positive contribution to a diverse, equitable and complex environment.


A Façade for an Artist Studio - A permanent installation to the guest artist’s studio in Greylight Projects, Heerlen. (2023) Spruce, scaffold pole, polycarbonate, wood stain, 3600 x 3535 x 1020mm
A Façade for an Artist Studio - A permanent installation to the guest artist’s studio in Greylight Projects, Heerlen. (2023) Spruce, scaffold pole, polycarbonate, wood stain, 3600 x 3535 x 1020mm
Peutz Sconce - A folded stainless-steel sconce, translating a fragment of the work of Heerlen architect Frits Peutz (1896-1974) into a domestic object. Stainless-steel, mild steel, nuts and bolts, LED tube lamp, 760 x 555 x 309mm Produced during a residency at Greylight Projects, Heerlen (2022)
Radiator Benches - Permanent installation at Catalyst Arts, Belfast. Produced for the show 'Core is Concrete' curated by Kate Murphy. (2022) Steel beam, steel fin radiator, steel box-section, threaded rod, nuts, bolts, rubber, paint, 2000 x 500 x 460mm; 1250 x 500 x 460mm Photography: © Simon Mills
Radiator Benches - Permanent installation at Catalyst Arts, Belfast. Produced for the show 'Core is Concrete' curated by Kate Murphy. (2022) Steel beam, steel fin radiator, steel box-section, threaded rod, nuts, bolts, rubber, paint, 2000 x 500 x 460mm; 1250 x 500 x 460mm Photography: © Simon Mills
Charged Space - A vitrine and a lamppost, a night time street scene inside a former psychiatric hospital. Solo show at 3bisF Lieu d'art Contemporain, Curated by Diane Pigeau. Plywood, plexiglass, steel, paint, lighting fixtures (2022)
Casa Vilaró - Study of Casa Vilaró (built 1930) produced during residency with Fundació Mies van der Rohe, Barcelona, ​​and BOZAR, Brussels. Pigmented MDF, steel plinths, dimensions variable. (2020) Photography: © Jóse Hevia
Casa Vilaró - Study of Casa Vilaró (built 1930) produced during residency with Fundació Mies van der Rohe, Barcelona, ​​and BOZAR, Brussels. (2020) Pigmented MDF, steel plinths, dimensions variable. Photography: © Jóse Hevia
Brick Poems - A series of compositions made with bricks salvaged from the demolition sites of historic buildings in Belfast. (2020)
1600=1600 - A fire is inserted into a Modernist building that was never supposed to contain one, yet somehow still belongs. Aerated-concrete block, concrete, fire brick, stainless-steel stove accessories, 4.89 x 4.32 x 6.65m. (2019) Photography: © Werner Mantz lab