Agustina Martire

I am an urbanist and activist who teaches architecture, and specialises in the study of everyday streets, their fabric, histories, and experiences through the StreetSpace project. I am especially interested in the way people experience the built environment, and how design can enable a more inclusive and just urban space. I have worked in schools of architecture in Buenos Aires, Delft, Dublin and Belfast. I collaborate with a range of government and non-government organisations to explore ways in which housing, mixed use and mobility can provide better cities for all.

StreetSpace is a collaborative studio in the Masters of Architecture, funded by the Department for Communities, Public Engagement at Queen’s University Belfast and supported by Belfast City Council. Each year we take on a street or neighbourhood in Belfast and spend a year engaging with local communities, studying the morphology and uses of the area and later proposing built interventions that will respond to the community's needs. I work closely with a series of non-government organisations that advocate for a fair and just built environment. Among these, I am chair of the SaveCQ campaign, which advocates for equitable urban development in Belfast. I have an advisory role in Participation and the Practice of Rights, which campaigns for homes for homeless and refugees. I am member of the Board of Sailortown Regeneration, a member of the Board of the Centre for Sustainability, Equality and Climate Action (SECA) and a member of the Heritage Hub. For more information on the project go to: www.streetspaceresearch.com

Selected Works

Book

Martire, A., Hausleitner, B., & Clossick, J. (2023). Everyday Streets: Inclusive approaches to understanding and designing streets. UCL Press. https://www.uclpress.co.uk/products/211170

Book chapters

Martire, A., & Skoura, A. (2022). The dynamic authenticity of local mixed streets. In Heritage, Gentrification and Resistance in the Neoliberal City (Explorations in heritage studies). Berghahn Books.

Martire, A. (2021). The StreetSpace project: Alternative visions for local mixed streets in Belfast. In T-B. Keniff, & C. Levesque (Eds.), Urban Inventories Bureau d’études de pratiques indisciplinées École de design. https://www.be-pi.ca/diffusionsblog/inventaires-publication

Journal Papers

Martire, A. (2020). StreetSpace Studio: Architecture learns. Irish Journal of Anthropology. http://anthropologyireland.org/ija-2019-martire/

Martire, A. (2019). Exploring the significance of local mixed streets. Urban Design Journal, 150, 10-11.

Martire, A. (2017). Walking the Street: No more motorways for Belfast. Spaces and Flows, 8(3), 35-61. https://doi.org/10.18848/2154-8676/CGP/v08i03/35-61

Conference Papers

Martire, A., & Madden, A. (2022). Billy’s Sailortown stories: unpacking the dense and compact city through graphic anthropology. In A. Feliciotti, & M. Fleischmann (Eds.), Proceedings of the XXVIII International Seminar on Urban Form: urban form and the sustainable and prosperous city (pp. 1020-1027). (International Seminar on Urban Form: Proceedings). University of Strathclyde.

McConaghie, T., & Martire, A. (2019). CastleCourt: the shopping centre as an imposed symbol of civic normality. Paper presented at Architecture and Democracy, Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Martire, A. (2018). Preserving the transcultural identity of local shopping streets: North Street Castle Street Belfast. 331.

Media

Martire, A. (2022). VIEW GUEST EDITORIAL: ‘Social housing in Belfast has been repeating flawed patterns of occupation and density for decades, and these need to be questioned’. The View Digital, (62), 4-5. https://viewdigital.org/view-guest-editorial-social-housing-in-belfast-has-been-repeating-flawed-patterns-of-occupation-and-density-for-decades-and-these-need-to-be-questioned/

Martire, A. (2020). ‘Not every development is a good development’ says acting chair of Save Cathedral Quarter campaign. ViewDigital. https://viewdigital.org/not-every-development-is-a-good-development-says-chair-of-save-cathedral-quarter-campaign/

Reports

Martire, A., & Skoura, A. (2021). Gentle Densities: A report on the potential of sustainable gentle density, mixed use, mixed tenure and public participation in future housing in Belfast. QUB. https://www.qub.ac.uk/home/media/Media,1253580,smxx.pdf

Martire, A., Michael, L., Lynch, S., Cummins, A., & McCann, J. (2021). Open Botanic: An active travel and healthy street strategy for Botanic Avenue, Belfast. QUB. https://www.qub.ac.uk/home/media/Media,1214461,smxx.pdf

Upson, C., Murray, F., Quinn, S., Martire, A., & O'Grady, R. (2020). Expanding Pavements & Enriching Street Life: Ormeau Road Temporary Trial.

Studio publications

Martire, Agustina, McCormick, Caitlin, Ireland, Emily (2023) StreetSpace Botanic, 2022-23, Architecture at Queen’s

Martire, Agustina, McCarthy, Anna, Colgan, Kayleigh (2022) StreetSpace The Market, 2021-22, Architecture at Queen’s

Martire, Agustina, Madden, Aisling, McCartan, Lorna, Moore, Juliette (2021) StreetSpace Sailortown, 2019-21, Architecture at Queen’s

Martire, Agustina, Bryce, Andrew, Yau, Jonathan (2019) StreetSpace Clifton Gateway, 2018-19, Architecture at Queen’s

Martire, Agustina, Donnelly, Mark, Mahon, Brett, Stevenson Ben, Skoura , Anna, (2018) StreetSpace North Street and Castle Street , 2017-18, Architecture at Queen’s

Martire, Agustina, Skoura Anna (2017) StreetSpace North Street and Castle Street, 2016-17, Architecture at Queen’s

Martire, Agustina, Neill, Jo, Skoura Anna (2017) Making Belfast, 2016-17, Architecture at Queen’s
Samples of Work by StreetSpace

Juliette Moore, 2019

Milde Pacevicute, 2017

Conall Casey, 2018

Hannah Miskimmon, 2019

Gabriela Kacprzyk, 2021

Aisling Madden, 2020