Obituaries

Barrie Todd – architect whose creative energy and vision left an enduring legacy

An Appreciation

Barrie Todd: a key figure behind what would become the Cathedral Quarter that exists today in Belfast

Keith Baker
Sun Jun 30 2024 - 18:59

If Twink had won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1972, Barrie Todd’s life might have gone in a different direction.

Born on February 28th, 1944, like many of his generation the young Belfast architect loved music. He played in a band and he wrote songs. One of them, It Would Take a Miracle, made it to the National Song Contest on RTÉ where Twink did it credit but lost out to Ireland’s first and only Eurovision entry sung in Irish.

So Barrie would not become a famous songwriter but his creative energy and his vision would not be wasted.

Four years later, in 1976, he bought a run-down warehouse in Hill Street, a bleak corner of inner Belfast, and moved his fledging architect practice there.

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He was convinced that the city needed new commercial activity in its heart and he was joined in that mission by a young restaurateur, Nick Price, who took over the ground floor.

The establishment of Todd Architects and Nick’s Warehouse marked the beginning of what would become the busy and buzzing Cathedral Quarter that exists today.

Barrie was at home in Hill Street. He loved being around people and he taught his team that you could have fun while working.

From there he would inspire significant trailblazing projects like The Boat, the towering building in Queen’s Square, and the new Belfast Children’s Hospital with the unique “street” at its centre, an open space where children can play.

He was also passionate about the arts and was one of the key figures in the creation of the Metropolitan Arts Centre, the MAC, in the Cathedral Quarter.

He became president of the Royal Society of Ulster Architects and was made a professor at Queen’s University Belfast in 2007.

But in 2010, his daughter Jill, a promising photographer, died of cancer at the age of 23. It was a devastating loss but one which he channelled into action, creating the Jill Todd Trust to aid cancer research and to promote the careers of other aspiring photographers.

When he died on June 14th, his son Iain used his Facebook page to break the news and among the condolences were several from people who have benefitted from the Trust’s support.

Barrie was a tireless advocate for modern architecture, for high-quality design and its uplifting impact on our daily lives. One Facebook post said: “He has left an indelible mark on both the people and the built environment around him.”

And always there was music. Joe Cocker was a great hero and at the funeral in Hillsborough on June 19th, his coffin was led into the church to the sound of Joe singing Dylan’s Girl from the North Country.

In 2008, Barrie was awarded an MBE for his services to architecture.

When he went to Buckingham Palace to receive it, he was delighted to meet another man being honoured that day. It was Joe Cocker.

Barrie is survived by his wife Trish, his sons Chris and Iain and three grandchildren.

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