1964 – Ulster Bank, Shaftesbury Square, Belfast

Prominent corner site between Great Victoria Street and Dublin Road, replacing earlier buildings including the Shaftesbury Arcade. The Arcade was a two-storey building with ground floor retail units on both streets and was demolished in 1963 to facilitate construction of the bank.

The end wall of the building featured ‘Airborne Men’ – two aluminium sculptures by artist Dame Elisabeth Frink (1930-93). Commissioned by the Lurgan-based architects in 1961, early in the construction process. Popularly known as “Draft” and “Overdraft” by the locals, these were gifted by the bank to the Ulster Museum with a view to them going on prominent display at their eventual new home. Ulster Bank subsequently sold the building in 2009, with the bank then taking back a lease of the whole building. After August 2023, there is no remaining connection between the bank and the building.

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