Divis Tower

Divis Tower is a 19-story high-rise in Belfast and the last remaining building of the former Divis Flats housing estate. The estate was built between 1966 and 1974 on the site of the historic The Pound neighborhood, after the old terraced houses there had been demolished. The design by architect Frank Robertson was inspired by modern high-rise developments in Britain and the United States, as well as by the ideas of Le Corbusier. The estate originally consisted of twelve irregularly arranged apartment blocks connected by wide access balconies, so that you could cross the entire complex without ever touching street level. Divis Tower itself contained 95 apartments and was part of a complex intended to house more than 2,400 people in total.

During the Troubles, the estate became the scene of numerous street battles and attacks, since it was home to Irish nationalists and a stronghold of underground organizations such as the IRA and the INLA. The British Army set up an observation post on the roof of Divis Tower, from which the estate was monitored. This military presence, along with social and structural problems including damp, rat infestations, and high unemployment, led residents and local organizations such as the Divis Residents Association to demand that the entire estate be demolished. A 1987 study by the University of Ulster confirmed the poor living conditions and supported the call for relocation.

Between 1980 and 1995, most of the apartment blocks were torn down, while Divis Tower was left standing for reasons that remain unclear, possibly because of the military's interest in the vantage point. In place of the old high-rises, 257 new terraced houses were built, their design drawing on traditional Irish and British building styles; residents regarded them as more successful. After the Good Friday Agreement and the end of the IRA's armed campaign in 2005, the observation post on the tower was dismantled. The former military rooms were renovated and now serve as living space, so that today Divis Tower stands as a historical witness to Belfast's turbulent past and to Northern Ireland's housing policy.