Defining tall buildings in Belfast

Belfast is a predominantly low-lying city with the majority of commercial buildings along its main streets being under the threshold of six storeys, including the city core. The low-lying nature of Belfast means that the city is relatively sensitive to the impact of increasing heights within its built environment. Within Belfast City Centre, the average datum height is around five to six storeys and this moderate scale of development is reflective of the city's historic origins and forms part of its distinctive identity. Considering this average datum height across the city, tall buildings in the Belfast context are defined as any building 35m above ordnance datum (AOD) or taller. A tall building in this context would therefore be in the region of 9+ storeys.