I just bought this game, never played it before but I heard it's very good. However, the UI is intolerable for me. I found some articles from PC Gamer and RPS about a UI overhaul mod that looked very modern and beautiful, but I can't find a download link anywhere.

Does this, or any other UI mod, exist?

Apparently, you're speaking about this: http://www.alphacentauriredux.com/

As the disclaimer states, "this is a visual design project, not a modification to the base game" done by an illustration student who "plans on working in the games industry as a UI Artist and Designer post-graduation". I don't think there is a mod for SMAC's UI anyway...

Damn. Thanks for the reply.

Best advice I can give is: memorize the keyboard controls. The UI does seem scary at first, but once I got used to the hotkeys I found it's actually not much more complex than Civilization.

No problem! The game is great and when you "feel" its atmosphere after you've played for a while, you'll see that the original interface is better fitting. That other UI you saw, while modern & shiny, i feel like it doesn't do justice to SMAC.