Urbanism
Environment
Design

info@urbed.coop

Liverpool’s ‘Knowledge Quarter’ is a unique combination of learning and cultural assets.  It contains three Universities, two cathedrals, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Hall and a thriving mix of theatres, restaurants and bars.  All this is set within an edge of centre residential district that includes streets and squares among the best preserved Georgian townscapes in Britain.

Economically the area is a powerhouse, driving some 15% of the city’s annual GVA despite only accounting for 1% of its land area. It enjoys superb strategic connections via the M62, West Coast Mainline and underground rail system. Major institutions and the private sector are focusing investment programmes worth hundreds of millions of pounds on the area.

Environmentally and socially however, the physical setting is fragmented, its fine qualities compromised by crude planning and highways schemes, poor pedestrian access and an inconsistently managed public realm, compounding a context blighted by some of the worst neighbourhood deprivation in England.

URBED’s Design and Public Realm Framework sets out a long term vision to reconnect the area with a strong ‘knowledge network’ of places and routes, to encourage the easy movement and interaction recognised as key to the seamless transfer of knowledge capital.  It shows how environmentally sustainable new buildings and spaces can be inserted in ways that enhance the city’s classical character and help link opportunity with need.  A clear implementation strategy prioritises a list of early and longer term interventions to maintain the regeneration momentum the area now enjoys.