9 April 2002
University of Liverpool appoints consultants for a major redevelopment of its city centre campus
The plan to create a world leading, city centre campus for the University of Liverpool came closer to reality today, with the appointment of Buro Happold Urban Projects and Edward Cullinan Architects to create a master plan for a £15 million campus redevelopment project.
Buro Happold Urban Projects and Edward Cullinan Architects have been appointed to carry out this work for the University of Liverpool Charter Project, which forms a significant part of the University's recently launched Centenary Foundation - a £70 million fundraising initiative to create seven world-leading centres of excellence.
The Charter Project, named to commemorate the centenary of the granting of a Royal Charter to the University in 1903, is concerned with improving the overall environmental quality of the University’s 100-acre city centre campus.
Professor Philip Love, Vice-Chancellor, said: "Liverpool is one of the few universities in the UK with a city centre campus. This gives the city a great vibrancy and character that few other cities can match, but it also presents us with a number of challenges, such as building density and traffic levels, when we undertake any physical redevelopment . Buro Happold Urban Projects and Edward Cullinan Architects have a proven track record and expertise in this field and that was an important factor in our decision to appoint them."
Buro Happold Urban Projects and Edward Cullinan Architects will work alongside the University to develop a blueprint for the redevelopment of the precinct to meet the demands of the 21st century.
The plan will include proposals for road closures to create larger pedestrian areas with hard and soft landscaping and new open spaces.
Central to the plan will be the refurbishment of the Victoria Building, one of the University’s first purpose-built learning facilities. Built between 1887 and 1892 by Sir Alfred Waterhouse, the distinctive red-brick building on Brownlow Hill originally housed the University library and offices for most of the senior academic staff. For many years it was the administrative heart of the University.
Today, this Grade II listed building is little used except for examinations. The Charter Project will give it new life and make it once again a central feature of the University.
Professor Love continued: "This is an exciting and ambitious project. It will give us a more attractive campus which works better for students, staff and visitors and it will help us to continue to attract the most able students and staff as well as ongoing financial support."
Buro Happold Urban Projects and Edward Cullinan Architects were awarded the prestigious contract ahead of six rival firms. They will start work immediately on the development of a master plan for the project. Some work will start later this year and most of the planned improvements will be completed by 2010.
Note to editors:
The Centenary Foundation is a £70 million fundraising initiative launched by The University of Liverpool to create seven world-leading centres of academic and research excellence. These centres of excellence will be created across the disciplines of management, law, medicine, engineering, veterinary science, horticulture and architecture. Chairman of the Foundation is Sir Neil Cossons, Chair of English Heritage and former Director of the Science Museum of London.
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Buro Happold is a multi-disciplinary international practice of consulting engineers established in 1976 offering civil and structural engineering, mechanical and electrical engineering, quantity surveying, building services and environmental engineering, infrastructure and traffic engineering, geotechnical engineering, façade engineering, fire engineering, computational fluid dynamics analysis, access consultancy, project management, urban design and a range of specialist CAD services.
