Liverpool One

Liverpool, England
42 acres / 17 hectares
2008

The largest urban regeneration project in Europe, Liverpool One encompasses 17 hectares (42 acres) of Liverpool’s city center. This mixed-​use development creates a vibrant new retail and entertainment area that reconnects a once underutilized area with the Mersey waterfront. Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, in collaboration with BDP, is the master planner and urban designer for this development.

The development includes 1.4 million square feet of retail, as well as a cinema, dining, apartments, hotels, and offices. The master plan integrates all of these elements within an area of existing buildings and more than 30 new buildings by more than 20 architects. The plan also defines six new districts, each home to a specific type of retail, ranging in scale from boutique to department store. One of the districts is an arrival zone containing the Liverpool One Bus Station, a parking garage and 10 bus stops. Offices are disbursed throughout Liverpool One among five mixed-​used buildings, three of which were built in the19th century and refurbished in conjunction with the new development.

The centerpiece of Liverpool One is the redesigned Chavasse Park, which extends from Strand Street, culminating in a series of pavilion buildings on a grand terrace that is home to Liverpool One’s restaurants, cafés and bars. The park was expanded and raised to accommodate a 2,000-space parking garage underneath. This oasis in the center of the city links Liverpool One to the waterfront and Albert Dock, the city’s largest tourist attraction.

The project includes One Park West, designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects. This primarily residential building anchors the northwest corner of Chavasse Park. Apartments offer views of the park, the Mersey River and the ocean beyond. Lower floors contain retail and offices. The building curves toward the water, reinforcing the grand ellipse of the park as it steps down to the east.