Liverpool Pier Head

Liverpool has embarked on an ambitious programme to revitalise the central docks and the area in front of the iconic Three Graces waterfront buildings. The focus of work on this high-profile site has been the creation of a canal extension linking the Leeds and Liverpool Canal to the north with dockland water basins adjacent to King's Waterfront (formerly King's Dock) to the south.

With the Three Graces historic waterside buildings as its backdrop, this 2.5 hectare public plaza facing the River Mersey is an urban landscape with broad appeal and varied uses, It incorporates sunken water basins as part of a new canal link and open-air performance areas for cultural celebration.

The site is within the context of an AECOM Design + Planning-led regeneration masterplan, including the new landmark Museum of Liverpool and a mixed-use development of homes, shops and offices to the south, along with the remodelling of the famous Mersey ferry terminal.

Overview

  • Project Name

    Liverpool Pier Head

  • Location

    Liverpool

  • Category

    Masterplanning and urban design

  • Landscape Architect

    AECOM

  • Client

    Liverpool City Council and British Waterways

  • Brief

    To create a contemporary and inspiring public place, reinventing the site as an international gateway to the city; to create a canal extension linking the Leeds and Liverpool Canal with dockland water basins, revitalising the existing water spaces with tourist-based boating activity.

  • Awards

    Winner, Design 1-5 ha category, LI Awards 2010

Details

  • Project Team

    Landscape architect: AECOM Design + PlanningCivil |Services and transport engineering: Liverpool 2020Structural engineering (canal) | Contract administration: ArupProject managers: Liverpool City Council and British Waterways | Lighting design: Graham Festenstein Lighting Design

  • Local planning authority or government body

    Liverpool City Council

  • Year Completed

    2009

  • Project Size

    2.5 ha

  • Contract Value

    '£22 million ('£9m for plaza)

Technicals

  • Materials

    Through the selection of robust materials and careful detailing, the area was designed to achieve a long design life: 125 years for the canal and for the public realm paving and seat walls a minimum of 40 years. 3-D computer modelling and computer numerically controlled (CNC) cutting were specified in order to achieve fine detailing and refinement in the shaping of the stone steps and seating. This made it possible to explore the use of complex fluid forms in a refined, cost-effective manner, utilising pioneering digital craftsmanship.

  • Contractors

    Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering

  • AECOM

    Registered Practice - (21 + Employees)
    Profile

  • Approximate Map Location

    Location

    Liverpool

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