• Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios

    Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios

  • National Museums Liverpool

    National Museums Liverpool

  • Gareth Jones

    Gareth Jones

  • Gareth Jones

    Gareth Jones

  • Pete Carr

    Pete Carr

  • Tom Adam

    Tom Adam

  • National Museums Liverpool

    National Museums Liverpool

  • Visit Liverpool

    Visit Liverpool

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Public Realm

Placemaking competition launched to redesign historic waterfront space

Canning Dock Competition represents an opportunity to find a multi-disciplinary team to transform world-renowned UNESCO World Heritage site into a stunning leisure and cultural destination

by Nav Pal 31 March 2021 Waterfront

The competition will be managed by Colander Associates on behalf of National Museum Liverpool (NML) and will be supported by £120,000 of funding from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, as part of the Race Equality Programme launched by Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram last year.

Spanning the area between the Royal Albert Dock and Mann Island, the transformation project will take in key landmarks including the creation of pedestrian links to the Canning Dock while also bringing life to multiple buildings within the area as part of NML’s 10-year masterplan of transformation of the waterfront. 

Set to become a cultural anchor for Liverpool and aiming to play a significant role in the post-covid regeneration project for the region, it will create a dynamic environment for the benefit of the museums, communities, visitors, and employees of many businesses’ in the city.

This is the really fun and exciting part of our Waterfront project, and I look forward to seeing how it all develops. The Canning Dock is a hugely important public space with great potential, and it is so important that we deliver the needs of existing and new communities – offering people a space where they can gather to laugh, learn, play, and relax.

We want to transform people’s experiences into something memorable, but importantly this project also presents us with the opportunity to represent the historic significance of the site. We want to integrate the feedback and ideas directly from our communities, who far too often are underrepresented – we want to make it a space for all.

Laura Pye, Director of National Museums Liverpool

Promoting positive change in everyday spaces, the competition will seek a multi-disciplinary team who will not only be able to generate wonderful transformational design ideas that are beautiful yet functional but do so through a process that is inclusive and collaborative. Competition entrants will be asked to highlight their commitment to ethnic diversity as part of their submissions, reflecting the NML’s ongoing commitment to creating a more equitable environment and being a catalyst for social and environmental change.

The two-stage competition will be open to both national and international design teams including architects, landscapers and structural, civil and services engineers. The winning design will need to respond to the transatlantic history of the site and ensure Black communities are engaged and represented. Liverpool was at the centre of the transatlantic slave trade and it is imperative these stories of the past are considered and seamlessly integrated when developing designs for the public space.

Those interested in applying for the competition, are invited to submit their initial expressions of interest by midday on Friday 23 April for consideration by the judging panel. Competitors wishing to apply, should do so through Colander’s website.


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