Key figures from the region’s property industry took part in an event at Tate Liverpool which saw students from the Liverpool School of Architecture display their projects as part of Playing Around the Docks: Tate and the Architectural Imagination.
Curated by Marco Iuliano with James Jones, partner at Sheppard Robson and Jane Moscardini, the event marked the highlight of the programme between the University of Liverpool School of Architecture and Tate, which has the ambition of generating reflection among the current quality of design in Liverpool's heritage sites and to discuss, at the same time, the contribution of academia to society.
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the conversion by Stirling, Wilford and Associates (1988-2018) the students rethought the first, radical proposition by James Stirling for the Tate in the North, a ship ‘collaged' into the warehouse.
A panel chaired by Paul Unger (Place North West) with Mark Kitts (Liverpool City Council), Kate Kingston (Peel Group) and James Jones, analysed some of the design propositions and broader issues around regeneration and Liverpool’s heritage. The event concluded with remarks and reflections on the display by architect Michael Wilford CBE.
Speaking about the students’ work, Mark Kitts , said: “This was a really exciting and imaginative event. It was encouraging to see so many informed students taking a particular interest and insight into such an important place on Liverpool’s historic and international waterfront.”
Michael Wilford said: “It has been 35 years since I was first invited by the Tate to oversee the restoration of the Albert Dock so it is a real honour to be back here at the opening of this special 30th anniversary exhibition.
“The level of imagination and the variety of propositions we have seen is fascinating and the students should be commended for what they have achieved.”
This event forms part of the Tate Exchange Programme, a 2017 University of Liverpool award-winning project with UoL Business Gateway. In collaboration with RIBA North, Merseyside Civic Society and Engage Liverpool.