Connecting Liverpool
Connecting Liverpool was a huge project to enhance the wayfinding and branding of this charismatic city. The tangible result of our involvement was a bespoke sign system of fingerposts, hubs and heritage signs around the city. Four years on, we have been asked to review and extend it in preparation for Liverpool’s status as European Capital of Culture in 2008.
As part of the main project, we will be updating map panels and fingerposts, creating a new city centre pedestrian wayfinding map and designing additional structures to meet needs that have arisen as Liverpool’s regeneration has progressed. We are also involved in creating wayfinding and sign solutions for Liverpool One, a major Grosvenor retail development in and around Chavasse Park in the city centre. Finally, we have undertaken a scoping exercise around the Waterfront, and are showing individual developers how to create their own identities without losing continuity with the main Connecting Liverpool project.
Liverpool One
Liverpool One is a £900m retail-led development linking Albert Dock with Liverpool City Centre. It comprises 30 individually designed buildings designed by 27 different architects, 1.4m sq feet of retail space, 230,000 sq feet of restaurants, cafés and bars, 500 apartments, 2 hotels, offices, a five acre park and a new public transport interchange. Opened in two phases during 2008, it is predicted to transform the city into one of the top 10 retail destinations in the UK.
Following our work on the original Connecting Liverpool project, which was subsequently revisited and extended as part of the city’s preparations for its status as European Capital of Culture, fwdesign was approached by Liverpool One owners Grosvenor to create a wayfinding system for the entire 42 acre site.
Grosvenor were adamant that the system should reflect and promote its Liverpool One brand identity, in which it had made a considerable investment. However, we were fortunate that Rod Holmes, Project Director, also supported the notion of integration with the city-wide system already developed.
