Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) has selected
Rick Mather Architects to design their new £21million Art &
Design Academy on a site adjacent to a major landmark of Liverpool, the
Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King.
Rick Mather Architects was competitively selected from a field of outstanding candidates, which included a final shortlist of Michael Hopkins Architects, Fielden Clegg Bradley Architects and Edward Cullinan Architects and a long list including Grimshaw, Gareth Hoskins, Wilkinsom Eyre and Austin Smith Lord.
Professor Michael Brown, LJMU's Vice-Chancellor said: "The outstanding calibre of architects who tendered for this project reflects the importance of the Design Academy to the University and the city of Liverpool."
He continued: "Rick Mather Architects are an exciting and adventurous firm. We are confident that they will design an inspirational building that will help the University advance the teaching of art and design while also reinforcing Liverpool's status as a capital of culture."
Rick Mather, said: "The Art & Design Academy is a wonderful project and we are thrilled to be working on this exceptional site. The development of the new Academy will not only benefit the University and its students but it will bring a forgotten, disconnected area of Liverpool back into productive use for the city wide community."
The Art & Design Academy will be developed on a site adjacent to a major landmark of Liverpool, the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King. The site is currently occupied by the St Nicholas Centre, currently used by LJMU's Departments of Architecture, Product and Interior Design. The proximity to the Cathedral is one of the factors that make this project so exciting, as Rick Mather explained: "The architectural and city potential of this site is fantastic. We plan to design a modern, memorable building that will be sympathetic to its wider surroundings and also offer a visual complement to the Cathedral."
Founded in 1825 as the Liverpool Mechanics School of Arts, LJMU's School of Art and Design is the oldest art school outside London. The School is currently spread across a number of different buildings which are no longer fit for purpose. The new Art & Design Academy will bring all of LJMU's art and design programmes together in a stimulating new space, enabling more creative forms of teaching and research. It will also offer new facilities and services to the region's creative industries business sector.
The building will be financed directly by the University
and by a large contribution from the European Regional Development Fund
Objective 1 programme.
This Objective 1 funding will support the growth of the creative industries
on Merseyside by providing increased access to specialist University expertise,
applied research, training and development facilities and information
resources.
Building work began in 2006 and LJMU intends to complete the new Art & Design Academy by the summer of 2008 when Liverpool becomes European Capital of Culture.
10 March 2005
