Z4P7Bio

Joseph Caden Contact: josephcaden@outlook.com St James Community Centre: A Rejection of Neoliberal Development in the Baltic Triangle The Baltic Triangle is a post-industrial site located in the city centre of Liverpool and has undergone substantial development in recent years. The district is now considered the ‘creative’ quarter of the city, home to a mix of independent and commercial businesses.

Arguably motivated by financial opportunity, large scale developers have endeavoured to take advantage of the fashionable aspects of the area. An increasing number of bland, unaffordable, placeless developments now litter Liverpool’s so-called ‘creative hub’.

These buildings are not only mundane in appearance but also fundamentally fail local existing communities. My project aims to counter this ‘generic’ development - both architecturally and socially. The scheme endeavours to enhance community-oriented amenities, offering facilities that do not currently exist in the area.

The chosen site for the community centre is located on the periphery of the Baltic Triangle and on a prominent pedestrian route between Liverpool’s Chinatown and the so-called ‘creative’ quarter. The site is currently occupied by an under-resourced, small-scale health centre. These health facilities are integrated into the proposed community centre. The building also provides a public courtyard, multifunctional hall, café, and library. I also chose to include a clock tower in the design, this gives the building a civic presence along a prominent route through Liverpool’s city centre. The presence of a clock tower allows the centre to act as a beacon for the surrounding area and reinforces the civic nature of the project. The hope is that the centre will become a local landmark and announce the arrival of improved public amenities.

I was particularly interested in the history of the area - St James Health Centre has existed for over a century and is a short walk from Europe’s oldest Chinatown. This led me to explore ideas of permanence and durability through the medium of collage (as shown top left). The practice of collage was an important part of my project in the sense that it allowed me to explore material, function, and space.

The uniqueness of my design reflects the objective to counter the generic design principles of recent large-scale development in the Baltic Triangle. This intention can be seen in the decision to expose the structure of the building, a glulam frame and diagrid ceiling structure are both celebrated throughout the design. Fundamentally, the centre is designed to be a place where local people come to spend time. In that sense, the building signifies something quite different to those around it.