KINGS WATERFRONT UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT FOR ARCHITECTURE WEEK

To mark 2006 Architecture Week, Chris Wilkinson will deliver a lecture on the Arena and Convention Centre development at Kings Waterfront at the RENEW Rooms in Liverpool’s Ropewalks on Wednesday 21 June.

As director of internationally acclaimed and twice Stirling-Prize winning architectural practice Wilkinson Eyre, Chris will describe his vision for the site, developed in response to a brief from project partners Liverpool Vision, English Partnerships, Northwest Regional Development Agency and Liverpool City Council. He will also explain the design process, much of which has used cutting edge 3D technologies, from the competition stages right through to the project’s start on site last year.

Chris will be joined by Bob Prattey, chief executive of Arena & Convention Centre Liverpool who will speak about the operation of the venue, its positioning in the market place and the nature and type of events it will attract.

There will an opportunity for questions to both presenters at the end of the evening.

The event also marks the start of a free Kings Waterfront exhibition at the RENEW Rooms. A scale model of the 14.5 hectare site together with a selection of image, plans, a ‘fly through’ and a step-by-step construction sequence will be on display from Monday 19 June until Friday 14 July. The RENEW Rooms, 82 Wood Street, Liverpool are open Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm.

The RENEW Rooms provide a central location for putting important regeneration initiatives such as Kings Waterfront on public display. The venue is a joint project between RENEW Northwest (the Regional Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Communities) and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). The space houses exhibition and gallery space together with an RIBA Bookshop and conference facilities. The display will be part of Liverpool City Centre’s contribution to Architecture Week, which runs from 16-25 June.

Alistair Macdonald, Development Manager at Liverpool Vision said, “This event will provide a opportunity for a local audience to hear a leading UK architect explain the design process underpinning one of Liverpool’s most important new developments, and the chief executive of the arena and convention centre describe the operation of the venue and how it will contribute to the revitalisation of the City as a major destination for business and leisure events”.

The talk will take place on Wednesday 21st June and begin at 17.45hrs prompt.

Kings Waterfront is the single largest development on the Liverpool waterfront. A partnership of Liverpool Vision, national regeneration agency English Partnerships, Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), the European Objective One Programme and Liverpool City Council is jointly promoting its development.

For further media information on Kings Waterfront please contact Steve Sanders at SKV PR on 0161 236 9909 / 07971 079 314, e-mail steve.sanders@skvpr.co.uk or visit www.kingswaterfrontliverpool.co.uk

Wilkinson Eyre Architects, with its portfolio of national and international award winning projects, is one of the UK’s leading architectural companies. The practice has been awarded the highly prestigious Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Stirling Prize two years in succession: in 2001 for the Magna science adventure centre in Rotherham, Yorkshire and in 2002 for the much acclaimed Gateshead Millennium Bridge which spans the river Tyne in Gateshead. Chris Wilkinson OBE is the founding director of Wilkinson Eyre, and was recently elected a Royal Academician at the Royal Academy of Arts.

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For further press information on Wilkinson Eyre Architects please contact Debbie Whitfield at Caro Communications on 020 7336 8488 or
email Debbie@carocommunications.com

Architecture Week takes place from 16 – 25 June 2006. Architecture Week is the annual national public celebration of architecture, a joint Arts Council England and Royal Institute of British Architects initiative in association with the Architecture Centre Network.

For further press information contact Rowan Atkins on 0161 236 9909, e-mail atkins@nomir.co.uk or visit www.architectureweek.org.u

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