Unit 4B, Old Haymarket, Liverpool, Merseyside, L1

Old Haymarket seamlessly mixes Edwardian conversions and new buildings to create high-quality urban apartments and retail outlets.

The redevelopment of this site has been described as a 'textbook approach to urban renewal', and earned us a RIBA Client of the Year Award in 2001. The site is located in Liverpool city centre, adjacent to major regeneration projects such as Queen Square, Millennium House and St George's Hall. The development has excellent access to all central shops, offices, hotels and leisure facilities.

The triangular site occupies one city block between the busy Preston and Victoria Streets, and Old Haymarket. It consists of three refurbished buildings and one new building, created on the site of buildings which were demolished due to irreparable decay. There are 12 retail units at ground floor level which underpin 27 new private dwellings of varying specifications, entered through a secluded and secure courtyard. The aim was to create a mixed-use building that would attract a variety of people to the area at all times of day, not only regenerating the buildings, but bringing new hope to a run-down area with a reputation for being dangerous after dark. The site has been sensitively designed to make the most of the existing features, particularly the red brick elevations.