27 August 2020 – In 2008 Prof. David Dunster gave a keynote lecture on my design for The Bluecoat arts centre and the underlying ideas about urban context. The occasion was the completion of Liverpool One, a largescale urban regeneration project with dwellings, offices and retail.

David Dunster claimed that the construction of quiet buildings is at odds with the practice of urban regeneration. According to him, this does not want buildings promising a better future, but produces buildings that draw attention to themselves. The Bluecoat is the counter example of a quiet building which relates to the wider urban context of Liverpool.

12 years later, this assertion has nothing of his appeal and is worth considering. Reason for us to supply the lecture with new images and publish it as a video.