The Creative Campus is Liverpool Hope University’s base in the city, and the gateway to West Everton. The campus has been developed to stimulate culture and education led regeneration of one of the poorest wards in the country. Angel Field is the landscape vision at the heart of the project – the final piece in the jigsaw to knit the old and new campus buildings together. Inspired by the gardens of the Renaissance and emblematic of the University’s educational philosophy, it is to be a place of calm contemplation in the midst of a busy city centre.

The garden already has had a big positive impact on the area and the local community. Many people use the garden as a stop off oasis to read a book or paper or to take a moment to just sit and enjoy the peaceful surroundings.

The project places people at the heart of the design process – with all the key approaches and entrances to the site are by level access and clearly identifiable and well lit. All surfaces and details are of a very high quality [Granite and Limestone]. The details within the landscape are of a human scale and help reconcile the place of people within the landscape of the large-scale surrounding architecture.

The gardens have helped to bring together a series of disparate public and private buildings (in and beyond the site) from a wide variety of time periods in to a unified whole. Lighting has been kept to a friendly pedestrian scale with all the key routes through the site picked out with bollard lighting.

There is a great flexibility of design within the scheme to accommodate different needs, ranging from different seating options (some perch, some with back / arm supports, stone and timber etc, some in shade – others in sun). Within the overall consistent mature tree and hedge landscape structure there is a succession of planting types that vary from native under-storey planting – to wild flower meadow – to formal beds and interest throughout the year.

All areas have level access and a number of level changes across the site have been accommodated without the need for steps or steep ramps. A new lodge has been built on the main public street entrance to the gardens – with wardens / management on hand at all times to provide help and assistance to anyone requiring help. This has also helped to improve the feeling of safety for all users at all times of day and at night.