ECO city event

29 February 2008

Dr Rob MacDonald, LJMU's Reader in Architecture, helped organise the 'ECO City' event involving more than 150 children, on behalf of The Liverpool Architectural Society and The Liverpool Children's Parliament.

The Parliament aims to give children the opportunity to have their say on the future of their city and for this event they were split into teams and asked to design a futuristic, environmentally-aware Liverpool.

ECO City was devised to encourage the children to think about the effects that global warming and rising sea levels will have on cities of the future. Working with architects and designers, they had just a few hours to bring their brand new 'Liverpool Island' to life. Architecture and design students from LJMU and Liverpool University were also on hand to help them build their models.

The Leader of Liverpool city council, Councillor Warren Bradley, welcomed the children to the event at the Town Hall, saying: "It's important we ask young people to think about the long-term effects global warming will have on our planet in the future... encouraging them to design their own futuristic city is a great way of achieving this."

It is hoped that an exhibition of the ECO City models will be staged at the RENEW Gallery, Wood Street, Liverpool in May 2008.