Special Award Winner for Community Impact

The Glade of Light in Manchester

Glade of Light wins at 2023 Civic Trust Awards

We are truly honoured and delighted to win both a Civic Trust Award & a Special Community Impact Award for the Glade of Light memorial in Manchester, UK. The judges’ commented about the project;

“A very beautiful, sculptural and emotional place”

“The overall composition is exceptional with the landscaping and planting being a soft and responsive reflection of the existing public realm and surrounding environs.”

“A quiet yet bold installation which is a serene and lasting reminder for Manchester of those killed and affected by the terrorist bomb.”

The special Awards for community impact are presented to an exemplar project that has demonstrated how successful community engagement can help deliver the highest standards of design whilst meeting the needs of local people.

Award level schemes demonstrate excellence in design, whilst being sustainable, accessible and provide a positive civic contribution. Projects that make an outstanding contribution to the quality and appearance of the built environment.

Read more: Glade of Light

Loop Design Award Winners

Image showing active travel right outside the Cunard building

The Strand and Glade of Light win categories for Public Space and Landscape Design

We’re proud to announce that BCA Landscape has won Loop Design Awards for Liverpool’s The Strand and Manchester’s Glade of Light within their respective categories.

The Strand

In the Public Space Category, the Strand won for the human-centric and environmentally conscious remodelling of the epicentre of Liverpool’s renowned waterfront.

The project aims to contribute to the mitigation of climate change risks, increase the resilience to climate change effects, improve health and well-being and improve air quality and biodiversity. This includes planting 130 new trees and Sustainable Drainage Systems [SuDS] with permeable paving and traffic drainage being directed into these living systems and help alleviate flooding in the area. The trees and SuDS are also being future monitored to track their impact on pollution reduction, urban cooling and flood prevention.

Traffic junctions and lanes have been removed to provide new cycling and walking infrastructure to promote active travel and create new people friendly places and designated safer cyclist routes in and out of the city.

The Strand: Category Winner [Loop Design Awards Website]

Glade of Light

The Glade of Light memorial has won in the Landscape Design category, for its design which aimed to embrace a more dynamic and contemporary form of memorialisation. The design ideas and thoughts behind ‘The Glade of Light’ have always come from a place of heart-felt respect and deep sympathy. We believe design is about and for people and it is not a fixed thing on a plan, but consists of an ever-changing, living and shifting series of moments.

We envisioned a wild and beautiful garden that embraces you. A treasured place where you feel connected with nature. A grove of Oak, Birch, Hawthorn and Pine, are gathered together around the quiet glade. Inspired by the colours and wild beauty of the nearby Peak District Heathlands, the planting within the sunny glade of grasses, heathers, bulbs and perennials changes throughout the year. It is a soft and green setting within the busy city, a place for people to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Our wish for this garden is that it will encourage everyone to pause and search for stillness.

The Glade of Light: Category Winner [Loop Design Awards Website]

Glade of Light longlisted

Dezeen Awards 2022 | Landscape Project

We are incredibly honoured and excited to see that out Glade of light project has made it onto the Dezeen Awards 2022 landscape project longlist.

From over 5,400 entries from 90 countries to Dezeen Awards this year, the Glade of Light is one of 26 global landscape projects that are in the running to win an award later this year in the architecture categories.

There is a dedicated page for the project on the Dezeen Awards website:
https://www.dezeen.com/awards/2022/longlists/glade-of-light/

What happens next?

The entry is now with their panel of leading industry figures, who will decide which projects will be included on their shortlists and ultimately the winner in each category. Shortlists will be announced from 5 to 9 September, and winners will be revealed in November.

The Dezeen Awards 2022 public vote will also open in September to allow readers to vote for their favourite projects and studios. This is separate from the main Dezeen Awards judging process, in which entries are assessed by our panel of professional judges.

Take me to The Glade of Light Project

Glade of Light Opens

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge joined families at the official opening of the Glade of Light memorial in Manchester today (10th May 2022).

The memorial has been created as a living memorial to those who lost their lives in the 22nd May 2017 terror attack at Manchester Arena. It also honours those who were seriously affected by the attack, as well as civic dignitaries.

The Glade of Light was conceived by BCA Landscape working in partnership with designers Smiling Wolf. Together, working closely with families, they have created a memorial which serves as a space for reflection and remembrance.

Shivani Gunawardana is a landscape architect at BCA Landscape; she said: “It has been an honour to be involved in the Glade of Light, and to help all of those affected by this tragedy as we imagine and realise this special place.

“Our design ideas have always come from a place of heart-felt respect and deep sympathy, with a design that centres around a halo of white marble featuring the names of the 22 victims set in bronze.

“We sincerely hope it becomes a special place where we can all briefly pause time, find a place of stillness and reflect a while.”

The opening event saw The Duke of Cambridge speak at a short ceremony, before he and the Duchess walked around the memorial. Speaking of their attendance Joanne Roney OBE, Chief Executive of Manchester City Council, said: “We are honoured to be joined by their Royal Highnesses for the official opening of the Glade of Light. As we approach the fifth anniversary of the 22 May 2017 attack, the Glade of Light is a potent symbol of how Manchester will continue to hold those who lost their lives, and everyone who was affected by those terrible events, in our hearts. We will never forget them.”  

Council Leader Cllr Bev Craig said: “The Glade of Light memorial is a permanent fixture in the heart of our city. While we remember those affected every single day, as we approach the fifth anniversary it will be particularly poignant as we come together to mark its official opening.” 

Discover the Glade of Light Project here

Princes Avenue wins

Our expert landscape architects can create stunning green visual spaces for all to enjoy and relax.

Princes Avenue wins LCR Culture & Creativity Award for Environmental Sustainability

Liverpool City Region is a thriving place for culture and creativity and the Combined Authority wants to celebrate this.  The winners of the Liverpool City Region Culture and Creativity Awards were unveiled at a recent exciting online event.

Part of the Metro Mayor’s Percent for Culture initiative, the awards were created to recognise the value and power for change that the arts, cultural and creative sector can bring in reinforcing the City Region as one of the most vibrant and exciting places to live, work, study, visit or do business.

Part of the £50 million Better Roads initiative, this 1.1km long x 18m wide linear park repurposes the central verge of a tree lined boulevard with a new community square and extensive community led artworks and new cycle routes.

“I always like to say that the Liverpool City Region is the country’s cultural capital; that creativity is in our DNA and we’ve really seen that on full display during this past year. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, our region has continually responded with imagination, creativity and generosity to keep us all connected and our spirits high.’

Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram

“I’d like to thank everyone in the community who engaged in the design process. We’ve never done a highways scheme in this way before and the creativity of the L8 community shines out throughout the new artwork and public realm. They should all be very proud. They’ve created a stunning gateway into the city. The new cycle path is a great addition to our existing network and we’re now looking to see how it can be better connected to the waterfront, where another new permanent cycle path is being built along The Strand.”

Councillor Sharon Connor, Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet member for highways

Find out more about the project here

Link to the LCR Culture & Creativity Awards 2020…