'Bigness' Reimagined: How crowds and events shape the architecture of the city Part 2 Project 2025 Aaron Griffin-KeoghKai GreenRhys Bennett University of Liverpool | UK This project proposes that urban revitalisation relies not only on physical architecture, but on recognising the Crowd as an active architectural force. It reframes the Crowd as both user and producer of space, exploring how responsive socio- spatial interventions can reanimate the city centre by engaging with collective behaviours, rituals and temporal rhythms that harness the city’s urban “pulse.”Liverpool ONE, completed by Grosvenor in 2008 epitomises “Bigness” through three interconnected elements: the Crowd, the Event, and the Built Environment which expands on Rem Koolhaas’ essay from the 1990s. As one of the UK’s last retail-led masterplans, it has been deemed an economic success. Yet, through research- by-design, this project reveals its inherent spatial and social shortcomings, particularly the alienation and exclusion of local communities.The intervention is sited on the edge of Liverpool ONE at the former Merseyside Police Headquarters on Canning Place. The project aims to reclaim this territory through architecture that facilitates civic intensity, cultural expression, and urban diversity. By working in dialogue with Liverpool ONE rather than in opposition, the proposal envisions a richer, more inclusive city where architecture and the Crowd co-produce the urban experience. Tutor(s)