In Memoriam: Rod Holmes, Architect

It is with sadness that the university learned of the passing of architect and Honorary Fellow Rod Holmes.

Rod spearheaded the creation of Liverpool ONE, empowering and reviving the city centre in the noughties.

The transformational project, which began in 1999 and opened in 2008, delivered 30 new buildings via 26 architects over a 42-acre site. Crucially Liverpool ONE was seen as delivering for local people as well as for investors.

Yorkshireman Rod also chaired the inward investment-focused Mersey Partnership, steering it through to merger with the Liverpool City Region LEP in 2021.

He will be mourned by the Liverpool architecture and business communities alike.

Jamie Scott, Programme Leader of Architecture at LJMU, said Rod was the beating heart of Liverpool ONE. Paying tribute, he said: “It is an incredibly high-quality urban district of some great architecture which binds together the wider city centre, and it is now impossible to imagine Liverpool without it.

“The city owes Rod Holmes a great debt. It is sad to hear of this death.”

Image: Rod Holmes (right) at the Liverpool ONE opening. Credit PNW Photography.