Bootle Green Space Masterplan by Jessica Tillman

Jessica Tillman’s Bootle green space masterplan responds to two linked problems: lack of accessible green space and the loneliness that can follow when public life has too few places to happen.

The project is useful because it turns a broad social issue into an urban design question. Where do people meet, pause, move, sit and feel part of a neighbourhood?

Watch: Architecture Social video

This Architecture Social video adds useful context before the practical guidance below.

A masterplan about connection

The body image gives a clearer sense of the urban structure behind the thesis and avoids repeating the page’s main thumbnail.

What the brief is trying to solve

Jessica graduated from the University of Liverpool with a 2:1. Her final design thesis focused on a new masterplan development in Bootle, responding to a lack of green space and the social isolation that can sit around it.

• The project starts from a real community issue rather than an abstract form-making exercise.
• Green space is treated as social infrastructure.
• The masterplan needs to support movement, meeting and everyday public use.
• CAD modelling and Photoshop rendering help communicate the spatial proposal.
• The strongest portfolio angle is the link between urban design and human connection.

Portfolio lesson

A masterplan project can become vague if it only talks about strategy. Jessica’s idea is strongest when it shows specific spaces where people can spend time, meet others and feel less isolated.

Architecture Social view

Stephen’s recruiter view is that early-career portfolios stand out when the social aim is visible in the drawings. If the project is about loneliness, the plan should show how people come together.

Next step

Browse more project showcases, read the portfolio guide, or submit your own architecture project.