Build to Rent News spoke with Rebecca Kelly, Creative Director, about Milliners Yard, a design-led residential development in Liverpool’s Fabric District.
Delivered in partnership with Home Group, UK Land and Property LLP, and backed by Columbia Threadneedle Investments, the 11-storey scheme will offer 258 Build to Rent apartments and help shape the city’s ongoing regeneration.
For Rebecca, the project was deeply personal. “Growing up in the Northwest, I often visited Liverpool with my Nan, exploring department stores like TJ Hughes. I vividly remember the bold red signage and the distinctive egg-crate ceilings,” she recalled. These early impressions left a lasting mark and directly influenced the design of Milliners Yard. Subtle references to grids and textures inspired by those childhood visits are woven throughout the ground-floor amenity and circulation spaces, creating a tactile link between memory, place, and design.
The development’s amenity spaces are designed to support a variety of everyday activities, from socialising and working to quiet reflection. A central coffee bar, lounge zones, quiet pods, and sculptural lighting are balanced with a refined monochromatic palette, layering texture and materiality to create a contemporary yet inviting environment.
Rebecca explained that the design aimed to make residents feel connected to the building, to each other, and to the city itself. “We wanted to create spaces that feel intuitive, joyful, and alive,” she said. By integrating personal memory with thoughtful design, Milliners Yard demonstrates how Build to Rent schemes can deliver both functionality and a lasting, meaningful experience in city-centre living.
Read the full article in BTR News