"When you look around Liverpool more widely, what you notice is that the buildings have this muscular strength and solidity about them. I think that’s a design aesthetic that’s been picked up in Liverpool One. There is a use of stone and granite, it’s not all cheap cladding, it’s the real thing."

One of the aspects of the development which David believes made it work so successfully was the combination of architects whose skills were blended.

There were the big and the famous, he says, working alongside the unknown and local.

Although, he admits, it was a creation by one of those "big and famous" names which has arguably provoked most mixed feelings.

One Park West, designed by Cesar Pelli – the man behind Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpar, once the world’s tallest structure – is not universally adored.

But then, argues David, nothing of stature or importance ever is.

"So many structures that we love now were once controversial," he shrugs. "The Liver Building, for instance, overshadowed its neighbours and the Port Authority wasn’t too happy about that.

"A little controversy isn’t a bad thing and I think what the city council and Grosvenor wanted with One Park West was a landmark building. I don’t know if it works as well as it should, but one of the reasons for that is because of the row with English Heritage which brought it down three or four storeys.

"It was supposed to be a set of buildings with this big anchoring tower on the corner, but what you actually get is a set of buildings which are more or less the same height so it looks bulkier than it should.

"But the proximity of the World Heritage site was always going to be tricky. You’ve not only got precious buildings but precious views of buildings, too. On the master plan, for instance, you had footprints of buildings with bits shaved off to allow you views of the cathedrals.

"So there was a lot of wider thinking going on, not just in terms of how big buildings were and what they were made of, but what you could see when you were standing next to them."

Which means that, while Liverpool One ticked all the boxes for retailers, restaurants and its other live-in residents, those simply passing through weren’t forgotten either.

In fact, insists David, they are probably soaking up the plus sides without even realising.

"Not all architecture has to be ‘look at me’, a lot can be really nice, well composed and just a background against which people can live their lives happily and comfortably.

"If they don’t actually stop to ask themselves why they feel like that, that’s fine. There are some buildings which almost fade into the background. If you walk down towards John Lewis, you’ve got that very strong stone-clad building with the zig-zag on the right, and on the other side you’ve got a building which is brick. It’s not shouting, it’s doing very little and it’s not what you’d say was architecturally distinctive, but the firm who designed it are actually very clever, sensitive, artful people.

"The task they set themselves was to make a building which just forms a good, polite backdrop to people’s lives.

"I think cities need a bit more of that.

"If you go to Dubai, it’s a place which is trying so hard in architectural terms to make a splash and what you get is a freak show.

"One of the reasons for that is each building doesn’t take notice of what’s happening next door. It’s an architectural zoo, but Liverpool One isn’t like that.

"If someone is walking down Paradise Street and just feels that they’re in a brave, buzzing, lively and confident city, but at a sub- conscious level, then great. No- one expects them to walk around and stare in wonder at all the buildings all the time."

LIVERPOOL One – Remaking a City Centre is published by John Wiley & Sons (www.wiley.com)