Beetham, KEIE provide fresh view of £1bn Liverpool skyscraper district

Liverpool soon to be the most impressive waterfront in Europe. This is the kind of ambition that’s needed.

Looking forward to seeing the details as each tower wends its way through the planning system. Meantime, loving the ambition. Get. It. Built.

Manchester by the Sea

Excellent, please ensure texture and style variation is in the approach, whilst deansgate towers in MCR are impressive in size, it all gets a bit lost in a mesh of repetition.

Get it built!!!

This looks fantastic, good massing and the height is right. Lets hope this gets pushed through planning asap and show Liverpool is a pro development forward thinking city again.

Will these be home bargains ? Looks great and ambitious.

Love it. Great massing, intention to use a variety of materials and colours to create vatiety. Will contain at least the 3 tallest buildings in the city, as well as much needed homes for rent and sale. It is backed by one of tj e richest people in the country alongside one odlf the pioneers of modern British highrise Developments, it improves the aesthetics of the waterfront, and will bridge the gap between the commercial district and Prince’s dock. What’s not to love.!?! Really looking forward to see what they propose/gets built on the narrowest section facing upbthe strand. Ideal place for a piece of heroic and iconic architecture, and great to see what appears from the renders to be planned as quite tall. Would love something flatiron shaped…

Brilliant news and finally some ambition that city and waterfront deserves. My only issue is will Liverpool city council carry the same ambitions. They have held this city back so much.

Top marks for using a LCR based architects. Now follow that up with other consultants in the LCR that will create new jobs.

They must think we were born yesterday
– no planning permission for any of this
– current plans contrary to council policies/SPD area
– current plans obliterate heritage assets when they don’t need to, lots of space to build around them
– we’re all old enough to have lived through 100 different CGI generations of Liverpool Waters to know they are all fantasy and will never happen.

Surely that will deliver more than 1200 homes? Whatever, it looks a real statement of intent and will seriously boost the city centre population and bring more activity over that side.
Just need some quality office space and a few thousand quality jobs.

On what planet are these generic buildings of “international significance”? They don’t even appear of north west England significance! Can we not get some internationally significant architects?

The best, and most ambitious, vision of that area I’ve seen in years. Undoubtedly the Council will ensure it comes nowhere near this.

Looks very promising and a great addition to the Liverpool Waterfront.

Oh look, another week another King Edward Triangle picture. How much are they paying these PR consultants?

Looking more and more like New York

I’m sorry but that is such a poor concept, extremely generic

Ooh, a fresh CGI. Just what we need. I was getting bored of the old CGI. Also some new buildings.Can we have some of those? Asking for a friend.

Fantastic to see this level of ambition in Liverpool. Get them built!

This looks great, get it done.

Looks great and will complement the classic buildings further down river and there’s even the magnificent cathedrals higher up overlooking it all.

The one thing Liverpool seems to have got right where almost all other British cities haven’t is a focused tall building zone. We’ve often decided Liverpool on these pages with regard to it’s planning dept and lack of vision but the emerging cluster they’ve managed to put together so far and these up coming much higher skyscrapers are setting it apart from the rest. It adds dynamism to the waterfront, modernising the whole city without compromising it’s already iconic waterfront skyline….

@ Nonnster, did you read the article,as it states the developers/architects are having constructive discussions with the council planners, in addition you don’t get planning permission till you’ve submitted an application along with relevant documents etc.
As regards heritage is there any round there or do you mean blocking views of the cathedrals from a bed sit in Wallasey.
It seems that in your enthusiasm to be negative you might have overlooked that this is a local businessman who has made good and wants to invest in his home city so it can compete with others and entice people to live and work here.

The people saying it looks great can’t have seen how other cities do it.

This CGI is their best case – generic buildings by midrange architects somewhat aping Manchester. The designs will get downgraded bit by bit over time due to developer demands and profit maximisation, once they’ve roped you all in.

If we want a world class waterfront we need to raise our ambitions and get top class architects and serious developers in.

Can we get a decent international architect involved?

I just hope that LCC wake up and share the aims and ambitions and belief that KEIE and Beetham clearly have in and for the area and just give as much backing to these proposals as they can so that spades can be put in the ground quickly rather than the proposals being just filed away and forgotten. The developers have a really good track record in getting things done and making things happen so let’s just get the development built….it looks great and hopefully where Beetham and KEIE lead others will follow. I live in hope rather than expectation!!!

Waterfront clusters are the best. A skyline rising from water always looks stunning. Liverpool is already such a beautiful city and this area next to the central core will certainly add to it

This is literally the first CGI of this project…

Strongly welcome this. As a waterfront city, Liverpool should be embracing high-rises which will surely improve its image as a city for people and investors alike as we’ve seen in Manchester

Beautiful

I’ve watched and waited for 20 yrs now, seen the drawings heard it all before. Still watching still waiting. People new to this get excited by pictures but for the love of god will someone in Liverpool please throw a spade in the ground now and again. It may be generic but at least it’s something.

Wow! Liverpool invented the sky scraper but I hope to see more affordable bungalow’s for the elderly

@ 09:43 comment and all the other developers posting on sock puppet accounts. The heritage buildings are the Victorian dock warehouses, which personally I’d rather see incorporated into the designs like they have done in this city before, and do in other cities like Manchester and London. Don’t worry, you can still make lots of money, local businessman done good 😉

Hi Mary 10.41am, so your cluster of bungalows , we could call them ground scrapers.

Finally we might get this done as we have a council and planning department that now realises builders can’t and shouldn’t be forced to provide affordable housing.

‘…released initial sketches of how the redevelopment of the eight-acre site site on Liverpool’s waterfront could look.‘ We’re exited by how initial sketches could look now? How starved we’ve been. Let’s hope a second set of sketches will be along soon.

I am pleased to see this project brought forward and I would implore the developers to ensure that the main crowns of the building are illuminated at night adding to the attractiveness of the nighttime skyline.

People do get very exercised by a few towers both for and against .These are difficult to cost in these days for developers and you have to have a willing council. However, having a designated area away from historic buildings is the way forward with the council at least…maybe. A business case for anything tall may be difficult to justify these days in Liverpool but you never know. Something taller 30 storeys would be nice here so hopefully something may come of this.

That looks really well as a grouping of buildings, fair play.
Whether it makes it through the height reduction committee and whether it’s actually viable are different matters.
The ambition is good though.

Steve Burnham. I am with you on this. I can double up on the time you have waited. With every proposal over the years I think maybe, just maybe something will happen. Alas time and again the seeds of growth fall on stoney ground. Yet again I look at this proposal with excitement and hope that it will come to fruition. However you would think at 62 I would have learnt many valuable lessons. It really is disappointing that Liverpool is so far behind Manchester.

Until rents / sales values can underpin a development appraisal for a 50 story tower this is still a pipe dream.

Manchester can sustain those rents / values as it has the jobs and the economy to support them.

Sure the Planners can screw the ambition up (as in any city) but there are stark commercial realities to be confronted in Liverpool. The city needs an economy that can underpin the scale of the ambition set out. A build it and they will come will not get past first post!

A welcomed addition however design is a little uninspiring. Go to Sydney and Melbourne. there you’ll find architecture with personality, energy and spirit. Get the green light then go bold.

Great to see the ambition and confidence.
So many Liverpool people and businesses working together too!!
Totally inspiring for the next generation, the students and investors to see that Liverpool can set this level of ambition for the future.
Awesome! Make it happen!

We don’t ever want to look like Manchester! we are Liverpool !!!

Looks awesome

Please push this development through ASAP ,before the backward thinking city planners get the chance to disect the plans because they can do. Typically they will reduce heights and designs of tall buildings ,diminishing the excellent impact it would have had on the city’s progressive skyline. Yet again stifling the ambition and progress of the city unlike neighboring city Manchester.

The developers need to get their planning applications in asap in order to expose any opposition/delays from the city planners, and if this is forthcoming to appeal to the Secretary of State, as Liverpool needs to stop turning away serious investors.

It looks fantastic, but sadly I have no faith in Liverpool City Council when they interfere, They break everything the touch.

While this is adjacent to Liverpool Waters, it isn’t part of Liverpool Waters.

Liverpool Waters development and their various long standing statements is by Manchester’s Peel company.

I’m a Manc, and I’m sorry to see Liverpool beating us again, by avoiding the architects that have made such a dreadful mess of our fine city: SimpsonHaugh.

We all know the reality, or at least most of us do. Something will be built here but not one snowball’s chance will it be anything like this. I love a good story too but wishful CGI’s do not a business case make.

If this goes ahead it would be a real boost. Need more transport options too.

Really hope highways and traffic management studies are made prior to this..all the docklands development currently has no infastructure to it and building all this density requires parking and access…its gridlocked at the moment.

Get it built cause work in the building game on sites is about as quiet as a library at the moment in Liverpool

@9:45 am Anonymous – Oh yes, those international architects that have no offices in Liverpool, that don’t employ local people, that don’t put money back into the economy. There’s far too much of that happening already, especially on public funded projects. The talent exists locally to deliver these schemes so let them.

This Skyscraper district Will change the Liverpool skyline and waterfront (if we keep going like this Liverpool will be a world-class city)It Should have a observation area on the last floor this building will start a skyscraper boom in the heart of Liverpool fingers cross if it gets approved This development is Extraordinary Get It build (Its also good to see LCC is waking up to save the city of liverpool)And as a person who like Manchester development I like to see this get approved in Liverpool but the waterfront gives me lower Manhattan vibes GET IT BUILT!!! Well done to all involved.

Actually we do want to look a bit like Manchester. A few decent towers in the right zone would be awesome. Five words though..breath, holding not , I’m , my.

@ George Follyhurst I’m not sure what your point is. You either accept mediocrity and get some local architects in to do it, or you raise the bar by getting internationally renowned architects in. And by internationally renowned, that narrows it down to firms from London, Europe or further afield for those under to wrong impression that Manchester looks nice.

The developers have paid £1.5m to lift a covenant on building heights on the land, so let’s hope it doesn’t get watered down.

Anyone who has been around in the property game for more than five minutes knows there isn’t going to be A skyscraper district in Liverpool now or this side of the 12th of never. It’s as if some people were born yesterday. Deary me!

George Follyhurst’s point is ‘The talent exists locally to deliver these schemes so let them’ Happy to help clear that up.

Talent exists only to deliver reality ie actual skyscrapers. They’ll stay in London or Manchester where the work is though, Stands to reason.

Norman – wrong. His point was that the local talent should be allowed to develop mediocrity and Liverpool shouldn’t aim higher.

Shame they don’t own the site. It’s multiple owned by different long leaseholders!

Peace and love. Let’s hope Hughie Beetham takes his advice on architects from people who can spell mediocrity. Peace and love.

Mediocrity is actually being kind. The bar for the carbuncle award is below mediocrity…

Love it

It could have been achieved 20 years ago when Hargreaves (Matalan) proposed a 50 story down the South end. If only, the then council had the vision of today, instead of “ over my dead body “!
Looks amazing, and feels amazing to join the 21st century.
Good luck