AN ARCHITECTURAL WALKING TOUR OF LIVERPOOL

Mann Island is the most contemporary piece of architecture included in this architectural walking tour, the collection of buildings on the site today were designed by Broadway Malyan Architects.  The architects were commissioned for the project in 2005 by the joint venture clients, Neptune Developments and Countryside Properties, the site for the project became available after the collapse of Will Alsop’s ‘Fourth Grace’  Project.  The aim was to create a mixed use development inclusive of commercial, residential, retail and leisure elements.1 

The project was completed in 2014 with a total construction cost of £93m.2 In 2015 the building won the RIBA Northwest Award, praised for its courageous achievement and decision not to compete with the ‘Three Graces’, instead they add to the famous waterfront:

“The angular form and disposition of these abstract shiny black buildings while being likened to ‘rocks which have fallen from the sky' are well-mannered and completely in scale additions to an iconic skyline.” 3

Bayley of the RIBA published Liverpool: Shaping the City explains the design process: 

“The Mann Island scheme does not aim to continue the composition of the ‘Three Graces’, which sit over the former George’s Dock - instead, its composition reflects the ‘hinge point’ in the urban grain.  The geometry of its two residential ‘wedges’ relates to Mann Island and the Graving Docks, whilst the third, linear, commercial building relates to the geometry of The Strand and the city grid beyond.” 4

Initially the site was called Mersey Island, surrounded by docks it was an island until 1899 when George’s Dock was filled in (which formed the foundations of the ‘Three Graces’).  A gentleman lived on Mersey Island called John Mann he was an oil-stone dealer, when he died 1784 Mersey Island became known as it is today, Mann Island.  Which also influenced the architects Broadway Malyan to name the new building Mann Island.5 

The buildings are constructed of steel frame, glass and most significantly polished back granite. The polished material produces reflections of the surrounding buildings [1], “sometimes it is so clear it could be a photograph”. 6 Bayley describes:

“The flush, polished granite-and-glass facades are intended to reflect the texture of the surrounding World Heritage Site, creating a changing appearance as visitors move through and around the buildings.” 7

The material selection was paramount to the success of the scheme as archdaily.com explain:

“the polished granite, which was painstakingly researched in order to minimise the mineral inclusions within the material, thereby maximising its reflective sensitivity to the rapidly changing light and weather conditions of the dock environment.” 8

Another design decision influenced by the reflections on the residential ‘wedges’ is that the windows can only open inwards, meaning that the line of the facade is not disrupted.9 [2]

Internally, each of the residential buildings feature a winter garden atria [3], all of the apartments are dual-aspect and will benefit from natural cross ventilation provided by the stack effect which in turn is created by the atria. The north-facing apartments also receive south-facing sunlight benefits because of the dual aspect and the angle of the sloping roof.10 Another influence relating to the shape of the buildings is the views and vistas it allows, the architects explain:

  “The two residential buildings form large trapezoidal wedges on the dock edge whilst the commercial building is orthogonal in order to reinforce the Strand’s streetline. The overlapping roofscapes of the residential blocks are designed to frame key views through to the ‘Three Graces’ whilst their apexes terminate vistas from the city centre and Chavasse Park.” 11

This is further supported by Bayley discussing the historic aspect behind the views:

“The view of the Pier Head group of buildings from the south has been changed as the Mann Island scheme takes shape, and the composition of the buildings across the site provides glimpses of the towers and domes beyond rather than unobstructed views.  In this respect, the scheme reflects pre-war views, with large, brick warehouses on the Mann Island site that also provided glimpsed view rather than the wide vistas to the Pier Head.”12