What does everyone think now that the wrapping is off????

http://onfinite.com/libraries/538935/496.jpg

http://onfinite.com/libraries/538936/cd2.jpg

Thanks for the pics Yuppie. I quite like it. It is lucky they used so much glass as I think this is a redeeming feature. It's smart enough, and quite big too. Hopefully it will weather well.

I like

I like the glass and the colour of the tiles, but I do wish architects would`nt make a feature of the fully glazed corner which only highlights a fire escape stairway. Other than that its about right for height and uses the full extent of the site of what was a odd shaped footprint to the maximum.

It looks great, your 1st shot contrasts the two styles brilliantly, has a continental feel to it. Were just so lucky that they kept the front of Exchange Station. :cheers:

I do like this building and I think it is a great addition to the streetscape. I accept Woody's point that the corner glazing just emphasises the stairs but it does add interest to the whole facade and harmonises with the glazed upper storeys and the glazed projections above the centre of the block.

I'm interested to see how this building works at ground level and whether or not it will have active street fronts to improve the environment of Tithebarn Street.

One of the biggest mistakes that I think was made in this part of the city was to build Derby and Walker House so tall back in the 40s. This means that there is a twelve storey wall of buildings on the south side that keeps the street in darkness most of the time. City Square, with its six storeys and set back upper floors doesn't repeat this mistake and yet is tall enough to harmonise with the adjacent buildings.

I quite like it when stairs are highlighted in this fashion myself.
It creates a interesting image when you can see the internal structures of a building actually being used with people moving about inside on them.
For the same reason I like glass elavators as well.

West Africa House on Water St (or another nearby block, not quite sure) has the same thing around the back. I remember it being used in a national tv advert a couple of years ago.

I work off Pall Mall so I've been watching that thing grow and grow. It was quite odd seeing Batman in the corner of my eye for a week last year.

I'm still not convinced on the colour. I hadn't thought of the continental look. I suppose at the moment it still looks very new and clean. Doesn't have that sense of weathering that the surrounding buildings have.

Does anybody know what's planned for the ground floor?

Terra Cotta is a very durable material and was used on many Victorian buildings. So I wouldn't have any great worries about the building deteriorating too rapidly. Used on City Square, it looks really good. I doubt that limestone or any other white material would have the same effect.

It's wouldn't be my colour of choice but I thin it looks alright. The glass seems to domitate in that picture, though that's probably because the shot is angled towards the staircase.

I quite like it when stairs are highlighted in this fashion myself.
It creates a interesting image when you can see the internal structures of a building actually being used with people moving about inside on them.
For the same reason I like glass elavators as well..

Now you are talking, glass elavator or escalators would look brilliant in that corner but not a fire escape . This building together with Churchill House re-vamp will certainly improve this part of Tithebarn St.

Are we sure it is a fire escape? That isn't a very tall building.
I can actually imagine those stairs being used quite a bit.

The terra cotta colour is perfect, (its not red ) and compliments the old Exchange Station facade just across the road.

Are we sure it is a fire escape? That isn't a very tall building.
I can actually imagine those stairs being used quite a bit.

I am sure that those stairs will be used for every day use, but they would almost certainly be classified as a "means of escape" in the event of fire.
All public buildings must have clearly signed and protected MoE routes, these routes are fire rated for at least one hour, to protect occupants evacuating a building and also to protect firemen entering a building.

Its ok, but some thing taller would of been better, like the plans for the carpark behind the old station, again these should be taller and should develope a cluster of towers to really show off the business quarter

What does everyone think now that the wrapping is off????

http://onfinite.com/libraries/538935/496.jpg

http://onfinite.com/libraries/538936/cd2.jpg
i think it looks great, its an improved version of the type of office buildings built at princes dock, only moved into the heart of the city, will help make liverpool feel like a more thriving and vibrant place, and showing liverpool can match the standards of office buildings set by london and manchester

Liverpool now has its own Arndale.. Vile colour of tiles :S but er... not a bad building

Dunno if anybody's been round there in the evenings recently. I think it's new.

THey've got blue strip lamps in the stair wells. Looks quite nice.

Excellent. The orange bits aren't perfect, but the glass more than makes up for it. :cheers:

It looks great in the photos but I must admit I thought it looked smaller when I walked past it last March than it appears on here.

Looks like a big elastoplast has been wrapped around the building.
Shite IMHO.

They've used the same, cheap Weetabix cladding on the HSE building currently going up in Bootle. Replace it with copper I say!

Took a look at it yesterday. What I like is the strongly symmetrical design of the Tithebarn St frontage. This complements Exchange Station well while nevertheless being entirely modern.

I like it: it's an example of what there should be more of in the city - not just huge iconic buildings like West Tower and Brunswick, but smaller, well made and put together regular office developments.

It does now show up Moorfields station though. Approaching it from Dale Street I couldn't help but contrast its bright facade with the decrepit 70s buildings. Things will get even worse if and when they ever build on Yates'. What would be ideal would be if they demolished the existing building and built a new station into the ground floor of a new office complex.

It looks horrible.

Some photos of City Square today:

I think this is a great development. Only six mikes but has the scale to fit in with the Tithebarn Street streetscape.

View from Vernon Street:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v421/Martin_S/City%20Square/2708051MS.jpg

View from east end of Tithebarn Street:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v421/Martin_S/City%20Square/2708052MS.jpg

View from west end of Tithebarn Street:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v421/Martin_S/City%20Square/2708053MS.jpg

General view down the street showing some of the neighbouring buildings:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v421/Martin_S/City%20Square/2708054MS-1.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v421/Martin_S/City%20Square/2708054MS-2.jpg

Martin, great pics that new camera is working a treat!!

Nice work Martin, I remember you once said "taking pics of roadworks is not very interesting" well I am pleased you changed your mind :okay:
Oh and yes I like City Sq. still not sure about those corner stairs :ohno:

Itch me build me.

Nice work Martin, I remember you once said "taking pics of roadworks is not very interesting" well I am pleased you changed your mind :okay:
Oh and yes I like City Sq. still not sure about those corner stairs :ohno:

When I get the hang of Photoshop I am going to air-brush out all those roadworks. Notice how I got rid of an inconvenient lighting column in that last pic.

When I get the hang of Photoshop I am going to air-brush out all those roadworks. Notice how I got rid of an inconvenient lighting column in that last pic.

Very clever, and these me thinking that the "corpy" cann`t paint double yellow lines straight :)

Has anyone else noticed the two other new building developments that have the same terracotta panneling as used above. One is the "Prince of Wales Pub" development up London road, and the other is a building next to the "Fact Centre" in the Rope Walks.

Don't forget the HSE building in Bootle. :)

I dunno what you're all whinging about. Personally, I love it :yes:
It will look even better in the summer :cool:

It's still horrible. Let's start a public fund to re-clad. If it's no good from day one, God knows what people will think of it in 5 years time. Sometimes in life there are horrible and unpredictable combinations of people and decisions that lead to mistakes - in this case a number of people with poor taste have got together and agreed with one another and the result is predictably awful. This looks like everyone involved - developers, architects, planners - were from the B team. What a graceless and crass development, and what a pity.

You only have to compare it with its neighbours to see how pedestrian it is but this is true of modern buildings in most business districts. Next time you are in London, take a bus from Bank tube station to Liverpool Street station to judge the quality of modern buildings juxtapositioned next to older ones- for the most part they are every bit as ordinary as the one above. That's the nature of a living city: the shite juxtapositioned next to the sublime!

Some lovely old buildings on Martin's pics. City Square has grown on me. A very fresh and crisp addition to the cityscape. I think the glass is the redeeming feature. The tiles aren't bad- hopefully they will have been designed to endure weathering well. They could probably be replaced easily enough in the future- I think a stainless steel type facade could've been good- or the stuff used on the FACT centre. But those yellow ones probably make the building fit in better contextually.

Here's another recent one... I hadn't noticed the grey bit on the right before now.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y187/rob*******1/DSCF1159.jpg

Its not bad and not very offensive, but the phrase 'could do better' springs to mind and business park

I like City Sq. Cant wait 4 it 2 actually open. Tithebarn st is one of the quietest streets in the city. Can't help thinking that a couple of student bars in this area would go down a storm and wouldnt really struggle when the students had gone home. Would certainly liven the place up and give the thousands of students there a place 2 drink!

No Student bars please Ste! That'd kill the likes of the Lion, and I like the Lion. City Square it effective in what it does. It is better than the car park it replaced, and much more useful (except for car parking purposes). Hopefully it'll become like many London buildings, and be replaced every 10-20 years to keep up with demand for bang-up-to-date office space, preserving the older offices and pubs for histories (and CAMRA's) sake. :)

I agree too with bunnyman, but im no Drinker or so they think hahaha

http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/4959/citysquare11dl.jpg

http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/6081/citysquare20mq.jpg

Lookin good :cool: Its gonna look even better when the construction workers and the tarmaccers remove their crap :D

Thanks for all these pics red. Looks like you've been busy!

City Square is a good development and its a decent size, but the cladding is awful. It does nothing for me at all. I know its supposed to blend in, but a lighter colour (white, grey) would have done the job and looked a bit smarter.

I like City Square. The cladding is alrite, not sure what would be the best choice though.

Still some pictures to come Steve, check back later :)

will you be putting up pics of Baltic Triangle or Unity

will you be putting up pics of Baltic Triangle or Unity

Both :cheers:

City Sq looks cool, really grown on me. As far as I'm concered, the cladding looks quite unique and brightens the place up. Grey would have been so dull. The only better alternatives would've been metallic looking tiles (-bu that might've been a bit clinical looking) or all glass.

This is a good addition though. Aren't the tiles supposed to reflect Exchange Stn or something?

Nice photos. Looking good.

Saw it for first time yesterday, it looks fine to me - I take back all my unkind words. No disrespect to the art of photography, but the tiles are not that bad a colour in reality, and it does fit in well enough with its surrounds. I quite like it.

For some strange reason I like the building myself. Stunted, ugly terracotta, kitsch refeerences aside... it's all very strange how I find it attractive, but I do!

I think it's the impact it's had at street level Sebo, at least it is for me. All of a sudden Tithebarn Street has become downtown. It's no monster but it's still a brute that interacts with the city (even at this stage), roll on the development of Moorfields.

Spot on toadboy. it was the same with the atrium that refocused the RSA/Echo complex from being one of those inside out complexes that explicitly 'turned it's back on the street' into a complex that purposely 'celebrated the sidewalk' as all good downtown buildings should.

it shows that not every building downtown has to be a skyscraper.... I think our main concern is that the very few tallish buildings Liuverpool has a chance of getting are being killed off for the most lunatic of 'reasons'!

I've updated the Construction Photo Gallery to include these latest pics. Just click on the link below.