The scheme for Davos Property Developments and Beetham Davos will form the centrepiece of its £1 billion Kings development, formerly known as the King Edward Triangle, which is one of the five neighbourhoods in the wider £5 billion Liverpool Waters regeneration project.
The tower, north of the city’s famous Pier Head, will contain 212 hotel bedrooms and 563 flats, and will mark SimpsonHaugh’s high-rise debut in the city.
A previous attempt, 20 years ago, by the skyscraper specialist to build a 51-storey block south of the city centre at Brunswick Quay was rejected by then communities minister Ruth Kelly, even though the planning inspector had recommended the scheme.
SimpsonHaugh’s latest proposal was revealed this week at the MIPIM international property trade fair in Cannes. The announcement comes just weeks after Brock Carmichael won approval from Liverpool City Council for the Kings development’s first tower: a terracotta 28-storey residential block named No 1 Kings.
The application for the plot next to the Princess Dock at the northern end of the neighbourhood was voted through by a six-to-two majority in a planning committee on 17 February, despite some councillors objecting to the size and height of the 255-home tower.
SimpsonHaugh’s 70-storey tower will be significantly taller than Liverpool’s current highest building: Aedas’s 40-storey West Tower, which was built for Beetham in 2007.
Commenting on the ‘reveal’ of the designs, Beetham Davos chairman Hugh Frost said: ‘This will be the scheme’s signature building, and is the ultimate expression of our confidence in Liverpool and the council’s backing for our ambition.’
The hotel will occupy the first 23 floors of the building while the rest will be given over to ‘luxury residences’ as well as bars, restaurants, gymnasiums, banqueting facilities and a rooftop terrace.
In total, the building will provide 86,000m² of space, making it the second largest building by floor space in Liverpool, after the city’s famous Tobacco Warehouse.
SimpsonHaugh founding partner Ian Simpson said the design drew on the naval engineering and industrial link to Liverpool’s dominant maritime trade, with the façade referencing ‘the birthplace of skyscrapers’: Peter Ellis’s 1864 Oriel Chambers in the city, the world’s first metal-framed, glazed curtain-walled building.
‘This is a landmark intervention for Britain’s most dramatic waterfront skyline,’ he added. ‘It is rooted in the city’s architectural vernacular and its maritime history but offers a very contemporary expression of both.
‘The tower’s setting optimises the high-quality public realm around it, whilst the soft corners maximise the panoramic views in every direction.
‘I wanted to deliver a building that not only sat well with its neighbours, but also reflects the ambition of the city.’
The tower is one of 10 buildings anticipated in the emerging masterplan for the site, drawn up by Brock Carmichael, which will go out to public consultation later this spring, before an expected planning submission in late summer.
The hybrid application will seek detailed consent for layout and site services and outline consent for each building plot and will include residential towers, two hotels, offices, a new arts venue, shared workspace for start-ups and tech businesses and a range of food and beverage outlets.
As well as Brock Carmichael, the masterplan is being worked on by planning expert Pegasus Group while Planit is leading on the public realm design.
SimpsonHaugh’s proposed 70-storey hotel/housing tower will become the centrepiece of the £1 billion Kings project on the Liverpool waterfront.
Project data
Location Liverpool, Kings neighbourhood
Local authority Liverpool City Council
Type of project Hotel and branded residential
Client Davos Property Developments and Beetham Davos
Architect SimpsonHaugh
Masterplan architect Brock Carmichael
Landscape architect Planit
Planning consultant Pegasus
Engineering consultant WSP