The building
The museum's window became a cinema screen for the On the Waterfront events in Septemebr 2009 © Pete Carr
All stages of the Museum of Liverpool project, from design to construction and fit-out, use cutting edge developments in materials and processes, and are on a large scale.
National Museums Liverpool developed the design concept for the building with Danish architect 3XN. Manchester-based architect AEW were later commissioned to deliver the detailed design.
The museum is based on a striking geometrical design and is clad in natural Jura stone. Beneath the surface is a complex steel frame which contains 2,100 tonnes of structural steel.
The steel structure allows the museum's largest exhibition spaces, which are 40 metres long by 28 metres wide, to be column free, ensuring that the galleries and public spaces are maximised.
Some construction facts:
- 20,000 cubic metres of soil - equivalent to eight Olympic swimming pools - have been excavated from the site.
- The museum's frame is constructed with 2,100 tonnes of steel - equivalent to 270 double decker buses.
- 5,700 square metres of natural Jura stone is being used to clad the museum, which if laid out flat would cover a football pitch.
- 1,500 square metres of glazing will be used, mainly in two large picture windows, one at each end of the building. The windows are 8 metres high by 28 metres wide, and offer striking views of the Pier Head and the River Mersey.
- A spectacular atrium, containing a unique elliptical staircase, will be lit by natural light from a skylight in the centre of the building.
A view of the museum construction site from a crane on the adjacent site, January 2009
- The total surface area of the museum's floor space is 10,000 square metres and the surface area of the roof is 3,700 square metres.
- 7,500 cubic metres of concrete and 20 tonnes of bolts have been used to build the museum.
- The building footprint occupies an area 110 metres long by 60 metres wide and at its tallest point it is 26 metres high. That makes it longer than the pitches at either Anfield or Goodison Park, more than twice as wide as the Titanic, and as tall as five Liver Building Liver birds placed end to end.
- The museum is striving for strong environmental credentials. It will feature a rainwater harvesting system and will be powered by an energy centre with a CHP (Combined Heat and Power) plant.
