A low carbon energy centre that will provide power and heat for the Knowledge Quarter in Liverpool has been completed. Tony McDonough reports
Contractor Morgan Sindall has delivered a low carbon energy centre and car park in Liverpool’s Knowledge Quarter.
Built in Paddington Village for Liverpool City Council, the facility will provide sustainable power and heating for the fast-growing Knowledge Quarter. Both the energy centre and the car park are located in a single building on the Elm Grove site within Paddington Village Central.
At 30 acres, the £1bn Paddington Village is being developed by Liverpool City Council in three phases: Paddington Central, Paddington South and Paddington North. Already built is The Spine, a 14-storey office building costing £35m.
A new £43m Novotel hotel will open in the next few weeks and the city council is planning to build another office block called HEMISPHERE. A zero carbon scheme costing £35m, it will offer 116,000 sq ft of grade A office space.
Both the 14-storey multi-storey car park and the energy centre were designed by architects at KKA. It comprises 13 levels for parking and the CHP energy centre on the lower ground floor.
It has a capacity of 1,249 vehicles and contains a combination of standard and accessible bays. It also offers 12 electric vehicle recharging bays with capacity to increase this number to 130 in the future.
The building also offers parking for cycles and motorcycles. A management suite has also been incorporated, offering active frontage to the building on Smithdown Road.
Its cladding design is an abstract representation of the nearby Williamson Tunnels. This is an underground network of tunnels created by Joseph Williamson in the early 19th Century.
Kasia Borkowska, director at KKA, said: “It’s been a real privilege for KKA to contribute to Paddington Village through our role on this new car park and energy centre. By incorporating the Williamson Tunnels into our work, we have ensured that the facility will reflect the area’s proud history.”