Work will start in the autumn on the facility which will be located at the main entrance to the complex which already welcomes more than 6m visitors every year. Tony McDonough reports
City planners have given the green light to a new ‘Welcome Pavilion’ at the main entrance to Liverpool’s Albert Dock leisure complex.
Albert Dock is already one of the most popular free visitors attractions in the UK, seeing more than 6m people come through the gates every year. And it wants to enhance that experience by creating the pavilion.
It will be used as a welcome, information and event space, and through multi-media platforms will interpret the history and heritage of the dock for visitors. It will also aim to strengthen links between the city centre and the waterfront.
Taking into account the sensitive around Liverpool’s UNESCO World Heritage status, the facility is “light and transparent, low and horizontal, slender and distinctly modern”.
The scheme will also create a new, multi-use public realm with a strong sense of arrival for visitors to the dock. This will involve the removal of physical barriers and clutter that will open up views of the waterfront, provide public event space and an overall more pedestrian-friendly welcome.
Sue Grindrod, chief executive of Albert Dock Liverpool, said: “Delivering on our vision for a Welcome Pavilion in such an iconic location has pushed us to focus on the future needs of visitors to Albert Dock for years to come.
“We are thrilled that we can now break ground and realise the vision. I’m grateful for the support provided by the teams from Arup, K2 Architects, Planit-IE, Curtins, Steven A Hunt & Associates, Walker Sime, Jenny Douglas, and Rob Burns who have all worked together so brilliantly to deliver the planning.”
Paul Grover, associate director at Arup, said: “When we started out on this project, we were all committed to delivering an award-winning project and I think we have remained true to that vision.
“The Welcome Pavilion will be a new icon on the waterfront. It will be a key linkage to bring people out from Liverpool ONE, down to the waterfront and linking back into Albert Dock to peek inside those incredible pavilions beyond.”
The Welcome Pavilion forms the first part of a masterplan developed by landscape architects, Planit-IE, for the future development of the iconic Liverpool site.
Work will begin in autumn 2018 with completion expected summer 2019.