West Tower is a 40-storey tall skyscraper in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is the tallest building in Liverpool. The building was the second tower to be built by Carillion in Liverpool for property developers Beetham, who now use the building as their headquarters.

Description

With an architectural height of and 40 floors, West Tower is the tallest building in Liverpool. Nationwide, it is ranked at joint 38th tallest in the United Kingdom but is the tallest in the country outside of Greater London and

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...

. The building commands views across the city, over the Mersey to the Wirral and as far as Blackpool on a clear day. The first five floors are the new headquarters for the

Beetham Organization The Beetham Organisation is a privately owned property development and investment company based in Liverpool, UK. It was founded by Hugh Frost as Oastdren Investments in 1985. Its primary focus is city-centre real estate, specialising in hotel, ...

and the remaining floors, apart from the 34th, have been divided into luxury apartments and penthouses. However, unlike St. John's Beacon, West Tower has no antennas on the roof. Therefore, when considering height excluding antennas, West Tower is the highest building in Liverpool. The five floors of Beetham's offices are set back between concrete columns and are fully glazed. A glazed lift and stair serving the office are accommodated between raking fins with views to the river. The 127 apartments are clad in a fully glazed perimeter curtain wall of random clear and opaque panels and are orientated to provide views of both the city and river. The upper penthouse floors are tiered back to incorporate external terraces behind glazed balustrade screens. The 34th floor is home to Liverpool's highest restaurant, Panoramic. This floor is completely clad in a clear glass perimeter offering diners views of the city of Liverpool and further afield.

Awards

At the 4th Liverpool Daily Post Regional Property Awards in association with RBS, Beetham West Tower won

Aedas Aedas is an architectural firm with eleven International offices founded by the Welsh architect Keith Griffiths. Aedas provides services in architecture, interior design, urban design, masterplanning and graphic design. It was established in 2002 ...

the best Mixed Use Development prize. This prize was awarded for best use of land which would normally have stood barren; creation of an "iconic" building; and best use of limited space.

Administration

In February 2011, the West Tower went into

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, admini ...

after the parent companies were hit by falling property prices. Out of the 123 apartments, 106 had been purchased as

buy to let Buy-to-let is a British phrase referring to the purchase of a property specifically to let out, that is to rent it out. A ''buy-to-let'' mortgage is a mortgage loan specifically designed for this purpose. Buy-to-let properties are usually residen ...

investments, while 17 were owner-occupied or unsold.Liverpool's tallest building the West Tower placed into administration
- Liverpool Daily Post, 3 Feb 2011

Gallery

File:Westtowerlpool.jpg, West Tower viewed from

Seacombe Seacombe () is a district of the town of Wallasey, on the Wirral Peninsula, England. Administratively, Seacombe is a ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside. Before local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974, it was pa ...

File:West Tower from ground level.jpg, West Tower viewed from ground level File:West Tower, Liverpool - geograph.org.uk - 697834.jpg, West Tower viewed from ground level File:West tower construction.jpg, West Tower under construction in May, 2007 File:West Tower Night.jpg, West Tower at night File:Bar Lounge Area.jpg, The 34th floor restaurant 'Panoramic' File:West Tower, Liverpool May 23 2010 005.jpg, West Tower along with the Post & Echo Building File:Liverpool Commercial District.jpg, West Tower within the Commercial District

References

External links

Beetham Organization homepage
(requires flash-player)
Aedas Architects homepage
{{Liverpool B&S Skyscrapers in Liverpool Office buildings completed in 2007 Residential buildings completed in 2007 West Tower Skyscraper office buildings in England