New Hall Place (also known as ''The Capital'' and the ''Royal & SunAlliance Building'') is a 13-storey

brutalist style Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the ba ...

office complex in the commercial district of

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Due to its rough, beige exterior and proximity to the waterfront, it is also known by the local nickname 'The Sandcastle'.

History

It was developed by

Royal Insurance Royal Insurance Holdings plc was a large insurance business originating in Liverpool but based in London from the early 20th century. It merged with Sun Alliance in 1996 to form the Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group. History Formation and e ...

as their head office building. As well as office space the building comprised a staff car park in the underground floors, a garage for the company chauffeur driven cars and staff facilities on the first floor including staff restaurant, sports hall, gymnasium and subsidised bar. Following the 1990s merger of Royal Insurance with SunAlliance to form

Royal & SunAlliance RSA Insurance Group Limited (trading as RSA, formerly RSA Insurance Group plc and Royal and Sun Alliance) is a British multinational general insurance company headquartered in London, England. RSA has major operations in the United Kingdom, Irel ...

(RSA), numerous job losses followed largely through outsourcing and off shoring deals. RSA staff numbers based in the building reduced from over 3000 to around 1200. In 2006 RSA sold the building to George Downing and leased back the parts of the building still used by RSA. This allowed other tenants to move in such as the UK Border Agency. Downing renamed the building from New Hall Place to The Capital. From 2016 The Capital is now owned by an American company Trinistar. New management took over in early 2016 from Lambert Smith Hampton To MJ MAPP LTD.

Design

The design of New Hall Place is described as a brutalist response to the nearby

Royal Liver Building The Royal Liver Building is a Grade I listed building in Liverpool, England. It is located at the Pier Head and along with the neighbouring Cunard Building and Port of Liverpool Building is one of Liverpool's '' Three Graces'', which line th ...

in terms of massing and height. New Hall Place is situated on

Old Hall Street Old Hall Street is a road in Liverpool, England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of ...

(one of Liverpool's main commercial and financial areas) and the lower three floors serve as the Capital Car Park — a 1,100 capacity secure guarded car park. One of two Liverpool exits from the

Queensway Tunnel The Queensway Tunnel ( signposted as the Birkenhead Tunnel or B'head Tunnel) is a road tunnel under the River Mersey, in the north west of England, between Liverpool and Birkenhead. Locally, it is often referred to as the "old tunnel", to disti ...

is located directly beneath New Hall Place (the other is next to the

World Museum Liverpool World Museum is a large museum in Liverpool, England which has extensive collections covering archaeology, ethnology and the natural and physical sciences. Special attractions include the Natural History Centre and a planetarium. Entry to the ...

). The building was connected by footbridges as part of the Liverpool

skyway A skyway, skybridge, skywalk, or sky walkway is an elevated type of pedway connecting two or more buildings in an urban area, or connecting elevated points within mountainous recreational zones. Urban skyways very often take the form of Cover ...

project in the 1970s. New Hall Place had a direct connection to Ralli House opposite, as well a skyway ramp in Union Street, and then on to Empire Bridge. The Old Hall Street bridge was removed in year 2000, though some of the footbridges on the other side of the building still exist, but are closed to the public.

Use of river water to heat and cool the building

The building was constructed simultaneously with the Liverpool Daily Post and Echo building. Both buildings operated

heat pump A heat pump is a device that uses electricity to transfer heat from a colder place to a warmer place. Specifically, the heat pump transfers thermal energy using a heat pump and refrigeration cycle, cooling the cool space and warming the warm s ...

s to heat and cool the building using water from the adjacent

River Mersey The River Mersey () is a major river in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it h ...

. Three thousand gallons of water per hour seeps into the

Mersey railway tunnel The Mersey Railway was the passenger railway connecting the communities of Liverpool and Birkenhead, England. It is currently a part of the Merseyrail network. It was extended further into the Wirral Peninsula, which lies on the opposite bank ...

from the river above, via the riverbed rock, which is a steady 13C temperature all year. This water was previously pumped out into the dock system. The heat pumps used this constant temperature water to heat the building, or as a heat sink to cool the building.

Gallery

File:New Hall Place, Liverpool.jpg File:Royal Sun Alliance Building - geograph.org.uk - 72617.jpg File:Liverpool Commercial District.jpg

References

{{Liverpool B&S Buildings and structures in Liverpool Brutalist architecture in Liverpool Skyscrapers in Liverpool Buildings and structures completed in 1974 Skyscraper office buildings in England