BrighterDesign

Our home… the Albert Dock
By The Liverpolitan Monday, 7 March 2011

Not only is our address central and easily accessible here in Liverpool, it's also a stunning waterfront destination in its own right - the glorious Albert Dock.

Things have changed dramatically over the last decade in this city, not least in terms of its skyline. But amid all the excitement about the opening of the new Museum of Liverpool, the arrival of the state-of-the-art shopping paradise that is Liverpool 1 and the completion of the frankly stunning Echo Arena, the 165-year-old Albert Dock has more than held its own and continued to thrive.

It's had cranes to the left of it, diggers to the right, been marooned at times in a sea of construction. But it remains one of the UK's biggest tourist attractions with more than five million annual visitors flocking to Tate Liverpool, the Maritime Museum, Beatles Story and a fine choice of bars, restaurants and shops. And we get to overlook it all - from happy troupes of tourists to sunsets on serene dock waters - from our office.

Accessibility has increased fantastically with the new riverside walkway from the Arena, and a 2.5km canal link allowing inland boats to sail from the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, through the Central Docks, past the Pier Head and straight into the Dock.

Albert Dock, Liverpool. Picture taken using the Instagram App for iPhone.

In 2008, when the city celebrated its European Capital of Culture status, the Dock was a focal point. It's where the Round the World Clipper Race has begun and ended, calling in at ports like Panama City, Shanghai, Cape Town and New York along the way. It's also the place where the biggest and most beautiful Tall Ships, from 30ft yachts to spectacular square-riggers, come to berth.

When you're here, though, take another look at the finer details of this architectural gem designed and built by a Yorkshire engineer called Jesse Hartley. The largest group of Grade I listed buildings in England, it consists of five formidable warehouses - check out the sheer bulk of their sandstone and granite slabs and the enormous hollow cast-iron columns - each five storeys high with a combined capacity of 250,000 tonnes.

Around it, two other docks (Canning and Salthouse), a hydraulic pumping station (now housing a friendly pub), swing bridges, watchmen's huts and a pier master's house. All and all, it makes London's St Katharine Dock look like a kids' swimming pool.

'One of the noblest and most dignified architectural ensembles of the era', writes historian Michael Jenner in his book Victorian Britain. 'Once again, a humble engineer [Hartley] had shown how to do things properly. It is a measure of its true significance that a model of the Albert Dock was displayed at the Great Exhibition of 1851 and attracted considerable attention'.

So, as you might gather, we never fall short for inspiration at Brighter Design - not when we can gaze out our windows for a moment or two. Call by and see what we mean.

* Liverpool 1 was shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize 2009 as 'a vibrant and economically successful retail, leisure and mixed-use quarter', while the award-winning Echo Arena & BT Convention Centre has been hailed as one of the most sustainable venues in Europe and played host to a string of international events (MTV Europe Music Awards, BBC Sports Personality of the Year, Davis Cup tennis, MOBO Awards).