New Hall Place

Last updated

New Hall Place
Royal Sun Alliance Building - geograph.org.uk - 72617.jpg
New Hall Place
General information
TypeOffice
Location Old Hall Street, Liverpool, England, United Kingdom
Coordinates 53°24′31″N2°59′45″W / 53.40862°N 2.99571°W / 53.40862; -2.99571
Completed1974
Height
Roof73 metres (240 ft)
Technical details
Floor count13

New Hall Place (also known as The Capital and the Royal & SunAlliance Building) is a 13-storey brutalist style office complex in the commercial district of Liverpool, England. Due to its rough, beige exterior and proximity to the waterfront, it is also known by the local nickname 'The Sandcastle'. [1]

Contents

History

It was developed by Royal Insurance 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), 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. [2] 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 in terms of massing and height. [3] New Hall Place is situated on Old Hall Street (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. [4] One of two Liverpool exits from the Queensway Tunnel is located directly beneath New Hall Place (the other is next to the World Museum Liverpool).

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 pumps to heat and cool the building using water from the adjacent River Mersey. Three thousand gallons of water per hour seeps into the Mersey railway tunnel 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. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merseyside</span> County of England

Merseyside is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Welsh county of Flintshire across the Dee Estuary to the southwest, and the Irish Sea to the west. The largest settlement is the city of Liverpool.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queensway Tunnel</span> Road tunnel running under the River Mersey connecting Liverpool and Wirral

The Queensway 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 "Birkenhead Tunnel" or "old tunnel", to distinguish it from the newer Kingsway Tunnel (1971), which serves Wallasey and the M53 motorway traffic. At 3.24 kilometres (2.01 mi) in length, it is the longest road tunnel in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birkenhead</span> Town in Wirral, Merseyside, England

Birkenhead is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 88,818.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port of Liverpool Building</span> Building located in Liverpool, England

The Port of Liverpool Building is a Grade II* listed building in Liverpool, England. It is located at the Pier Head and, along with the neighbouring Royal Liver Building and Cunard Building, is one of Liverpool's Three Graces, which line the city's waterfront. It is also part of Liverpool's formerly UNESCO-designated World Heritage Maritime Mercantile City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mersey Railway</span> Former railway operator in England

The Mersey Railway was the passenger railway connecting the communities of Liverpool, 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 of the River Mersey to Liverpool. Both sides of the river were connected via the Mersey Railway Tunnel. The railway opened in 1886 with four stations using steam locomotives hauling unheated wooden carriages; in the next six years the line was extended with the opening of three more stations. Using the first tunnel under the Mersey, the line is the world's oldest underground railway outside London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liverpool Central railway station</span> Railway station in Liverpool, England

Liverpool Central railway station in Liverpool, England, forms a central hub of the Merseyrail network, being on both the Northern Line and the Wirral Line. The station is located underground on two levels, below the site of a former mainline terminus. It is the busiest station in Liverpool, though considerably smaller than Lime Street station, the mainline terminus, and the busiest station to operate solely on the Merseyrail network. The station is the busiest underground station outside London serving 40,000 people daily. The station in passengers per platform is the busiest underground railway station in the United Kingdom outside of London at 3,979,547 per platform per annum and coming tenth out of all stations outside the capital, underground or overground.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liverpool James Street railway station</span> Underground railway station in Liverpool, UK

Liverpool James Street is a railway station located in the centre of Liverpool, England; it is situated on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network. James Street is an underground station, with access to the platforms via lifts from the booking hall. At certain times, the platforms are accessed via a pedestrian tunnel from the India Buildings on Water Street. As of 2013/14, James Street was the fifth-busiest station on the Merseyrail network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wirral Peninsula</span> Peninsula in North West England

The Wirral Peninsula, known locally as the Wirral, is a peninsula in North West England. The roughly rectangular peninsula is about 15 miles (24 km) long and 7 miles (11 km) wide, and is bounded by the Dee Estuary to the west, the Mersey Estuary to the east, and Liverpool Bay to the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Insurance Building, Liverpool</span> Historic site in Merseyside, England

The Aloft Liverpool Hotel, formerly the Royal Insurance Building, is a historic building located at 1-9 North John Street, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It was built as the head office of the Royal Insurance company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RSA Insurance Group</span> British multinational general insurance company

RSA Insurance Group Limited is a British multinational general insurance company headquartered in London, England. RSA has major operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Scandinavia & Canada. It provides insurance products and services in more than 100 countries through a network of local partners. It has 9 million customers. RSA was formed by the merger of Sun Alliance and Royal Insurance in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birkenhead Hamilton Square railway station</span> Railway station on the Wirral line in Birkenhead, Wirral, England

Birkenhead Hamilton Square railway station serves the town of Birkenhead, in Merseyside, England, on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network. The station is close to Hamilton Square in Birkenhead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wirral line</span> Commuter rail route in Merseyside, England

The Wirral line is one of two commuter rail routes operated by Merseyrail and centred on Merseyside, England, the other being the Northern line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodside, Merseyside</span> Area of Birkenhead, England

Woodside is an area of Birkenhead in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is situated opposite Liverpool Pier Head across the River Mersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Insurance</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liverpool Arena</span> Event location

Liverpool Arena, known for sponsorship reasons as the M&S Bank Arena and previously the Echo Arena, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the city centre of Liverpool, England. The venue hosts live music, comedy performances and sporting events, and forms part of Liverpool event campus ACC Liverpool – an interconnected arena, exhibition and convention centre. The venue serves a regional population of 2.5 million people and over 6.6 million across England's North West.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Architecture of Liverpool</span> Overview of architecture of Liverpool, England

The architecture of Liverpool is rooted in the city's development into a major port of the British Empire. It encompasses a variety of architectural styles of the past 300 years, while next to nothing remains of its medieval structures which would have dated back as far as the 13th century. Erected 1716–18, Bluecoat Chambers is supposed to be the oldest surviving building in central Liverpool.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Post & Echo Building</span> County building in Liverpool, Merseyside, England

The Post & Echo Building, now occupied by the Meliã Liverpool Hotel, is located at 95 Old Hall Street in Liverpool city centre, England, and formerly housed the headquarters of the Liverpool Echo and Daily Post newspapers. It is also known as Metropolitan House and as City Tower. It is an international style-style building that stands 73 metres (240 ft) tall with 18 storeys, making it the joint-tenth-tallest building in the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liverpool and London Globe Insurance</span> Insurance company

The Liverpool Fire & Life Insurance Co. was founded in 1836 in response to increased premiums from the London insurance companies. It expanded rapidly, at home and abroad, and after the acquisition of the London insurer, Globe Insurance, in 1864 it became the Liverpool and London Globe Insurance Company. In 1919 it was acquired by another Liverpool firm, Royal Insurance. The enlarged entity merged with the Sun Alliance in 1996 to form the Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Hall Street</span> Road in Liverpool, England

Old Hall Street is a road in Liverpool, England. Situated in the city centre, it runs between Leeds Street and Chapel Street and is part of Liverpool business district.

References

  1. "The Capital sold for £55m". Liverpool Vision. 5 February 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  2. Unger, Paul (5 February 2015). "The Capital sold for £55m". Place North West. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
  3. "New Hall Place". Skyscrapernews. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
  4. "Welcome". The Capital Car Park. Archived from the original on 1 February 2011.
  5. "Liverpool Daily Post & Echo (1973) / Royal Insurance HQ (1976)" (PDF). Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers. Retrieved 24 October 2020.