News: architect Maurice Shapero has released plans for a cross-shaped skyscraper on the waterfront in Liverpool, England.
At nearly 200 metres in height, the 67-storey tower would be the tallest building in the city and would contain apartments, offices and shops.
The horizontal element would cantilever out from both sides of the tower to accommodate a long and narrow restaurant with an impressive view across the city rooftops.
"All this verticality needs a counter," said Shapero, explaining the decision to add the projecting floor. "A dramatic cantilevered restaurant breaks the form high in the sky."
Discussing the religious imagery of the cruciform shape, the architect said: "This is the symbol which references one of the ultimate places in human spirituality. But should I be restricted from using it when it has come from my own investigation, imagination, conclusion?"
The building will be named the King Edward Tower, in reference to a pub that formerly occupied part of the site, and the architect plans to submit a planning application early next year.
Other unusual skyscrapers we've featured include one that will be built using ready-made Meccano-like pieces and one shaped like a pair of trousers.
See more buildings with unfortunate likenesses »
See all our stories about skyscrapers »
Images are by Infinite 3D.
Is it a skyscraper, a church, a plane or a transformer?
Yes :P
Is this a joke?
Cybertron here we come!
Condos for Christian living.
Thought it was a church! Until I read offices, apartments and shops…
Oh Lord!
… or at least it would have impressive views, if it had any actual windows other than the weird ’80s sci-fi distopia-looking facade treatment. 60 floors up, but you might as well be in the basement.
Also, this guy seriously needs to work on his bullshit. As well as everything else.
Is Liverpool trying to lose its World Heritage status on purpose?
WHY? Why? No, really, WHY?
No images that show the building’s relation to the city of Liverpool. Nothing showing the building’s relationship to its neighbours, the river, the Three Graces, anything that could allow it to be judged within the context of the World Heritage Site. Nothing that makes anyone want to take it even vaguely seriously. Waste of time.
That cross just looks like an add-on. Looks horrid.
In my (albeit limited) experience, when you have good views, you want to be able to see them. Where are the windows?
“Architect Maurice Shapero has released plans for skyscraper” and “architect plans to submit planning application early next year” says it all about the level of realism of the project. It’s the good old architectural version of seeking free publicity.
Well he got what he wished for. “Breaking news: Barad-dur breaks ground in Liverpool, renamed Mordor.” ALL HAIL SAURON!
Maurice has a serious problem: he has no design talent. Hence the Legoland approach.
Far better this pile of excreta gets built in Canary Wharf, since it is every bit as bad as all the other visual garbage, including the Flaccid Penis.
I’ll give Maurice this, though – he knows his Lego and his totalitarian capitalist architecture. He is obviously a disciple of Ayn Rand and her loony architectural “ideas”.
Well in, Maurice lad. Now try growing up.
Las Vegas.
OMG this is just what Liverpool needs… Manchester has its own 47-story gravestone in the form of Beetham Tower; Liverpool can now have bragging rights to a 67-story crucifix.
I love long narrow restaurants too… this is a very symbolic programme to be housed within a reference to “one of the ultimate places in human spirituality”.
At least Mr Shapero brings the whole idea back down to earth by naming this wonderful tower after a pub that once existed on the site. How utterly poetic.
Do not hold your breath.
Got me to look at his website, so I guess it worked…
Some comments above are hilarious. You make my day! :)
It evokes Frank Lloyd Wright for me and therefore… I’m in.
I like it. And I’m an athiest so I’ll ignore the religious connotations. It’s different. And anything is better than what’s there already. And I’ll ignore all the World Heritage moaners, especially anyone who uses the awful phrase “Three Graces”. They were never called that and in my book never will be.
I have to resurrect my favourite 90s word for this one – fugly.
What a pile of narrow-minded negativity in the comments section. As if the cruciform is banished from all future architectural endeavor because of… religious associations? Well, that’s wrong on a number of levels. Designers shouldn’t have their form choice delimited because of other cultural associations. Design is for the ages, not for a current culture complex’s perceptions.
So what if there are some particular religious associations inevitably. Which world religion will we banish from association is all public space monuments first? Ahh, the ever-present tolerance, creativity, and openhearted boldness of the PC Modern mind. Thumb in mouth, WHAAAAAAAA!
“Design is for the ages, not for a current culture complex’s perceptions.”
Yeah, because historically, poorly designed buildings have been much more enduring than passing fads like Christianity. Oh wait, no, that’s stupid!
Whatever, I suppose it’s only natural that someone named Dante would want to void any meaning out of religious symbolism.
Christ I need a drink.
Wow! what a hideous piece of architectural design!
I can’t get my head around Maurice Shapero’s design. why would you propose at 67-storey structure with hardly any windows? What kind of space would that provide for accommodation and offices? And I’m still looking for a single piece of context (the name doesn’t exactly count as context). Just looks like an advertisement for the ‘Halo’ game.
Liverpool are clinging on to their World Heritage status and then this concrete monster is proposed… it would be suicidal for Liverpool to allow this project to break ground.
Actually, the article is not right. I happen to know these are the images for the new J.U.S.T.I.C.E. album, coming soon.
As if anyone needed more evidence that architecture is no more, then this.
Please, whoever the architects are, just concentrate on destroying what is left of Manchester’s formerly fine city centre with endless monstrous slabs and ugly 40+ storey skyscrapers in a vain bid to become Manc-hattan.
But if you’re going to do Liverpool’s truly classic skyline justice, then for god’s sake stop taking the piss and get some proper lessons in aesthetics before foisting such hideously “trendy” abominations on our fair city. Better still, stop pretending to be an architect and go flip burgers instead, you doofus.