LUVTHECITY REVIEW: MANN ISLAND

AS LIVERPOOL'S MOST CONTROVERSIAL DEVELOPMENT NEARS COMPLETION, LUVTHECITY TAKES AN EXCLUSIVE LOOK INSIDE THE CITY'S NEWEST LANDMARK

Friday, 4th March, 2011
After 10-years of planning, Liverpool's most iconic contemporary building is ready to take its first set of residents. Luvthecity was given an exclusive tour of the building, from the glass exterior, through the nightclub-style foyer, across the central atrium and into the apartments. It's all about the views...

MANN ISLAND - THE EXTERIOR
Mann Island's most successful design feature is not the unusual triangular shape or the full-height central atrium - it's much more simple than that. It's the black glass cladding. In the sunshine it reflects the blue sky and in the rain it looks moody and atmospheric. But it's the reflections of the neighbouring historic buildings which really makes Mann Island stand out as a classic design. Love it or hate it, it successfully reflects Liverpool's colourful history like no other building could





















MANN ISLAND - THE FOYER
Mann Island is designed to be a landmark building and the foyer is somewhat of an eye-opener too. Most upmarket apartment blocks have subdued boutique hotel foyers with leather sofas, pale stone floors, white walls and iconic artwork. But not at Mann Island. The foyer feels like a WAG-style nightclub with gloss black walls, gloss black floors, shiny glass staircases and neon lighting at floor level - it's one of the most innovative foyer designs we've ever seen. We photographed this space at lunchtime on a sunny day, so at 2am on a Saturday night it's likely to feel even more exciting









MANN ISLAND - THE INTERIOR
After experiencing the black glass exterior and the nightclub-themed foyer it's a big surprise to find the interior of Mann Island is flooded with light. It's like a huge Oreo cookie, only less fattening. The full-height atrium is filled with light from the large sloping glass roof and all apartments are reached from open walkways - it's a refreshing change from stuffy dark corridors. The white rendered walls and pale stone flooring make the atrium even brighter and the architects have created small internal terraces for every apartment - it's a nice idea that works well, despite the waist-height concrete walls and light-restricting overhangs



















MANN ISLAND - THE VIEWS
Mann Island's biggest selling point is the building's location and the views from the apartments are as good as we would have expected. From the new Ferry Terminal to the Three Graces there are panoramic city and river views from most apartments. It's not 100% perfect though; the building's strict design restricts the number of full-length windows so in most apartments if you want to see Liverpool's historic neighbouring buildings you need to be standing up. However, the thick black-edged window frames make the views look like paintings. The picture below isn't Photoshopped, it really looks that good!


















MANN ISLAND - LINKS



WIKIPEDIA
Mann Island is a small area in Liverpool, England. It lies on the waterfront next to the River Mersey between the Albert Dock to the south and the Pier Head to the north.
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Mann_Island_Buildings


PLACE NORTH WEST
Part of our series revisiting five buildings completed recently in the North West. Reviews carried out by members of the Places Matter design review panel, sponsored by Places Matter and Hill Dickinson
http://www.placenorthwest.co.uk/design-review-mann-island.html


LIVE WEBCAM
Countryside Neptune LLP is creating a high quality mixed use development comprising interconnecting two residential buildings with ancillary retail and leisure space together with a 14 storey prime office building and two levels of underground car parking
http://www.camserv.co.uk/neptune/mann_island.htm


FLICKR
The best images of Mann Island from our favourite photo website, Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=MANN%20ISLAND