Buddleia Project Grade 2 Listed Warehouses

[Kev]

WORK on transforming a derelict listed warehouse into a cultural and business centre is set to start this week.

The £6m Buddleia project will be open in time for the city's 800th birthday in 2007.

It is based in five grade II listed buildings at the corner of Parliament Street and Jamaica Street.

The 150,000sq ft centre will include room for voluntary organisations, social enterprise and business opportunities, and heritage, culture and the arts with galleries, exhibition and performance spaces.

It is being set up by the national Novas charity which works with disadvantaged communities and the centre's aim is to encourage the talents of Liverpool's black and minority ethnic community.

http://www.buddleia.org/

[Kev]

The £6m Buddleia building - a key building in the ECHO's Stop the Rot campaign - will form a cultural and business centre to encourage the talents of Liverpool's black and ethnic communities. more

[Paul D]

There was a picture of this the other night in the echo showing what the regenerated version will look like and it looked quite good,it's good to see old buildings find a new use.

[PhilipG]

Buddleia is a great name, because it is nearly always the Buddleia that is seen growing out of disused buildings.
Not always disused

buildings - there is one growing out of the top of the Empire Theatre.

[Waterways]

Buddleia is a great name, because it is nearly always the Buddleia that is seen growing out of

disused buildings.
Not always disused buildings - there is one growing out of the top of the Empire Theatre.

This stuff grows like

wildfire in Liverpool.

[snappel]

I was

looking through the photos I took of the 'Buddleia Building' and noticed the zig-zag brickwork on the front - quite unusual I thought. I see they're

moving on with the project quite fast, the scaffolding has moved now and windows are going in. Just glad I managed to get some photos in there before they

started

work.

[IMG]http://www.forties-design.co.uk/photos/warehouse/doors.jp

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[IMG]http://www.forties-design.co.uk/photos/warehouse/roof.jpg[/

IMG]



[IMG]http://www.forties-design.co.uk/photos/warehouse/casting.jpg[/IM

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[peewak]

I worked as a labourer on the buddleia project in the summer, just for a week tho.

[Kev]

Excellent pics Snappel, I wanted to get in that place too,

thanks

[Downey]

I'm currently working on Buddelia and have been for the past month or so doing the roof, the view is great and the building is really coming along, heres a few pictures i took on my phone, the quality isn't too good.








Views from roof:

[Kev]

That's a great vantage point up there, well done and thanks for sharing

[MissInformed]

brilliant pics!!

[snappel]

Downey - what happened to the old lifting gear in the lofts? I suppose it's all been scrapped. Was quite interesting, seeing that there after all these years.

Still, the building's looking good - whenever I drive past more progress seems to have been made. I'm just so glad it didn't get demolished!

[Downey]

I think they scrapped most of it but somes still there, you can make out one of the big wheels on one of the pictures above. It must be staying there because the room below is getting varnished and painted so they would have got them out before that.

[danensis]

I thought for one wonderful moment there that someone had blown up that hideous monstrosity on the skyline:

http://i9.tinypic.com/34yzez6.jpg

[Kev]

LIVERPOOL’S new multi-million pound arts and cultural centre will open in February.

Social charity Novas has spent £16m renovating the former warehouses on Parliament Street into a Contemporary Urban Centre.

The grade II listed site, known for years as the Buddleia Building because of the shrub growing from its stonework, includes a 750-capacity music and arts venue and a cinema and lecture hall.

There are also seven galleries, a two-and-a-half storey theatrical space and a Malaysian restaurant planned with views over the city skyline.

Two floors are dedicated to office space for creative and community businesses with Brouhaha among the first set to move in.

Michael Wake, founder and chief executive of Novas, said: “We’ve had lots of interest from people and I’m sure it will start off slowly, but build up.

“There are a whole range of organisations and interests, and we’ve even had professional footballers ask about the space for things like VIP parties. “This is the largest project the charity has tackled to date, and we’ll now be replicating it in London with a site twice the size which will also include accommodation.”

The Contemporary Urban Centre will include ground floor and basement cafés, a retail market, pub and an industrial bar/club.

A gentleman’s club-style wood-panelled Founders Room will feature plaster busts of homeless people in what Mr Wake says will “turn snobbery on its head”, while there will also be a top- floor South East Asian bar and a barn-like party room.

Patrick Mussard, assistant director for events, said: “We’d like people to be able to play a part in the building and help create its own atmosphere.”

The first exhibition, from Arts In Liverpool, will go on show at the end of February and the building will be officially opened on May 1.

A light installation is currently on show from the windows of the building each night from 4.30pm to 1am.

The centre is in the Independent Arts Quarter and organisers hope it will help act as a major regeneration catalyst for the area.

Novas works to tackles social disadvantage, developing opportunities for individuals and communities through community support, education, training, employment, art, culture and regeneration.

Anyone interested in the Contemporary Urban Centre should call 0151-706 6900.

catherinejones@liverpoolecho.co.uk