16 Cook Street, Grade II* listed building in Liverpool, England
16 Cook Street is a five-story office building in central Liverpool, England, with a facade made almost entirely of glass supported by a cast-iron frame. The carved stonework at the front is arranged to give the appearance of one large mullioned window running the full width of the building.
Peter Ellis designed the building between 1864 and 1866, making it the second glass curtain wall building in the world, after his own Oriel Chambers nearby. It is now protected as a Grade II* listed building in England.
The name Cook Street points to Liverpool's long history as a trading port. The building's glass front was seen as a bold statement at a time when most commercial buildings in the city were still built with solid stone walls.
The building is in Liverpool's city center and easy to reach on foot from most central landmarks. It is worth looking at both from the street and through the entrance, where the courtyard gives a clearer view of the full structure.
The cast-iron spiral staircase inside the courtyard is cantilevered from the building's walls without a central support column, which was a rare construction technique at the time. This approach to fireproofing appeared in this building decades before it became common elsewhere.
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