Report - National Wildflower Centre (Liverpool, Jun, 2018)

[urbanchemist]

A nice example of modern architecture but also a sad lesson in what can go wrong. The 160 m-long ‘inhabited wall’ visitor centre was opened in 2001 as the centrepiece of a wildflower attraction and seed business.

However structural problems coupled with expensive maintenance and the financial crash led to its closure in Jan 2017. More on its demise at https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk...s-national-wildflower-centre/10017540.article.

The building was then vandalised and set alight 6 months later, and has remained closed, fenced off and increasingly Jurassic Park ever since, https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/wildflower-centre-set-alight-suspected-13141874.

Pictures go around the periphery of the long thin building, take in some of the flower-related things in the grounds, then move inside. Visited with junior during school half-term.

Linear roof garden and surroundings.

Inside - only about 2/3 rds of the interior was accessible.

Model of the site. The curved forms at the back were apparently never built.

 

[The Kwan]

Cool mate, another great find in the Pool

 

[Will Knot]

Brilliant, that's different, cool pics

 

[Bikin Glynn]

Yes thats the first abandoned garden Iv ever seen, nice one!

 

[Airfix]

Very unusual find, nice report.

 

[scrappy]

great work, you seem to finding loads in Liverpool.

 

[Ojay]

It really is good to see someone with time on their hands week after week turning new stuff (and decent stuff) up

Too many people asking for recommendations and what's available in xx Town/City without shifting from the keyboard these days, it's becoming a tad tedious really, take a leaf people!

 

[The_Raw]

Pretty interesting place you've found there and ditto what he said ^

 

[catbalou]

now that's different, looks an interesting place. Shame it had to close, looks quite sad to see it all overgrown.

 

[UrbandonedTeam]

Love that model

 

[toby]

Excellent report, thanks for that, and the links. What a shame this place went belly-up. :-(

 

[Lydgs]

An excellent report, well photographed with some excellent links


It struck me as odd that they used the brutalism! of concrete to build a sanctum for something so natural and fragile that needs no such structure to grow and flourish?

A neighbour seems to be able to grow wildflowers in abundance with little or no effort and narry a ha'penny of funding

It seems to share several of the characteristics of the 18th / 19th Century Folly's as alluded to in Wikipedia:
They have no purpose other than as an ornament. They may have some of the appearance of a building constructed for a particular purpose but this appearance is a sham (Concrete to house flowers?)
They are buildings, or parts of buildings.
They are purpose-built.
They are often eccentric in design or construction.
There is often an element of fakery in their construction.
They were built or commissioned for pleasure

A waste while so many buildings are in disrepair and many people are struggling to find a place to call home?

Nevertheless this doesn't detract from the quality of your report Thank you

 

[musley]

What a strange place, interesting though, thanks.

 

[urbanchemist]

An excellent report, well photographed with some excellent links


It struck me as odd that they used the brutalism! of concrete to build a sanctum for something so natural and fragile that needs no such structure to grow and flourish?

A neighbour seems to be able to grow wildflowers in abundance with little or no effort and narry a ha'penny of funding

It seems to share several of the characteristics of the 18th / 19th Century Folly's as alluded to in Wikipedia:
They have no purpose other than as an ornament. They may have some of the appearance of a building constructed for a particular purpose but this appearance is a sham (Concrete to house flowers?)
They are buildings, or parts of buildings.
They are purpose-built.
They are often eccentric in design or construction.
There is often an element of fakery in their construction.
They were built or commissioned for pleasure

A waste while so many buildings are in disrepair and many people are struggling to find a place to call home?

Nevertheless this doesn't detract from the quality of your report Thank you

Thanks for the comments. I'm not an architect, but this couldn't really be described as a folly except maybe in the economic sense - it is/was a perfectly functional building containing offices etc. (with the flowers on the outside).
I wouldn't mind living in it actually - the longest bugalow ever!

 

[stranton]

it's no Kew gardens, that's for sure.