Work is set to begin on the next phase of transforming the historic Hydraulic Tower and Engine Room at Everton Stadium.
The Grade II listed Tower and adjoining Engine Room, built in 1883 and an integral part of daily life during the dock’s heyday, have been clad in scaffolding since early into the redevelopment of the site.
Both had fallen into serious disrepair and are being painstakingly restored to their former glory, in order to become a key feature of the fan plaza at the entrance to the finished stadium site.
Until now, work has mainly concentrated on salvaging or replacing much of the existing brickwork and repairing mortar and pointing, in order to stabilise the buildings.
In some areas, new bricks were even meticulously sourced from salvage yards, to ensure similar or identical colour matching.
And as the drive continues to make the buildings watertight, a number of projects will commence soon to accelerate the process.
A new timber roof structure with zinc covering will be constructed with a bespoke finial atop the tower, sealing it from the salt-water environment of the adjacent River Mersey.
This has required significant work with our Heritage consultants and Liverpool City Council, to ensure the design is closely aligned to the original structure with minimum intervention, while meeting modern design standards.
A concrete slab and protective zinc covering will be installed on the tower’s chimney to seal it from future water ingress.
A new green-roof with waterproofing membrane and insulation will be installed to the Engine Room, which will have precast architectural copings to contain it.
Internally, the space will be grit-blasted to allow a new protective coating to be applied to the steelwork, preventing future corrosion in preparation for a complete re-fit.
In the coming months, the restored exterior will be visible for the first time as the scaffolding is stripped from the building.
Protecting the Tower and adjoining Engine Room has always been a priority for Everton and construction partner Laing O’Rourke, given its huge importance to the site.
Consultations took place early in the build, with heritage consultants and Liverpool City Council, with extensive surveys undertaken to understand the deteriorating condition of the long-standing buildings.
Architects are currently developing designs to establish exactly how the finished space is best used, as the building was not originally intended to accommodate large groups of people.
