Oriel Chambers
14-16 Water Street, Liverpool
Constructed 1864-5.
A Grade I listed building, said to be the first office building in the world to make extensive use of glazed curtain wall construction, having an extensively glazed façade supported from an iron frame. The building was extended in the mid 20th century. Designed by Peter Ellis (1805-84) for the Reverend Thomas Anderson. Believed to have influenced the design of tall office buildings, particularly in America through the work of Chicago architects John Wellborn Root and Daniel Hudson Burnham. Root had spent some time studying in Liverpool (1864-67).[1]
Ignacio Fernández Solla has provided excellent photos and descriptions of the building, including the interior and the little known courtyard-facing walls, optimised for daylight admission[2]