Kings Waterfront, UK.

This roof has been constructed as part of a project to build a new Conference Centre and Arena Building on a site next to the Albert Docks on the River Mersey in Liverpool. The two new buildings are sited adjacent to one another with an 80m long by 14m wide corridor, or ‘Galleria’ formed between them. This Galleria is covered with a roof spanning between the two buildings that is steel framed and is clad in ETFE cushions. At each end of the roof are cantilevered steel frame canopies clad with glazing. The ends of the Galleria are closed with glazed façades that are hung from the canopies. 

The arched roof frame is largely constructed from fabricated sections that are necessary to achieve the complex multi-curved geometry. The roof is supported on steel rails fitted to the Arena and Conference Centre steel frames with composite bearings introduced at the interface to allow independent movement where necessary. 

The Galleria roof plays an important role in the architecture of this iconic building structure located in its historic Merseyside setting, unifying the forms of the Conference Centre & Arena and providing dramatic roof coverage to the circulation spaces below.