The Lexington

With 34 storeys, The Lexington is the tallest building in the Liverpool Waters area. The architects from Falconer Chester Hall chose to pay homage to the slim, stylish skyscrapers of New York through the strong vertical lines of the building envelope, which were accentuated to create an essence of elegance and slenderness. Simultaneously, the design was inspired by Liverpool’s maritime history and links with New York, and forms part of the wider Liverpool Waters regeneration masterplan. This mixed-use waterfront development was an instant hit. The new district on the banks of the river Mersey opened in September 2021 with more than 40% of the homes already reserved.

One of the important hurdles that had to be conquered, was the exposed location of the site. Prevailing high winds, water, air tightness and wind load resistance: all had to be taken into consideration in the design of the perfect bespoke building envelope.

Custom bull nose fins provide a slender profile combined with optimum strength and performance. Additionally, carefully designed and thoroughly tested vent covers prevent whistling. Significant effort was invested in making the prefabricated façade as efficient as possible, including the design of a lozenge-shaped motif for mechanical ventilation. The result is a breathing high-performance building façade, a testimony to the excellent collaboration between all the partners that were involved.

Even though The Lexington was built during the pandemic, when heavy delays and logistical problems haunted the building industry for years, general contractor BCEGI Construction was pleased with the way Reynaers Aluminium handled the project: “Throughout the development of this project, Reynaers Aluminium maintained excellent communication, even during the COVID-19 pandemic”, confirms Dongwen Yu, lead director of BCEGI Construction. “I am very proud that our combined hard work has delivered such an iconic new skyscraper for Liverpool.”