0:00:02 > 0:00:05I'm standing 290 feet up on one of the towers of the most iconic
0:00:05 > 0:00:08building in Liverpool - the Liver Building, a place which has welcomed
0:00:08 > 0:00:15millions of travellers to British shores, and which played its part in a global architectural revolution.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22This is Climbing Great Buildings, and throughout this series
0:00:22 > 0:00:28I'll be scaling our most iconic and best-loved structures, from the Normans to the present day.
0:00:28 > 0:00:32I'll be revealing the buildings' secrets and telling the story of how
0:00:32 > 0:00:37British architecture and construction developed over 1,000 years.
0:00:48 > 0:00:53The next step on my journey through the history of Britain's best-loved buildings brings me to Liverpool.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56At the turn of the 20th century, the British Empire
0:00:56 > 0:01:00was at the height of its powers, and shipping was its lifeblood.
0:01:00 > 0:01:05Huge fortunes were made in Liverpool, turning it into one of Britain's most prosperous cities.
0:01:05 > 0:01:07Straight ahead of me is Liverpool's Pier Head,
0:01:07 > 0:01:10one of the most famous maritime views in the world.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14On that site were created three 20th-century buildings
0:01:14 > 0:01:16that came to be known
0:01:16 > 0:01:21as the Three Graces, and the most famous and best-loved of them all
0:01:21 > 0:01:23is the Liver Building.
0:01:26 > 0:01:31The Royal Liver Friendly Society was originally formed in response to the hardship faced my many Liverpudlians
0:01:31 > 0:01:37in the mid-19th century, but it soon grew into one of Britain's largest insurance companies, and to reflect
0:01:37 > 0:01:43its position at the top of the commercial world, they commissioned England's first skyscraper.
0:01:43 > 0:01:48Whilst the imposing Liver Building looks like it's build from solid masonry,
0:01:48 > 0:01:50this mighty building hides a secret.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54Underneath its imposing granite facade lies a frame combining
0:01:54 > 0:01:59ancient and modern technology, concrete reinforced with steel.
0:02:01 > 0:02:05In order to reveal the story behind this architectural masterpiece,
0:02:05 > 0:02:10I've been given unprecedented access to get a perspective of the building never seen before.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12Wow, what a view this thing has!
0:02:12 > 0:02:16I'll be coming face-to-face with this giant granite overcoat...
0:02:16 > 0:02:21There's nothing quite as appealing as granite speeding toward you! Ugh!
0:02:23 > 0:02:28..traversing the building at 260 feet in the air to understand its design...
0:02:28 > 0:02:30Woo-hoo! Hey!
0:02:32 > 0:02:36Now you can really see how the building's laid out, can't you?
0:02:36 > 0:02:40..and at 300 feet, I finally come to roost.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42- This is bonkers, isn't it?!- It is!
0:02:42 > 0:02:45I'm finding it hard to believe where we are, actually.
0:02:48 > 0:02:54But I won't be going it alone. I'll be joined by one of Britain's top climbers, Lucy Creamer...
0:02:54 > 0:02:56..and her team of riggers...
0:02:56 > 0:02:58Here's a man on a rope right now!
0:02:58 > 0:03:03..and fearless cameraman Ian Burton, to reveal the story behind the
0:03:03 > 0:03:06revolutionary design of this groundbreaking building.
0:03:12 > 0:03:17The Royal Liver Friendly Society wanted a landmark building that took full advantage of this site.
0:03:17 > 0:03:21It had to show them as a solid, established organisation,
0:03:21 > 0:03:24but one which was modern and outward-looking too.
0:03:24 > 0:03:30In 1908, Britain hadn't entered the age of the skyscraper, but the architect Walter Aubrey Thomas
0:03:30 > 0:03:34looked across the oceans for the solution for how to build on this scale.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38How he did it can be seen deep inside.
0:03:39 > 0:03:43At the time, America was home to the first-ever skyscrapers.
0:03:43 > 0:03:45They were built out of steel-frame structure,
0:03:45 > 0:03:50rather than stone or brick, which allowed for more strength, space and, of course, height.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54Aubrey Thomas was inspired by these giant buildings, and wanted to show
0:03:54 > 0:04:00the world that Liverpool could stand shoulder to shoulder with the great cities of New York and Chicago.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03But it would be the little-known Ingalls Building in Cincinnati, Ohio
0:04:03 > 0:04:06that would provide the closest inspiration.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08Built just five years before the Liver Building,
0:04:08 > 0:04:13it was the world's first reinforced concrete skyscraper.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16If I want the Liver Building to reveal its secrets,
0:04:16 > 0:04:19I'm going to have to both scale its heights and plumb its depths.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23This building is a story of inside and out, because from the outside,
0:04:23 > 0:04:27all you see are giant, great chunks of granite,
0:04:27 > 0:04:31but inside it's a different matter, and to get to the truth, I've got to
0:04:31 > 0:04:34climb up this unpromising-looking old lift shaft.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37- Hey, Lu.- Hi, Jonathan. - How's it going?
0:04:37 > 0:04:39Welcome to my darkened cave!
0:04:39 > 0:04:43Gosh, it's like something out of a science-fiction film up there, isn't it?
0:04:43 > 0:04:46- It's pretty cool, yeah.- Haven't done anything like this before.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48It feels like we're going caving rather than climbing.
0:04:48 > 0:04:53Yeah, it does. What I really like about this is we're in the guts of the building, aren't we?
0:04:53 > 0:04:57There's no cladding here, there's nothing hiding what this building's really made of.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59- No. - Really stripped back to the bones.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01- Very plain.- Yeah.
0:05:01 > 0:05:06This was one of the original 16 shafts that made the Liver Building
0:05:06 > 0:05:09home to the largest lift installation in the country.
0:05:09 > 0:05:14Although this shaft hasn't been in operation since the lifts were refurbished in 1972,
0:05:14 > 0:05:20it's the only place in the building where the actual reinforced-concrete structure is visible.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22This climb has everything.
0:05:22 > 0:05:24It's dark, it's grimy and it's pretty claustrophobic.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27Not exactly my favourite combination.
0:05:27 > 0:05:33It's going to be dusty and dirty, and we're just going to have to be careful not to touch too many things.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37- It's still very much a working part of the building, isn't it? - Absolutely.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40There are lifts zipping down and coming back up again.
0:05:40 > 0:05:45- I guess this has been used as a lift shaft for the best part of 100 years.- Yep.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47In one form or another.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51- Right, so let's get up and have a look, then, shall we?- Yeah. - See what we can find.
0:06:00 > 0:06:05Now we're at the fifth floor, and I can see exactly how the building's constructed.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11That is what this climb's all about.
0:06:12 > 0:06:17This is the true material this building's constructed of. It's a concrete frame.
0:06:17 > 0:06:22The idea behind the concrete frame is that inside here is a mesh of steelwork,
0:06:22 > 0:06:25rods basically, which all join up.
0:06:25 > 0:06:31- You then pour the concrete around the steel, and the whole lot then becomes one solid structure.- Right.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35It's like you've carved the entire thing out of a super-strong stone,
0:06:35 > 0:06:40- but it's stronger than any stone because of the steel. - Because of the internal...- Exactly.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43We tend to think of concrete as a very modern material,
0:06:43 > 0:06:46but it's been used in construction for thousands of years.
0:06:46 > 0:06:50In Britain, we replaced it with stone, brick and timber
0:06:50 > 0:06:56as our materials of choice, but it's been used to create some of the most magnificent buildings in the world.
0:06:56 > 0:07:01Look back to the ancient Egyptians and the Romans for concrete, the dome of the great Pantheon
0:07:01 > 0:07:08in Rome is still the world's largest un-reinforced concrete dome after almost 2,000 years.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10It's quite an amazing achievement.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14So concrete then is something which liberates the architecture.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17You can make very many new shapes with the stuff.
0:07:17 > 0:07:22What's really amazing is it took us so long to get back into the habit of using the material.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25But it's really in the 19th century that things took off,
0:07:25 > 0:07:29and the French really got hold of concrete in a big way.
0:07:29 > 0:07:34And the reason it took off was down to a self-taught French engineer called Francois Hennebique.
0:07:34 > 0:07:40In 1879, he discovered that setting steel rods in concrete makes it many times stronger,
0:07:40 > 0:07:44as can be demonstrated in a simple laboratory test.
0:07:44 > 0:07:49So we have a piece of plain concrete in the testing machine at the moment.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52OK, so what we're going to do is apply a load so that the testing
0:07:52 > 0:07:54machine then breaks this,
0:07:54 > 0:07:57and we'll monitor what it's actually taken to break the beam.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00Brilliant, OK. I love this kind of science. It's dead simple.
0:08:05 > 0:08:06- It's a pneumatic pressure.- Yeah.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11Ooh, you can hear it straining a bit now, can't you?
0:08:16 > 0:08:17And there it goes.
0:08:17 > 0:08:22So that failed at 4.3 kilonewtons, which is about 400kg.
0:08:22 > 0:08:28Next to be tested is a block of concrete reinforced with four steel rods.
0:08:36 > 0:08:38This one's already taking a lot longer.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41You can hear it groaning and clicking.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45You get the sense that when it goes it's going to be quite dramatic.
0:08:51 > 0:08:52Sorry about the drama, Jonathan.
0:08:52 > 0:08:56- Yeah, oh, well!- That one went right up to 16.2 kilonewtons.
0:08:56 > 0:09:02- No drama, but there are two great splits in a parallel split, one under each roller.- That's right.
0:09:02 > 0:09:08So although the concrete's actually cracked, the reinforcement is still holding it together.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11So this turns out to be a much, much stronger system of construction.
0:09:11 > 0:09:17- It takes four times the weight that the plain concrete did, and it remains intact.- That's right.
0:09:19 > 0:09:23As reinforced concrete was pioneered in France and Belgium, many British
0:09:23 > 0:09:26architects and engineers resisted embracing what they saw
0:09:26 > 0:09:30as newfangled technology, but the man behind the Liver Building
0:09:30 > 0:09:33welcomed its potential with open arms.
0:09:33 > 0:09:35Concrete was a scary material for some,
0:09:35 > 0:09:41but for a man like Aubrey Thomas it was ideal, and he saw the potential for this material to realise
0:09:41 > 0:09:45structures quickly, efficiently and in line with the commercial needs
0:09:45 > 0:09:47of Liverpool in the early 20th century.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52Using reinforced concrete leads to such an efficient process
0:09:52 > 0:09:56of construction, that this building was completed incredibly quickly.
0:09:56 > 0:10:02Aubrey Thomas, the architect, had this thing up in a space of just over three years.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04That's incredible.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08At its peak, one floor was being built every 19 working days.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10When you look up
0:10:10 > 0:10:14and you see how layer upon layer can be stacked up in sequence, then this
0:10:14 > 0:10:20skeleton, this frame structure offers a great way to build.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23Aubrey Thomas may have been confident in the strength
0:10:23 > 0:10:27and speed of concrete, but he knew it wasn't pleasing to the eye,
0:10:27 > 0:10:30so he ensured that this building conformed to the elegant standards
0:10:30 > 0:10:32expected by the rich and powerful of the day.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35It's funny to look at these doors, because
0:10:35 > 0:10:39you see here the experience that the Edwardian businessman would have had
0:10:39 > 0:10:43before stepping into one of these newfangled elevators.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47He wouldn't have been able to see the bare, plain concrete behind.
0:10:47 > 0:10:53He'd have been expecting, and was given, the language of any Victorian
0:10:53 > 0:10:57office block, of varnished, dark oak, the stuff of old England,
0:10:57 > 0:10:59never mind the modernity within.
0:10:59 > 0:11:05There's only so much you can learn about a groundbreaking building from a lift shaft,
0:11:05 > 0:11:10so I'm getting out at the fifth floor so I can explore its exterior.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13It's good to see that, Lu, isn't it, the guts of a
0:11:13 > 0:11:18pretty modern, pioneering design still used 100 years on for what it's supposed to be.
0:11:18 > 0:11:23- I guess so, yeah. I've been in cleaner places!- Yeah!
0:11:23 > 0:11:26That was the downside, it must be said.
0:11:26 > 0:11:31Aubrey Thomas could have constructed the entire building, including the exterior walls, from concrete,
0:11:31 > 0:11:34but Edwardian England wasn't remotely ready to accept such
0:11:34 > 0:11:41a simple and drab solution, so he hid the concrete structure beneath a facade of Norwegian granite.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44- Thank you, Lu.- That's all right.
0:11:44 > 0:11:45A sparse office.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48Yeah, ready for us to do some work.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52Yeah. Outside's going to be much more interesting than this, I think!
0:11:52 > 0:11:53What are we going to do here?
0:11:53 > 0:11:57Because we've got to have a look at the cladding on the outside of the building.
0:11:57 > 0:12:01I want to see the stonework. In order to get a closer look,
0:12:01 > 0:12:03Lucy's going to make me jump out of this window.
0:12:03 > 0:12:07I've come to realise that Lucy might just enjoy taking me out of my comfort zone.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11This is a very odd feeling, Lu, isn't it?
0:12:11 > 0:12:13I'm starting to get used to it.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15This is one of those swingouts.
0:12:15 > 0:12:20You know at Durham Cathedral and Caernarfon you made me swing out.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22I've never done it over traffic before!
0:12:22 > 0:12:29I reckon the way to do it is to turn with your back to the traffic so you can't see anything!
0:12:31 > 0:12:34I almost just let go then. I didn't like that feeling.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36OK?
0:12:36 > 0:12:41I'm as ready as I'm going to be, which means unready, really.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43Is that OK? Is that good for you?
0:12:43 > 0:12:46Yeah. After three?
0:12:46 > 0:12:50- Uh, one, two, three.- Go.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57I've gone about five feet lower than you, Lu!
0:12:57 > 0:13:01What does that say about my lunch?!
0:13:01 > 0:13:04That happens a lot.
0:13:04 > 0:13:09As for all these climbs, I soon find that, once you get past the scary bit, it's actually rather fun.
0:13:09 > 0:13:10See, that was pleasant.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13It was, actually. Once you do it.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16It's that moment of commitment that makes all the difference, isn't it?
0:13:18 > 0:13:19Lu, I'm going for a big swing!
0:13:19 > 0:13:22- Ooh! - Got to get used to this swing thing.
0:13:22 > 0:13:28There's nothing quite as appealing as granite speeding toward you! Ugh!
0:13:29 > 0:13:33Now I'm in the swing of things, it's back to the business of architecture.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36It's good to see the stone, cos the sun's really catching it now.
0:13:36 > 0:13:42- It's gorgeous.- Yeah. And you can see this shininess, the quartzite.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45- Crystals.- Yeah.- Beautiful granite.
0:13:45 > 0:13:49As the internal reinforced-concrete frame carries the whole weight of the building,
0:13:49 > 0:13:53this granite cladding serves a minimal load-bearing function.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56It's little more than a cosmetic skin that provides grandeur
0:13:56 > 0:14:00and also protection from the fierce winds off the Irish Sea.
0:14:01 > 0:14:05This short climb has been very useful to literally get to grips
0:14:05 > 0:14:08with the stone that faces this building.
0:14:08 > 0:14:13It is the most intractable stuff, this granite, and it looks pretty chunky from here.
0:14:13 > 0:14:15And the sheer quantity of it.
0:14:15 > 0:14:21There are 25,000 tons of it across the surface of the whole building,
0:14:21 > 0:14:23a truly Herculean industrial effort.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27It almost takes your breath away when you look at it close up.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33The stone cladding was created by stapling the granite blocks together
0:14:33 > 0:14:37and then attaching them to the concrete frame using metal fixings.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42Lu, this is starting to feel like a very tall building now!
0:14:43 > 0:14:46I don't know why that is, if we've gone past a barrier or something.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49No, I think it's just because we're quite high up!
0:14:49 > 0:14:51That's a good explanation.
0:14:51 > 0:14:55We are actually pretty damn high off the ground.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58115 feet to be exact, and from this vantage point
0:14:58 > 0:15:03I can get a fantastic view of Liverpool's distinctive cityscape.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06You get an amazing perspective from this height on the Liver Building.
0:15:06 > 0:15:10But you also get a great view down onto Liverpool's parish church.
0:15:10 > 0:15:16It's hemmed in now by modern buildings, but it reminds you what a modern city Liverpool is.
0:15:16 > 0:15:21Its oldest building dates to only the second decade of the 18th century - that's Blue Coat School.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25So it's a modern city, one which is always forward-looking.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27The Liver Building's a great example of that.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36You're good at using that!
0:15:36 > 0:15:40Do you know, in 1907 they had trouble selling this site.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43It went up for auction, no-one bought it.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46- What?!- No-one bought it.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48Beautiful views of the sea?
0:15:48 > 0:15:51No, it took an age before the Royal Liver said, "We might be interested."
0:15:51 > 0:15:55But they went through a process of auctioning it. No-one wanted to know.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58This was full of ships. Trading was all here.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02You were on the front door of one of the great cities of the Empire. Not interested.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05- The Royal Liver got it for a discount.- Wow.
0:16:05 > 0:16:07- Good on them.- Yeah.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10At least they did something good with it.
0:16:11 > 0:16:16Not only did the Royal Liver Association get a discount on the land, but when they commissioned
0:16:16 > 0:16:21the nine-storey building, they found a clever way to make money from this prestigious location.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24They built this bigger than they needed it to be.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26- Right. - This was an investment for them.- OK.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30They only needed two floors, so they cherry-picked the best ones,
0:16:30 > 0:16:34floors eight and nine, and rented out seven floors beneath them.
0:16:34 > 0:16:36- They've been doing it for 100 years. - Oh, right.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39So it's a really, actually, clever business move.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42What it does is enables you to build this giant billboard,
0:16:42 > 0:16:45and you have your name associated with the building,
0:16:45 > 0:16:47then you have tenants who are paying you.
0:16:47 > 0:16:49- That's a brilliant idea.- Isn't it?
0:16:49 > 0:16:51Clever. Really clever.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01What do you think about modern architecture? Let's say '60s, '70s stuff.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05I would have to say it's not my favourite era.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07That stuff over there, look.
0:17:07 > 0:17:11That great ziggurat of a stepped pyramid.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14I don't think many people would call it Liverpool's loveliest building.
0:17:14 > 0:17:16- With the weird box on top.- Yeah.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20When you look at it and you see its skeleton, its frame,
0:17:20 > 0:17:23with concrete cladding on it, all it is a version of this building.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26When you think about the way that's made, it's concrete,
0:17:26 > 0:17:31- onto which is hung flat concrete bits of cladding.- Yeah.
0:17:31 > 0:17:36This is the granddaddy of that, and it's the DNA of this building which informed the '60s and '70s.
0:17:36 > 0:17:41You can admire the technology for better or for worse, and that's a matter of opinion.
0:17:41 > 0:17:45Look at it! Look at its offspring!
0:17:45 > 0:17:46They've grown up, haven't they?
0:17:46 > 0:17:48We've produced a monster!
0:17:48 > 0:17:50You said it!
0:17:52 > 0:17:53You said it!
0:18:02 > 0:18:05- Made it.- That was good.- Good work!
0:18:05 > 0:18:08- Look what we can see!- Ah!
0:18:08 > 0:18:10The Liver birds!
0:18:10 > 0:18:13- They're still some way up, but they look majestic?- They do.
0:18:13 > 0:18:15There are two.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19- Because one looks out to sea... - Yeah.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21..and the other looks into land.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24One looks out for the prosperity of the sea,
0:18:24 > 0:18:27the other looks over the prosperity of the people in the city.
0:18:27 > 0:18:31It's a nice gesture, isn't it? Architecturally, it's a real masterstroke
0:18:31 > 0:18:33to have crowned the building with two birds.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36- I love them.- Yeah. Quite poetic.
0:18:36 > 0:18:38But not everyone took them as high poetry.
0:18:38 > 0:18:42Some thought that one looks over the city, he's just checking the pubs are open!
0:18:42 > 0:18:46- That's the sensible one! - You like that one, do you?!
0:18:52 > 0:18:55These emblems of Liverpool sit upon two enormous towers,
0:18:55 > 0:18:58both of which house the biggest clocks in the country.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01Their size meant that, before they were installed,
0:19:01 > 0:19:05the directors of the Liver Association ate lunch off one of them.
0:19:08 > 0:19:13That is a heck of a clock. The clock face is about 25 feet in diameter,
0:19:13 > 0:19:16which makes it bigger than the famous one on the tower
0:19:16 > 0:19:20which came to be known as Big Ben at the Houses of Parliament.
0:19:20 > 0:19:25The hands themselves weigh getting on for 550lb in weight.
0:19:25 > 0:19:29Close up, you can see the clock is not a thing of great refinement.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33It's not set in a stone framework or surround.
0:19:33 > 0:19:38There's not even Roman numerals or anything fancy painted onto the surface.
0:19:38 > 0:19:40It's instead a piece of ironwork.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43It's practical, it has to withstand the wind and the rain,
0:19:43 > 0:19:47but nonetheless, for sailors returning home from long voyages,
0:19:47 > 0:19:53to see this clock face illuminated from a distance must be a very romantic thing indeed.
0:19:58 > 0:20:03Now I'm up here, I want to see the full scale and layout of this towering building,
0:20:03 > 0:20:07so Lucy and the riggers have carried on the theme of trying to scare me witless
0:20:07 > 0:20:12by setting up a huge rope line between the two towers.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15I'm clinging on. This feels like my first swimming lesson,
0:20:15 > 0:20:19hanging onto the side of the pool saying, "I can't do it! I can't do doggy paddle."
0:20:19 > 0:20:22Shall I go first or you go first?
0:20:22 > 0:20:24- Let's go together, shall we?- Yeah.
0:20:24 > 0:20:29All right. 3, 2, 1 - go!
0:20:30 > 0:20:32Woo-hoo!
0:20:35 > 0:20:36Hey!
0:20:38 > 0:20:39I feel seasick now.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44- Awesome! - That's marvellous, that is amazing.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47- Brilliant - in style!- Wow!
0:20:47 > 0:20:49Now you can really see how the building's laid out.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52Two square light wells.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55Really efficient way of getting the light into the offices.
0:20:55 > 0:20:59And not relying just on the facade of a very broad building.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02Really clever, isn't it? As much light as they can get.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06Gosh, to see the full height of these towers rising
0:21:06 > 0:21:12- from those light wells right up to the top - it's like a mini Manhattan.- Yeah!
0:21:12 > 0:21:15And comparison with New York was no coincidence.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19Aubrey Thomas had always been fascinated with the vast corporate skyscrapers
0:21:19 > 0:21:22that began to loom over Manhattan.
0:21:22 > 0:21:28He was firmly convinced that Liverpool had every right to stand alongside America's greatest cities.
0:21:28 > 0:21:33This building is more than any one architectural style, it's part of an architectural conversation
0:21:33 > 0:21:38that Britain was having with the United States at the turn of the 20th century.
0:21:38 > 0:21:43Liverpool was the premier passenger port for the whole of the North Atlantic.
0:21:43 > 0:21:47and to look for comparatives with this building you've really got to go to Chicago
0:21:47 > 0:21:49and look for the earliest skyscrapers.
0:21:49 > 0:21:55But the towers, which look a bit like the English Baroque we've seen at St Paul's
0:21:55 > 0:21:59the way they're piled up makes them look more than anything,
0:21:59 > 0:22:02especially at this height, like early Manhattan.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06The way the companies built distinctive spires on their skyscrapers
0:22:06 > 0:22:10to give themselves an eye-catching identity.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14It's a funny, faint glimmer of a lost, golden age.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16Of transatlantic influence.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22I've rarely seen a city like this all in one go, just floating over it.
0:22:22 > 0:22:29It's, you know... Helicopters seem so exciting but just to feel the wind and the air.
0:22:29 > 0:22:31Yeah, really part of it.
0:22:31 > 0:22:32Yeah.
0:22:32 > 0:22:36There is nothing but space between you and all the great monuments of this city.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43That was amazing.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45I loved it.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48- That was so cool. - Looking at this building
0:22:48 > 0:22:53- from above, you can really see the plainness of the clad granite.- Hmm.
0:22:53 > 0:22:59To me, the overwhelming sense I got, is the end of the age of craftsmanship.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03- Right, yeah.- That fine Victorian work we saw at St Pancras.
0:23:03 > 0:23:08Yeah, "Let's not put too much fussy detail into it, let's just get this thing built."
0:23:08 > 0:23:10- Yeah.- It feels really solid as well.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13Yeah, and it's real, practical, modern commerce.
0:23:13 > 0:23:17"Let's get it up quick, make it totally solid, almost maintenance free..."
0:23:17 > 0:23:23And it feels to me like, having seen this building of the new century,
0:23:23 > 0:23:27- it's like we've just opened the door to a new age.- Yeah.- It feels to me.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30It's got a little flourish at the top though, with the birds.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33Oh, yeah. Not entirely without a little bit of...
0:23:33 > 0:23:36A few frills. A few...
0:23:36 > 0:23:39What are they? 18ft high frills!
0:23:41 > 0:23:48And it's these 18ft high frills, each weighing four tons, that are the destination for my final climb.
0:23:48 > 0:23:53The Liver bird originated as the eagle of King John, who gave Liverpool its charter.
0:23:53 > 0:23:58The popular myth is that the Liver birds haunted the pools that gave Liverpool its name.
0:23:58 > 0:24:04And if they were to ever fly away the city would cease to exist.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07- Lu, we're going to get to see the Liver birds...- Yeah.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10..Which reminds me of many a Friday night in the 1970s.
0:24:10 > 0:24:14There they are, you can just see the beak poking up over the top.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17- Yeah.- These birds seem to have changed shape through history.
0:24:17 > 0:24:22But they are semi-fact and semi-fiction, and this building
0:24:22 > 0:24:27carries the biggest and most obvious Liver birds as a symbol of the city, so these are the ones to look at.
0:24:27 > 0:24:32For me, that means scaling up to 300ft to the top.
0:24:32 > 0:24:36As we make out way up these granite towers with the salty wind whipping off the Mersey,
0:24:36 > 0:24:41you realise what a sensible decision it was to clad with ultra-tough granite.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45However, its one drawback is that it doesn't lend itself to elegant sculpture.
0:24:45 > 0:24:50You see the sculpture, Lu, when you get to this level, these big scrolls.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53- Yeah.- In London, with Portland stone maybe,
0:24:53 > 0:24:57they'd be carved with lots of mouldings to catch the sun.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59What can you do in granite?
0:24:59 > 0:25:04It's such tough rock, that quartz is going to bend the chisels
0:25:04 > 0:25:06if you try and sculpt it too much.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09- So you've got to keep it simple. - Keep it simple, yeah. Totally.
0:25:09 > 0:25:13- But it will be here for a millennium.- Yeah.
0:25:13 > 0:25:17- Solid stuff.- It's one of those buildings you think, you know, when the end of the world comes
0:25:17 > 0:25:21there'll be the Liver Building sticking up out of the sea.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24For archaeologists to marvel over in a million years.
0:25:27 > 0:25:33I'm nearly at the top of this huge building, but at 300ft above the ground and exposed to the elements,
0:25:33 > 0:25:36I'm really clinging onto this structure.
0:25:36 > 0:25:40But the excitement of being one of only a handful of people to see this building
0:25:40 > 0:25:43from the perspective of the Liver birds drives me on.
0:25:50 > 0:25:52It's really, really windy!
0:25:52 > 0:25:55Because we're by the sea and we're about 300ft up in the air!
0:25:58 > 0:26:01Are you heading up?
0:26:01 > 0:26:03This is climbing.
0:26:03 > 0:26:08Yeah. Climbing a very smooth surface.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10Oh, let's get you into here.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13This is ridiculous.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15I'm going to have to get down.
0:26:15 > 0:26:19This is ridiculous, I am with a Liver bird.
0:26:19 > 0:26:25Gosh! For years I've looked up at these things from a distance, you only ever do. Here we are.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33Beautiful. I'm under a Liver bird.
0:26:33 > 0:26:38It feels like a very maternal presence all of a sudden.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41I hope it doesn't sit down and try and hatch me.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44- I'll be in big trouble. - Looking quite comfortable there.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46Wow - what a view this thing has!
0:26:46 > 0:26:48What an amazing view.
0:26:48 > 0:26:53It's astonishing. You can see mountains in Wales, ocean, you're looking toward Ireland.
0:26:53 > 0:26:57You just know that America is beyond.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59It's amazing, it's astonishing.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05This place has a majestic scale. This bird...
0:27:05 > 0:27:09It's not your regular Sunday microwave chicken, is it?
0:27:16 > 0:27:18This is bonkers, isn't it?
0:27:18 > 0:27:22It is. I'm finding it hard to believe where we are, actually.
0:27:22 > 0:27:27If you'd have asked me just some weeks ago, "Do you think you might go and sit underneath a Liver bird?"
0:27:27 > 0:27:32- Is it even possible?- Oh, boy!
0:27:38 > 0:27:41Liverpool is packed with fine buildings,
0:27:41 > 0:27:44it's always been an international city, a player on the global stage.
0:27:44 > 0:27:48And it was in the Edwardian age that it arrived at its economic peak.
0:27:48 > 0:27:52That's when the Liver Building was conceived and constructed.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55And somehow it avoided destruction during World War II,
0:27:55 > 0:27:59when the Luftwaffe laid so much of the city to waste.
0:27:59 > 0:28:03And it survives today as a testament to a great city and a golden age.
0:28:15 > 0:28:21Nest time I visit a multi-coloured phoenix which rose from the ashes of a medieval city.
0:28:21 > 0:28:22Coventry Cathedral.
0:28:44 > 0:28:47Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:47 > 0:28:50E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk