The Duggan Morris winning design for the proposed Mersey Observatory

A 50m high illuminated tower has won the international design competition for the proposed Mersey Observatory on Crosby beach. The design by Duggan Morris Architects emerged as the frontrunner in thousands of votes and comments from local people, and was the unanimous choice of the judging panel. Ten thousand people voted in an online poll, with Duggan Morris most popular on 47% of the votes. The poll on the five short-listed designs was run by the Crosby Herald.

The design by Duggan Morris is unlike anything else in the country and would be one of Merseyside’s most recognisable landmarks. It beat four other short listed proposals by Studio 8 Architects, Farrell & Clark, Ellis Williams and Phos Architects, following an international design competition that attracted over 90 entries from all over the world.

Duggan Morris will now begin to develop the next stage of detailed designs for the project.

Joe Morris, director of Duggan Morris Architects, said: “The setting for the Mersey Observatory is entirely unique both geographically and culturally. The challenge was to create something to complement the extraordinary setting as well as having sufficient gravitas to act as a ‘beacon’ in its own right.”

Unusually, the design calls for two complementary structures: a viewing tower and a separate café and exhibition centre. Duggan Morris calls them the ‘lamp’ and ‘bowl’.

The Observatory tower is designed to be illuminated from the inside and contains two viewing platforms giving stunning 360° views over Liverpool, Crosby beach and the River Mersey. A lift would carry people to an enclosed, all-weather viewing platform, and further up to an open air viewing platform atop the tower.

The second, lower building contains the support facilities including reception, information point, exhibitions, restaurant, café and toilets, as well as a rooftop viewing amphitheatre intended for closer views of the bird sanctuary.

Find out more by visiting www.merseyobservatory.com

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