1864 : Oriel Chambers
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Innovation: First glass and metal curtain-wall
Location: Liverpool, England
Year: 1864
By: Peter Ellis
Oriel cambers was the world’s first metal framed glass curtain walled building. Built in 1864 by architect Peter Ellis, this building incorporates an area of 43,000 sq. ft. and five floors. This is a great example of Modernist architecture, 19th-century iron construction located in Liverpool, United Kingdom. Oriel Chambers is a world-famous building due to its original pre-fabricated structure; it is a very important building in the history of the skyscraper.
This building was constructed more than 20 years before the key buildings in the Chicago School were being designed. It is often mentioned as a footnote in architectural histories as a pioneer in the progress towards modernism.
In present day, Oriel Chambers looks a little different due to combining its period architecture along with 1950 extensions, added after the bombing of World War II.
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