10/09/2026
What if modern architecture began before the modern skyscraper?
Designed by Peter Ellis and completed in Liverpool in 1864, Oriel Chambers introduced an extraordinary combination of iron framing, glass, and projecting oriel windows. Its façade was designed to bring more natural light into the interior while creating a lighter, more open relationship between the building and the street.
Recognized as one of the earliest buildings to use a metal-framed glass curtain wall, Oriel Chambers was remarkably forward-thinking for its time. Even today, its architectural details show how innovation, function, and character can exist within the same structure.
Which detail stands out to you most—the glass façade, the ornate stonework, or the interior spaces?