Take a look at the image above. Any thoughts?
This is a £130m student scheme on the corner of Great Marlborough Street and Hulme Street which should be getting planning approval next week.
Designed by Glenn Howells Architects, as you can see – it’s a huge, tall, thin tower – which looks remarkably like an old chimney from the side – something that Fred Dibnah would have loved to climb up and knock down in the day.
Here’s what the architects have to say about it:
The solid mill ‘chimney’ language defies many modern skyscrapers and instead creates an expression with a real sense of ‘being of Manchester’. The slenderness is reinforced by its homogenous skin of brick panels that alternates on every floor to open up glazed slots and add relief to the façade.
The 55-storey tower will form part of an 11-storey complex which will offer up 853 student apartments, as well as workspaces and other amenities that students will no doubt enjoy.
The development itself has been subject to quite a few objections so far, from nearby residential community Macintosh Village, as well as Deansgate councellors.
Manchester City Council planning officers however, have recommended the project, stating it “sets high standards of sustainability and would contribute towards demand for student accommodation in a sustainable location”.
If approved, you should start seeing the tower on the city’s skyline within a couple of years. What do you think?
