Manchester’s Changing Skyline

[Deleted member 77198]

Just needs one iconic tower now. Something with a shape or size or both that when anyone from anywhere in the world looks at a picture of it knows it’s Manchester.

At the moment it could be anywhere, it’s all just a bit box generic. All the boxes are great to add to the mass, and it only needs one iconic tower (no need having loads of unusual towers).

Just one that looks something like that one on Whitworth Street but on a much bigger scale and even more unusual



Something like this but in glass and just that bit bigger than all the nice boxes that build up to this one. Something that gets the world talking and knocks us off our feet.

The big thing for me that needs to change most though is the streetscape.

The pavements, roads, walls at footfall level, bollards, signs, bus stops, Met stops, squares etc. all around the city centre all need a gigantic overhaul, updating, evening up and a proper fucking good cleaning up n’all.

At eye level, I think far too much of Manchester City centre is a shithole.

 

[jrb]

Just needs one iconic tower now. Something with a shape or size or both that when anyone from anywhere in the world looks at a picture of it knows it’s Manchester.

At the moment it could be anywhere, it’s all just a bit box generic. All the boxes are great to add to the mass, and it only needs one iconic tower (no need having loads of unusual towers).

Just one that looks something like that one on Whitworth Street but on a much bigger scale and even more unusual

View attachment 62264

Something like this but in glass and just that bit bigger than all the nice boxes that build up to this one. Something that gets the world talking and knocks us off our feet.

The big thing for me that needs to change most though is the streetscape.

The pavements, roads, walls at footfall level, bollards, signs, bus stops, Met stops, squares etc. all around the city centre all need a gigantic overhaul, updating, evening up and a proper fucking good cleaning up n’all.

At eye level, I think far too much of Manchester City centre is a shithole.

Boxed towers are cheaper to build. As such they generate more profit for a property developer. Manchester isn’t London or a capital city where property developers can throw money at iconic towers knowing they will still get a return and make a profit. Construction, material and labour costs have rocketed over the last few years. Manchester is a regional city punching well above it’s weight. Outside of London, Manchester has seen the most towers constructed in the last decade in the UK. No other UK regional city comes close to Manchester for new towers built. Basically, the returns and profit need to be there for an iconic tower to be built in Manchester.

 

[west didsblue]

Just needs one iconic tower now. Something with a shape or size or both that when anyone from anywhere in the world looks at a picture of it knows it’s Manchester.

At the moment it could be anywhere, it’s all just a bit box generic. All the boxes are great to add to the mass, and it only needs one iconic tower (no need having loads of unusual towers).

Just one that looks something like that one on Whitworth Street but on a much bigger scale and even more unusual

View attachment 62264

Something like this but in glass and just that bit bigger than all the nice boxes that build up to this one. Something that gets the world talking and knocks us off our feet.

The big thing for me that needs to change most though is the streetscape.

The pavements, roads, walls at footfall level, bollards, signs, bus stops, Met stops, squares etc. all around the city centre all need a gigantic overhaul, updating, evening up and a proper fucking good cleaning up n’all.

At eye level, I think far too much of Manchester City centre is a shithole.

The new one being developed by the company fronted by Neville should be that iconic tower because of its central location. Unfortunately it’s only going to be around 130 metres.

 

[KS55]

Not really part of the changing skyline , but it’s a beauty .

And such a contrast to some of the new towers which are downright ugly.

 

[KS55]

Boxed towers are cheaper to build. As such they generate more profit for a property developer. Manchester isn’t London or a capital city where property developers can throw money at iconic towers knowing they will still get a return and make a profit. Construction, material and labour costs have rocketed over the last few years. Manchester is a regional city punching well above it’s weight. Outside of London, Manchester has seen the most towers constructed in the last decade in the UK. No other UK regional city comes close to Manchester for new towers built. Basically, the returns and profit need to be there for an iconic tower to be built in Manchester.

Or for the city to contribute on artistic grounds. An architectural competition would be appropriate.

 

[Keeper!]

Just needs one iconic tower now. Something with a shape or size or both that when anyone from anywhere in the world looks at a picture of it knows it’s Manchester.

At the moment it could be anywhere, it’s all just a bit box generic. All the boxes are great to add to the mass, and it only needs one iconic tower (no need having loads of unusual towers).

Just one that looks something like that one on Whitworth Street but on a much bigger scale and even more unusual

View attachment 62264

Something like this but in glass and just that bit bigger than all the nice boxes that build up to this one. Something that gets the world talking and knocks us off our feet.

The big thing for me that needs to change most though is the streetscape.

The pavements, roads, walls at footfall level, bollards, signs, bus stops, Met stops, squares etc. all around the city centre all need a gigantic overhaul, updating, evening up and a proper fucking good cleaning up n’all.

At eye level, I think far too much of Manchester City centre is a shithole.

This is a fairly new tower in Bangkok, looks stunning

 

[Deleted member 77198]

Boxed towers are cheaper to build. As such they generate more profit for a property developer. Manchester isn’t London or a capital city where property developers can throw money at iconic towers knowing they will still get a return and make a profit. Construction, material and labour costs have rocketed over the last few years. Manchester is a regional city punching well above its weight. Outside of London, Manchester has seen the most towers constructed in the last decade in the UK. No other UK regional city comes close to Manchester for new towers built. Basically, the returns and profit need to be there for an iconic tower to be built in Manchester.

Don’t get me wrong, I think the boxes are good as they are staging the basis for that one iconic tower that’s needed to complete the skyline. It only needs one, just the one to stand out above the boxes which will all contribute to the mass.

But we do need that one otherwise the skyline is just too bland and generic.

Manchester has been punching well below its weight ever since the Manchester Ship Canal was completed. ‘What Manchester does today, the rest of the world goes tomorrow’ (Benjamin Disraeli), ‘have you seen Manchester? Manchester is as great a human exploit as Athens’ (Benjamin Disraeli), ‘Certainly, Manchester is the most wonderful city of modern times’ (Benjamin Disraeli).

We are a city of historic world importance and deserve an iconic skyline to go with our name. I get it’s all about money but we should be aiming higher. One Angel Square is the best modern building in the country, better than anything in London… that’s the sort of class we should be looking at for that final piece of the jigsaw, but eye catching to the skyline from a distance.

For me though, again, much more importantly than getting the skyline the city name deserves, the streetscape is of most importance in the shorter term. It needs a total revamp across the city.

 

[jimharri]

This is a fairly new tower in Bangkok, looks stunning

View attachment 62289

Looks like a game of jenga.

 

[Keeper!]

Looks like a game of jenga.

Minecraft but it looks stunning on the skyline

 

[Gremlin]

Just needs one iconic tower now. Something with a shape or size or both that when anyone from anywhere in the world looks at a picture of it knows it’s Manchester.

At the moment it could be anywhere, it’s all just a bit box generic. All the boxes are great to add to the mass, and it only needs one iconic tower (no need having loads of unusual towers).

Just one that looks something like that one on Whitworth Street but on a much bigger scale and even more unusual

View attachment 62264

Something like this but in glass and just that bit bigger than all the nice boxes that build up to this one. Something that gets the world talking and knocks us off our feet.

The big thing for me that needs to change most though is the streetscape.

The pavements, roads, walls at footfall level, bollards, signs, bus stops, Met stops, squares etc. all around the city centre all need a gigantic overhaul, updating, evening up and a proper fucking good cleaning up n’all.

At eye level, I think far too much of Manchester City centre is a shithole.

Not massively iconic, I know, but when you see a picture of the Beetham Tower you know it's Manchester