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| This
superb English Art Nouveau building on Daisy Bank
Road in Victoria Park, from Manchester architect,
Edgar Wood, was the first purpose-built church in
Britain for Christian Scientists. Built between 1902
and 1906 it was recognised as one of the finest new
buildings in Europe. The church was closed however
on Boxing Day 1971 and vandals looted most of its
contents. The fate of the church hung in the balance
for a while, until it was bought by the council who
restored it successfully as The Edgar Wood Centre.
Superb! |
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| Sir Owen
Williams impressive 1939 glass building on Great Ancoats
Street in the Northern Quarter was a copy of its sister
building on Fleet Street, London, without the Art Deco
motivs. Originally, you could stand on the street outside
and watch the workers inside producing the Daily Express
on the massive printing press. Now converted into offices
and apartments, with many features removed. |
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| The amazing
Lowry theatre and art gallery, is set in a waterside
location in the redeveloped Salford Quays. Opened on
the 28th April 2000, the impressive glass and metallic
structure is a far cry from the 'dark satanic mills'
painted by Salford's favourite son, LS Lowry, whom the
building is named after. An impressive footbridge joins
The Lowry with the Imperial War Museum and Old Trafford
football stadium on the opposite bank of the Manchester
Ship Canal. |
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| One of
Manchester City Council's most controversial decisions
came in 2002, when they allowed the demolition of the
iconic building that once housed the world famous Hacienda
nightclub (1982-1997) on Whitworth Street. The former
yacht warehouse was demolished by Crosby Homes who replaced
it with apartments, controversially bearing the same
name (see Manchester's worst buildings).
(photo
by Aidan O'Rourke www.aidan.co.uk) |
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| One of
the few popular designs from Manchester's Ian Simpson
Architects, Urbis is a new museum rising (and rising
and rising) from the area devastated by the 1996 IRA
bomb in Cathedral Gardens. It's a stunning building
from all angles and offers views, largely obstructed
by the frosted galss, of the city (or the horrible air
vents on the rooftops at least). Opened in 2002, the
glass building is a refreshing entrant to the architect's
somewhat chequered portfolio of recent Manchester developments. |
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| The
impressive Imperial War Museum North, just across the
footbridge from the Lowry, was the first building in
the UK by architect Daniel Libeskind. Clad in aluminum,
this amazing building on the banks of the Manchester
Ship Canal offers a superb view of the city centre from
half way up its 55 metre high tower. Built in 2000. |
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| It
has to be said that not many decent buildings cropped
up in Manchester during the sixties and seventies. The
CIS Building at the end of Balloon Street is an exception.
Designed in 1962 by US firm, Skidmore Owens & Merrill,
the two asymmetrically balanced towers remained the
tallest in the city untl the Beetham Tower came along
44 years later in 2006. During the same year, the CIS
Building was clad in Europe's largest commercial solar
façade and renamed the CIS Solar Tower. |
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| Trafford
Council's attempts to save one of the region's most
historic buildings in 2003 failed because the government
didn't think the 100 year old structure was architecturally
important enough to warrant listed status. As a result,
the wonderful building that housed engineering giants
Metropolitan Vickers, was heartbreakingly bulldozed
to make way for the Electric Park industrial estate.
The American Westinghouse Company, which gave the building
(and road) its name in 1901, moved to Trafford Park
where they soon became a centre of engineering excellence,
supplying the world with heavy steel turbines and equipment
for traction engines and power stations. During
the war, when Metropolitan Vickers was based in the
building, the business played a crucial role in the
building of the Manchester and Lancaster bombers. Vital
research into the development of radar was also carried
out there. Another beautiful historic building destroyed
by civil servants. |
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| Manchester
can safely boast one of the best town hall's in the
whole world. Designed in 1877 by Liverpool-born Alfred
Waterhouse, the building stands on a triangular site
with the Albert Square facing frontage being the longest
and most impressive. The left hand corner is a major
feature, and features several stone statues. The skyline
needs to be seen at a distance to be appreciated, as
from Albert Square the sheer size of the building makes
it difficult to see the various roofs, turrets and chimneys.
If you get chance, pop inside to see the stunning Ford
Maddox Brown mural's capturing the early history of
the city. |
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| Whilst
the first recorded history of the Cathedral and Collegiate
Church of St Mary, St Denys and St George in Manchester
dates back to 1421, its possible it was built long before.
Unfortunately its location in the medieval centre of
Manchester has left it isolated on the edge of the modern
city centre, although the rebuilding after the 1996
IRA bomb has seen new gardens and walkways bringing
it back into the fold. Although the Cathedral is the
most significant surviving medieval building in the
region, the external appearance is more recent; the
tower built in 1867 and the west porch in 1898. The
Cathedral is perhaps more impressive on the inside -
impressive stained glass windows are complimented with
wooden carvings which include pigs playing bagpipes
and rabbits cooking hunters. |
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