| Architect |
Ian Simpson
Architects |
| Date
Built |
2006 |
| Location |
Deansgate
& Great Bridgewater Street |
| Description |
|
|
The Beetham Tower not only dominates the
city centre, it dominates the whole area as
you drive in from the suburbs. The Beetham
Organization describes itself as "..a privately owned pioneering UK
property development and investment
company with a focus on prime city centre
real estate, specialising in hotel,
residential and office projects." This Beetham Tower in Manchester is just one of 6 in the country. There are 2 Beetham Towers in Liverpool, and one in London, Birmingham, and Brighton. It was designed by Ian Simpson Architects and built by Carillion. At 169 metres it is the tallest building in Manchester by a considerable margin. The first 23 floors of the building belong to Hilton Hotels with their signature restaurant, Cloud 23. Floors 24 to 48 provide residential apartments and Ian Simpson himself owns the penthouse. In all the tower provides a 285 bedroom Four Star Hilton Deansgate Hotel and 219 residential apartments and car parking to serve the hotel and residential users. Ian
Simpson says of the building, "Each of the
elevations to the building has a
different treatment according to
orientation in order to deal with solar
gain issues. Whilst the lower levels of
the building are about creating a place
for people to enjoy, which is rooted in
the life of the city, the top is light
and appears to challenge gravity. The
glazed skin of the buffer zone to the
south façade cantilevers above roof
level to form a crystalline blade. This
glazed element blurs the distinction
between the building and the surrounding
skies and is intended to make the crown
of the building appear to
dematerialise."
|
|
Hilton
Beetham Tower, Deansgate, Manchester, UK
 |
