Beetham
Hilton Tower
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."
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