Eye On Manchester blog by Aidan O’Rourke Tutor Photographer
Personal & professional diary on photography, languages, Français, Deutsch, local interest, art, music, travel and more

Archive for December, 2006

The Manchester Civil Justice Centre

Mon ,25/12/2006
Manchester Civil Justice Centre night view

The Manchester Civil Justice Centre is nearing completion on the west side of the Spinningfields District, overlooking the River Irwell

Already it has established its massive presence in this part of the city centre. Crossing Albert Bridge coming from Salford, its monolithic form rises up in front of you. Looking from the town hall down Brazennose Street, it is clearly visible.

It’s the size of two Portland Towers, and if it was cut in half and one half placed on top of the other, it would be taller than the Beetham Tower / Hilton Tower.

Eye On Manchester considers the Manchester Civil Justice Centre to be the most striking and important piece of modern architecture to appear in Manchester city centre for many years, and superior in design and concept than the Beetham / Hilton Tower. It was designed by Australian architects Denton Corker Marshall.

More in a longer article currently in preparation. Click to see all Civil Justice Centre photos in the photo portfolio.

Giant pillowfight on Albert Square

Sun ,24/12/2006

The festive markets have gone and the tradespeople have returned to their families in mainland Europe to celebreate Noël, Weihnachten, Kersttdage etc

But Albert Square was the venue for a lively pre-Christmas bash in the form of a giant pillow fight.

Lots of young people bashed each other over the head with feather pillows, many of which were sacrificed, but it was all in a good cause.

My photos of the pillow fight were used on the BBC Newsround website.

Not the usual photographic subject matter of Eye On Manchester, but one which commanded the attention of the media all the same.

Well done to the organisers and thanks to Alex McCann, creator of the excellent Designer Magazine where there’s a photo gallery page with the photos I took.

North West Business Insider looks back on 2006

Sat ,09/12/2006
North West Insider Magazine December 2006 edition

The latest edition of the North West Business Insider magazine has just appeared

The NW Business Insider focuses on the North West region, and is based in the de facto capital city of the North West, Manchester.

This content is firmly business-orientated, and provides an authoritative view of what’s happening in the world of business across the region.

This month’s edition includes

  • a review of the year in business in the North West,
  • a feature on how the music industry is coping in the internet age,
  • a profile of science parks across the region, including the Manchester Science Park,
  • a special review section on the Cumbria subregion,
  • a section with reports and share prices of north west companies quoted on the stock market,
  • An ‘Agenda’ section with reports on the defence industry in the region, the rebranding of Merseyside and climate change
  • An article asking the question: ‘Is the future green?’.

There’s a hard-hitting and outspoken editorial by editor Michael Taylor and plenty of interesting adverts, including a half page size one with a photo the Castlefield Chapel, currently up for sale or to let.

The cover has a Christmassy cartoon-style rendering of a city with some familiar Manchester landmarks, including GMEX, The Beetham, or more correctly, Hilton Tower, and the BBC building.

This is not fluffy bedtime reading or lifestyle coffee table stuff, it’s a solid business-orientated publication aimed at people in the top echelons of business and local government – and those who aspire to be in the top echelons.

Anyone interested in the development of Manchester and the North West region will glean a lot of very useful information from the North West Insider.

On the final page there’s a snap of property developers Wayne Mellor and Chris Nisbet, who Eye On Manchester saw at the CUBE talks earlier this week.

I bought my first copy at Manchester Airport back in 1994 because of an in-depth study on the pros and cons of Manchester’s Second Runway.

Many years, volumes and editions later, the North West Insider has survived while other regional publications – most notably the North West Enquirer – have fallen by the wayside, so they must be doing something right.

You won’t be able to lay your hands on a copy at your local grocery store or petrol station, as it’s only available on subscription.

More information on this edition at www.newsco.co.uk.