Report on CUBE discussion about tall buildings in Manchester

CUBE is the Centre for Understanding of the Built Environment. It’s located on Portland St Manchester. They organise exhibitions, events and seminars.

The event ‘Tall Talks High Rise Happenings’ took place on Tuesday 5 December from 5.30 to 7pm and Eye On Manchester was there.

The four speakers came from different angles and each had his own perspecitve.

David Rudlin of Urbed (Urbanism Environment and Design) expressed reservations about tall buildings, although he was not against them in principle. He maintains that tall buildings are not necessarily the best way for cities to achieve architectural distinctiveness and prestige.

Chris Nisbet, Chairman of Albany Assets, who plans to build Albany Tower on the site of the Employment Exchange on Aytoun St, is a big fan of tall buildings, praising them for the wealth and prestige they add to the city.

Dave Roscoe City Centre Developoment Leader, Manchester City Council, has been involved at the highest level in the preparation for all of Manchester’s recent tall buildings. Although Manchester has no tall buildings policy, he stressed that the local authority is very strict and has stringent requirements.

Gordon Reid, Chief Executive of the City Centre Management Company, although not involved in planning or construction, said he too was a fan of tall buildings and urged Manchester to build more.

The host was Phil Barton, Director of RENEW.

Some interesting points came out of the discussion:

• Tall buildings are very expensive and, from a financial point of view, risky to construct.
• They are a product of a set of economic conditions. When land values reach a certain point, tall buildings become viable.
• The City of Manchester’s current policy is to let developers and the market decide where tall buildings will be located.
• Banks won’t finance a tall building unless it is substantially pre-let.
• The combination of hotel rooms and apartments, not office space, is the most viable use for tall buildings in the UK today.
• From the point of view of CABE, (Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment), anything above 10 storeys is a tall building.
• There are currently three tall building projects in Manchester: The Beetham Hilton, just built, the Albany Tower and Eastgate Tower, both approved.
• Opinion on the Beetham Tower is divided. A majority of people at the seminar liked it but a significant minority didn’t.
• I also learned that in a recent MEN poll, a big majority of MEN readers said they didn’t like the Beetham Hilton Tower.

The next event in the series takes place on Thursday 7 December. Eye On Manchester hopes to be able to attend.

Click here to view images on the theme of tall buildings in Manchester from the Aidan O’Rourke Photo Portfolio.

Find out more about CUBE at www.cube.org.uk