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Beetham Tower, Manchester

Beetham Tower
Hilton Tower
General information
StatusCompleted
TypeHotel, residential, office[1]
Architectural styleHigh-tech / Neomodern
Location301–303 Deansgate, Manchester, England
Construction started2004
Completed2006[2][3]
Cost£150 million[4]
OwnerJohn Christodoulou[5][6]
Height
Antenna spireTo glass façade overrun: 169 m (554 ft)[3]
Roof158 m (518 ft)
Technical details
Floor count47[7]
Floor area45,100 square metres (485,000 sq ft)
Lifts/elevators8[1]
Design and construction
Architect(s)SimpsonHaugh and Partners[4]
DeveloperBeetham Organization[4]
Structural engineerWSP Group[8]
Main contractorCarillion[4]
Awards and prizesCTBUH Best Tall Building Award 2007
References
[1][9]

Beetham Tower (also known as the Hilton Tower)[10] is a 47-storey mixed use skyscraper in Manchester, England. Completed in 2006, it is named after its developers, the Beetham Organisation, and was designed by SimpsonHaugh and Partners.[4] The development occupies a sliver of land at the top of Deansgate, hence its elongated plan, and was proposed in July 2003, with construction beginning a year later.

At a height of 169 m (554 ft), it was described by the Financial Times as "the UK's first proper skyscraper outside London".[11] From 2006 to 2018, the skyscraper was the tallest building in Manchester and outside London in the United Kingdom. In November 2018, it was surpassed by the South Tower at Deansgate Square, which is 201 m (659 ft) tall.[12][13]

As a result of the elongated floor plan, the structure is one of the thinnest skyscrapers in the world with a height to width ratio of 10:1 on the east–west façade, but is noticeably wider on the north–south façade.[14][15] A 4 m (13 ft) cantilever marks the transition between hotel and residential use on the north façade, and a blade structure on the south side of the building acts as a façade overrun accentuating its slim form and doubles as a lightning rod. The skyscraper is visible from ten English counties on a clear day.

The top floor penthouse offers views of Greater Manchester, the Cheshire Plain, the Pennines and Snowdonia. The tower is known for emitting a loud unintentional hum or howl in windy weather, believed to emanate from the glass 'blade' atop the building.[16] The hum has been recorded as a B below middle C and can be heard over large parts of the local area.[17]

Architectural response to the skyscraper is polarised and interpretations vary. Some questioned its dominant appearance over the city, particularly over listed buildings, with one author going as far to say the skyscraper instantly "torpedoed" any possibility of Manchester becoming a UNESCO World Heritage City – a status for which Manchester had previously been shortlisted due to its industrial past.[18] Others feel its dramatic appearance and peculiarity is reflective of Manchester, and that the Beetham Tower symbolises Manchester's reinvention as a post-industrial city, particularly since the bombing of 1996.[19][20] Nevertheless, it has received praise and was awarded the best tall building in the world in 2007 by the Council for Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.[21] In 2019, it was the subject of a legal dispute over the need for urgent repair works to parts of the glass panel façade.[22]

  1. ^ a b c "Beetham Tower". Emporis. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2011.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ^ "Work starts on luxury high rise". BBC News. 28 April 2004. Archived from the original on 23 May 2006. Retrieved 23 February 2008.
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference bbc_height was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b c d e "Beetham Tower Manchester". SkyScraperNews. 14 February 2008. Archived from the original on 22 February 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2008.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Christodouloubeneficialowner was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference YianisGroup was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Engineering Timelines – Beetham Tower". Engineering Timeline. Archived from the original on 28 October 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
  8. ^ "WSP UK: Beetham Hilton Tower, Manchester". Retrieved 6 January 2012.
  9. ^ "Beetham Tower". skyscrapercity.com. 27 April 2010. Archived from the original on 22 February 2008. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
  10. ^ "Information about the Beetham Tower Manchester". Archived from the original on 27 October 2008. Retrieved 13 October 2008.
  11. ^ John Sunyer (22 March 2013). "View from the top: At home (in Manchester) with Ian Simpson, one of the architects transforming the face of London". Financial Times. London. Archived from the original on 8 December 2014. Retrieved 26 November 2014. Though for Manchester, it's massive. Nothing comes close on this skyline. People stop and stare. Look, there it is, the UK's first proper skyscraper outside London.
  12. ^ "Manchester's tallest skyscraper plan approved". BBC News. 30 June 2016. Archived from the original on 3 July 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  13. ^ "The Beetham Tower isn't the tallest building in Manchester anymore". Manchester Evening News. 12 June 2018. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  14. ^ "How We Built Britain". BBC. 18 September 2007. Archived from the original on 23 August 2010. Retrieved 24 September 2010.
  15. ^ "Video interview with Ian Simpson about the Hilton Tower". Beetham Tower. Archived from the original on 18 February 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
  16. ^ "70mph winds, driving rain, delays on the M60 and Beetham Tower howling: Welcome back to work". Manchester Evening News. 3 January 2012. Archived from the original on 8 January 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
  17. ^ "Beetham Tower howls again after another windy night in Manchester". Manchester Evening News. Archived from the original on 9 January 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
  18. ^ Punter, John (2010). Urban Design and the British Urban Renaissance. London: Routledge. p. 59. ISBN 9780203869208.
  19. ^ "Architecture and people: review of the decade". Manchester Confidential. 22 December 2009. Archived from the original on 7 June 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2012. The jury may be out on Beetham Tower and Chips but this writer admires their verve
  20. ^ "Beetham Tower Manchester Celebrates Top Out". Skyscraper News. 27 April 2006. Archived from the original on 16 March 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2012. However, it has been criticised by some for its 'boxy' minimalist design. The aesthetic appeal may be debatable but the structural significance is not
  21. ^ "2007 Best Tall Building – The Beetham Hilton Tower". Council for Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. Archived from the original on 29 August 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  22. ^ "Beetham Tower 'in disrepair'". Place North West. February 2019. Archived from the original on 15 February 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2019.

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