I hate the Manchester Hilton building.
IMHO, it's a clunky slab of uninspiring glass that dominates the south end of Deansgate. I have to walk past it several times a day to and from home, work, the pub... I particularly hate the step half way up the back that increases the floor area of the flats above and gives the bar a creepy see-through floor section.
But some days its ugliness catches my eye as the weather transforms it. And sometimes it even reflects my mood back at me. The other day (above) its steely flint-grey appearance reflected my own gritted-teeth-head-down week...
And occassionally it has its head in the clouds (literally).technorati tag: manchester hilton, manchester weather
5 comments:
I love the Hilton building, probably for all the reasons you hate it.
I just wish I didn't have to call it the Hilton. It sounds so corporate, so commercial.
I'm going to call it Bernard.
i quite like it as a building, however i struggle with it philosophically - do i sound like a pretentious twat or what - To me it symbolizes the vulgarity and decadence of the 'new manchester'.
It highlights the exclusive nature of the city centre. It says the city centre is about success and wealth. It can be seen from some of the poorest communities in manchester, either to be aspired to or jealous of, and i'd suggest it just emphasizes the fragmentation of our city.
When manchester boomed on the cotton trade there were buildings that were signs of manchester's new wealth - the town hall etc. but i like to think that these were built for the benefit of the whole community rather than just the wealthy few...
I like it, just because whenever I come into Manchester I can see it from a long way away. (When I make comments this unsophisticated, I long to manage to sound like a pretentious twat).
I call it the Beechams Tower because I really believe that's what it's called - I think that's what the architect is called. But I could have misheard it somewhere.
We had a guy from Urban Splash talking about their developments at uni today. It was really interesting - if you want to work for a trendy and dynamic company, they're the people to go for.
It's officially called the Beetham Tower, after the developers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beetham_Tower,_Manchester
http://www.hotelsinmanchesteruk.co.uk/
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