Point one’s camera in almost any direction in Manchester these days and one will hit a building site. This particular one — to be known, once complete, as ‘Circle Square’ (you have to cringe just a little bit) — is on the site of the old BBC building. Creative destruction….? Something to record, at least.
Well, the weather’s still very pleasant, that is undeniable. I told my students today, most of whom are from overseas, “you do realise that it’s not always like this, don’t you?”. But these things happen, in 2013 I think I got about the best two weeks of autumn weather that New Zealand had had in recent memory. It’s hard not to just sit down and chill out in it. It won’t last…
I have been meaning to put this building on the blog for a while and today it gets its chance, partly because not much else happened (I spent all day in my office, and it was a nice sunny day too), and partly because of the coincidence of the sun taking out the upper floor window. How did it end up like this? If it was built on its own, why so much taller than its neighbours? On the other hand, if it was once part of a longer terrace, how come it survived when the others were demolished and rebuilt? Someone must know….
POSTSCRIPT: See http://www.theskyliner.org/82-portland-street/ for more info. Apparently it is a newer building than its neighbours, so was deliberately built like this, but no one really knows why. Maybe the builders just had a narrow plot and decided to maximise the floor rentals they could acquire from it (like the tall houses of Hebden Bridge). Thanks to Katie Carina Homer for this link.
September 2016 has been characterised by pretty good weather throughout, and its final day continued the theme — at least until the afternoon walk back to the station when I was dumped on by a thunderstorm. The morning closed out the working week pleasantly, however. For once, I don’t mind the vehicle on this shot.
Abingdon Street is one of those little city centre back streets that I have found down the years and use because there is very little other traffic on it (wheeled or on foot). Hence why this guy can relax and have a kip, or indeed this guy, taken just on the other side of the road. Clearly it is a prime location in Manchester for morning constitutionals. Why the monochrome? It was the greyest day in weeks, and I felt like it.
At 554 feet, or 169m, this is the tallest building in the UK outside of London, and also one of the world’s thinnest buildings: not apparent in this shot but the unseen third dimension is very slight. Only the topmost floors are seen in this shot, but these are the highest residential apartments in the UK. And apparently it makes a great noise when the wind is high. I like the way the windows had caught the vague sunlight this morning.
More glorious weather, though in fact that is not so unusual at this time of year. I have evidence, too: pictures from September 16th 2015 (not 15th, admittedly: glorious though….); 16/9/14 (beautiful!); 15/9/12 (great, and almost the first really fine day of a lousy summer)….
Not that I’m complaining. May there be more, particularly this Saturday, which I have to spend mostly standing in a field.
As a few recent photos have suggested, we are entering a good time of year for dramatic skies. I like the NGI building, it somehow matches its main host substance — which I guess is the point, architecturally. Well, my employers have spent enough on it, so it’d better be good I suppose….
Beautiful morning in Manchester. Took two or three photos I was happy with, but all of them before 8.50am; after emerging from a day at work the light had mostly gone. Anyway it’s about time I acknowledged a morning again, after 12 consecutive afternoon shots. The sign points into (or away from) the entrance to Café Muse at the Manchester Museum.
One for the occasional series, “machines enjoying doing their jobs”? (A previous entry here….). Or just an additional depiction of the rebuilding of Manchester’s entire city centre? If theories of capitalism and ‘creative destruction’ are right, by 2050 this could become the world norm.
Being 42 