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WE CONTINUE our tour through the changing cityscape around us by moving out of the centre into Hulme, Old Trafford, Salford Quays, and Salford to the west, and the new Commonwealth Games site and nearby districts to the east. All these areas, split between three local authorities (City of Manchester, Borough of Trafford, City of Salford), form an area which might be called 'Central Manchester'

THE HULME ARCH is supports a road bridge taking the re-instated Stretford Road across Princess Road.

The Hulme Arch is a symbol of the regeneration of the area, acting as a portal not only into Hulme from the east, but also into Manchester city centre from the south.

The pictures underneath date were taken in 1997. The two lower photographs show the official opening on 10 May 1997 - Can you spot Alex Ferguson?

Eyewitness says: It's interesting from both an aesthetic and geometric point of view. I was commissioned in 1999 to photograph the arch for an American school book on maths.

Here I've overlaid contrasting angles on top of each other, and added some extra colour.

 

THIS SUNSET VIEW FROM NEW VIADUCT STREET, next to the Commonwealth Games site in Bradford, looking towards Manchester city centre, still has a strong character of the industrial revolution. The terraced houses in the foreground, and the old mill buildings rising up behind them, are a legacy of the 19th century. The mill in the centre is bounded by Upper Helena Street on this side, and the Rochdale Canal on the other. To the left we see the Sunley Tower part of Piccadilly Plaza, and on the right one of the abandoned blocks of flats on the Ancoats/Miles Platting council estate.
   

THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES are in April 2001 less than 500 days away, and in these pictures we see the outline of the new City of Manchester stadium, during the course of construction.

The upper left picture shows the side view from the front of Philips Park Cemetery. The other three views are from outside the Manchester Velodrome.

SUNNY BROW PARK is one of my favourite spots in Manchester, and seems to me to be a place of happy childhood days, though I never came here myself as a child.

The park is set in a the valley of Gore Brook and has beautiful lawns, trees, flower beds and a childrens playground. It is overlooked on both sides by 19th century terraced houses, and the spire of the nearby church adds a crowning focal point to the scene. The park and surrounding streets have been designated as a conservation area.

But what's this we see? In the stream, just below the sluice gates, persons unknown have dumped an old shopping trolley and a plastic rubbish bin.

And round the edge of the park, the local authority (Manchester City Council) have installed cheap wire mesh fencing, instead of the original metal fence.

Eyewitness says: This area is just 10 minutes drive from the Commonwealth Games site, and it looks a disgrace - All of Manchester needs to be made presentable, not just the showpiece areas.

THE LOWRY arts and cultural centre has become well established as a major Manchester tourist destination. Here we see it in March 2001. Behind it, a new residential development, one of the highest to be built during the current development, is taking shape.

In the left of the picture is the 1980's office development which attempts to recreate the scale and volume of the huge grain elevator which used to stand on that site.

On the right is the new footbridge which leads across the Manchester Ship Canal from the City of Salford to the Borough of Trafford.

THE IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM NORTH seems to have sprung up very quickly - Today's building methods make rapid construction possible.

The building, designed by award-winning architect Daniel Libeskind, uses the image of a shattered globe to symbolise the effect of war on the world. Rising up is the air 'shard' - a brand new feature on the skyline of the former Docks.

Salford Quys is an ideal setting for radical new architecture, but as well as more boat traffic, I'd like to see more skyscrapers.

THE MANCHESTER SHIP CANAL is captured here from the viewpoint of Trafford Road Bridge. Against a Liam Spencer-esque sunset sky we see the rectangular outline of the Peel Holdings office building and the irregular shape of the Imperial War Museum North.

We can see right through the 'air shard' of the museum, as the exterior consists of long metal panels set apart from each other.

Eyewitness says: I had expected the museum to be bigger than this - it only barely exceeds the height of the Peel Holdings building. Let's rival London's Canary Wharf and build some true skyscrapers in Salford Quays.

THE BURJ AL ARAB HOTEL, DUBAI is currently my favourite contemporary building in the world.

Its form is simple, yet instantly recognisable and very pleasing to the eye, recalling both the man-made and natural world. The shape is designed to look like a wind-filled sail, but it also resembles an orange segment. It has overtaken other impressive local landmarks to become the most famous symbol of Dubai.

It came about thanks to two main factors: Virtually no planning restrictions, its location on an artificial island away from other buildings, and an unlimited budget, provided by the Maktoum family, rulers of Dubai and owners of this and the neighbouring Jumeira Beach Hotel.

Eyewitness says: This is probably my favourite contemporary building in the world. Imagine how it would look set in the waters of Salford Quays. An idle fantasy perhaps, but we have already secured the radically different Imperial War Museum North, so why can't we go further and higher?

EMIRATES TOWERS DUBAI was completed in early 2000. To call it a landmark development would be an understatement. This pair of unequal towers, designed by I M Pei, attracts your gaze like a magnet from all directions.

Like two gigantic Japanese high tech sawn off Toblerone bars in a metallic casing, who would have thought 30 years ago that such a futuristic structure would appear on the shores of the Gulf, overlooking these traditional style houses.

Eyewitness says: Imagine if we had awe-inspiring skyscrapers these in Manchester, they'd act like a beacon for the success of the city. But as the authorities have done in Dubai, place them outside the city centre, which should be kept at its present height. Additional note: A friend of mine has remarked disparagingly that they look like a pair of giant mobile phones.

THE ARNDALE CENTRE TOWER MANCHESTER was completed during the 1970's and is part of the Arndale Shopping Centre.

More awful than awe-inspiring, it is generally regarded as one of the ugliest buildings in Manchester, if not the whole of the UK. It is clad in the Arndale centre's characteristic rectangular yellow tiles which soon led to the description 'biggest public toilet in Europe'.

It was close to the epicentre of the 1996 IRA bomb, and suffered some superficial structural damage, though its reinforced concrete frame stubbornly withstood the blast. There were proposals to re-model the exterior but as we can see, the building remains unaltered, though only the lower floors appear to be in use.

Eyewitness says: The Arndale Centre tower is much more than an ugly building, it is a symbol of architectural and economic failure. Either the building should be enhanced with new cladding, like the Piccadilly Station tower, and new floors, like National Buildings, or better, it should be demolished.

THIS IS CANNON STREET seen from the Arndale Centre multi-storey car park, looking down towards Manchester Cathedral.

The former vehicle entrance ramp on the right has been converted for use by pedestrians and wheelchair-users. The entrance to the old Arndale bus station is at the bottom of the ramp on the right and the Arndale Centre office block can just be seen upper left.

The infamous yellow tiles - well, not so much yellow, more a dirty shade of beige - are at the time of writing (nearly May 2001) still there - despite assurances by Councillor Pat Karney that every single one of them will be removed

Eyewitness says: The inspiration for the Arndale Centre exterior seems to come from the same place as the old beige-coloured desktop PC, and similarly deserves to go on the scrapheap.

This beige tile-lined diesel fume-filled boxed in enclosure from the 1970's could be a setting for a low budget experimental video - a prison courtyard where the main character spends an eternity waiting for a 59 bus, with only the view of the sky as an escape route for their imagination. (Any film or video students want to have a go at making this with me as the producer?)

But all is about to change here - the beige tiles are coming off, the buses are moving out, and this unpromising space is to be transformed into a winter garden - a glass-covered piazza inside the Arndale Centre, with 24 hour access. Let's hope the beige PC world will be replaced by an iMac-style kaleidoscope of colour.

THE ARNDALE CENTRE TOWER stands on top of the Arndale shopping centre between Cannon Street and Market Street.

On the city centre skyline it is situated approximately mid-way between the CIS Building and the Sunley Tower, visible on the right of this picture.

Eyewitness says: The CIS building and to a lesser extent the Sunley Tower, both products of the late 50's early 60's, are vastly superior in design and use of materials to the Arndale Centre tower, which marks a mid-70's lowpoint in architectural design.

Shaped like a giant cardboard box, and of similar colour, it dominates and degrades the centre of Manchester. I've selected this photograph from 1997 (viewpoint the old Exchange Station, now car park) and removed the Arndale tower to show how much better the Manchester skyline would look without it.

THE FORMER NATIONAL WESTMINSTER BANK building on King Street was completed in 1969 (architects Casson, Conder and Partners), at the same time as its next door neighbour Pall Mall Court

In 2000/2001 the building was converted into an upmarket retail development.

There is a story I've heard that the architects wanted it to blend well into the surroundings, which at that time consisted of still smoke-blackened facades. A few years later they were cleaned leaving this building the odd one out.

Eyewitness says: This is an excellent example of an interestingly-designed high quality post-war building that fits well into its surroundings. Its many-angled facets, like a jewel, provide views in many directions from the flush-fitted windows. It was a fitting head office for NatWest, now it's an upmarket shopping centre. There was some criticism of the conversion, with the attachment of balconies and canopies to the exterior (lower picture) but I suppose this was necessary for the building's new use

PALL MALL COURT is an office building completed in 1969 - the same year as its next door neighbour, the former National Westminster Bank building. It was designed by architects Brett and Pollen

The building has many unexpected and hidden aspects. This smaller wing faces onto King Street, while a much taller part overlooks a courtyard behind. Tile covered corners jut out at different angles. You can look up to the top of the building from hidden passageways (lower picture) though anyone with a sense of smell will discover they are now used as nighttime urinals by male club-goers.

Eyewitness says: I was fascinated with Pall Mall Court as a child and remember in 1969 watching the Granada local tv magazine programme which featured the building after it was given an RIBA award. One lady said "I can't see anything special about it, but those smoke glass windows might be nice to have a cuddle in". Pall Mall Court is very special - a meticulously designed post-war building with unexpected nooks and crannies like a medieval castle. It looks as good today as it did thirty years ago.

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