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THE AXIS tower, a new 27-storey skyscraper on Deansgate Locks, has been given the go ahead by Manchester City Council.
“Great new buildings have never just happened. They are conceived, designed, developed and built by people of commitment and vision."
As you can see from these hi-res images, the svelte, super-modern glass tower of Axis is set to completely transform the Manchester city centre skyline.
Axis will be approximately 93m tall, making it the fifth tallest building in Manchester, behind Beetham Tower (169m), CIS Tower (118m), Student Castle (109m) and Piccadilly's City Tower (107m).
Arndale House (90m) and Manchester Town Hall (87m) fall just behind Axis.
Work on the new £40m skyscraper on Albion Street is set to begin in early-2015 with completion expected for late 2016.
The development by Property Alliance Group and Development Securities (designed by 5Plus Architects) will provide 172 one, two and three bedroom apartments alongside two luxury penthouses in the city's 'Southern Gateway'.
Axis will overlook HOME - Manchester's new £25m city centre multi-arts complex - set to open in Spring 2015 over the road as part of the wider £500m First Street regeneration scheme.
Property Alliance Group's chairman David Russell told Confidential in August: “Great new buildings have never just happened. They are conceived, designed, developed and built by people of commitment and vision. Our team has created a statement building that will stand proud in the Manchester skyline.
"The quality and design detail of the building’s external façade and interior is high on our agenda; a resident or visitor will experience a real sense of arrival at Axis unlike any other in Manchester and the two penthouse apartments will provide the pinnacle in luxury living.”
Matthew Weiner, Director at Development Securities said: “Axis Tower is a significant development opportunity for us and will deliver an iconic new residential building in the heart of Manchester.
“With planning now secured, we look forward to progressing the project to the next phase with a start on site anticipated in early 2015.
Deloitte Real Estate secured planning permission for the development.
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That's going to be a slim building.
Great news! Looks like a decent design, too, and the architects have some decent stuff behind them.
I really like the look of that. I just wish it was about 5 times bigger.
Check out the angle of those stripes.
Make it bigger!
A bit bigger would have been nice... hopefully this will spark some more high stuff so that Beetham has some friends. He looks pretty lonely at the moment.
Axis Tower? Sounds German. Are they the same architects as St. Peter's Square?
Why does it sound German?
Axis!
and what makes that german??
If you google the words Axis and Germany, all will be revealed. Although I doubt anyone under the age of 90 is aware of the connection
oh. i like germany. i like the name. i'm not googling it though. am scared.
The view from the south is diabolical. Ill proportioned, cheap cladding, this will look grim mark my words.
Investors should give this a wide berth IMO.
No balconies, no green space nearby, not sure how pleasant these flats will be to live in either.
Ha ha ha all you 3 anons, I love your negativity. I do hope you'll be buying one.
Whiny c*nts.
Looks good but let's hope whomever moves I doesn't start complaining about the noisy bars on the locks on a Friday and Saturday night.
This is not really new,they been trying to flog this site for years ,with different plans,none of which got anywhere.Manchester property developers are totally devoid of original thinking,just money grabbing tarts in suits.
The only reason the previous scheme failed is down to the recession. All the groundwork was completed...
I can't help thinking it looks temporary. Just like the HOME buildings over the way from it. Glass and steel, glass and steel!
What's your point? Should skyscrapers be built from brick and stone?
No, the point I was making is that their style of glass and steel makes them look temporary. Understand now?
Yeah completely understand what you are saying. I mean name me any steel and glass buildings that stand the test of time... apart from Empire State, Chrysler, Sears, Pompidou Centre, Canary Wharf... (ad infinitum)... you understand?
Yes thankyou Anon, full logical sentences are helpful for comprehension.
Yeah anon, someone should tell New York City. One Bryant Park (55 floors), The NY Times Building (52 floors), One57 (75 floors) and 1 WTC (104 floors). All glass and steel structures, recently completed. Amazing that they went to so much effort for things that 'look temporary'.
Oh my! You three above...I said 'their style'. Did I mention any other structures around the world? Understand now?
Understand that you're talking nonsense? Yep.
@Above Clown!
Understand now? Hilarious.
COMMENT REMOVED. Wayne, you can't get personal like that and you know it. There's a programme on Radio 5 today about how people can be prosecuted for trolling. Catch up on it on iPlayer. EDITORIAL
I quite like this but I've seen some renders where the colours are different (orange and brown I think) and it looked better.
Yes I quite like this new building. The sleek design complements the nearby Beetham Tower well. I take your point about the colour; there is an inhospitable coldness about glass{except when stained} and steel, which is perhaps why very modern structures are rarely loved by the public. Only when they are exceptionally tall do they really capture the imagination and lift our spirits. And as more high rise apartments spring up in the city, it becomes even more important that our Victorian and Edwardian treasures, like the London Road Fire Station are protected and maintained for future generations to enjoy.
Here it is farm4.staticflickr.com/…/15027528089_f505040a9f_b.jpg…
There does seem to be an architectural move to introduce cold grey brick and sooty facades into the city over the warmer red brickand sandstone tones of historic Manchester. Whilst supertall grey buildings on the skyline like the Beetham Tower are better constructed in glass and steel to soften their impact and reflect the sky (The Shard in London does this quite well), this building isn’t high enough to warrant that and would have looked better in the original cladding to mirror the lower heritage red brick buildings around here. Or better still just make it taller.
Sadly the area as a whole still has an air of desolation about it, particularly when viewed from atop. The Manchester Central loading / storage directly absorbs several acres of prime real estate, the real impact of One Central is yet to seen and the rest of that whole side of Deansgate is hardly on fire in terms of property development. I'm still optimistic, but time will tell...
Which building is One Central?
Apologies! I meant First Street.
Thanks, thought I had missed something!
Wow, another glass box! Where did they get the idea?
Before Gimboid predictably responds with 'What's your point? Should skyscrapers be built from brick and stone?' I agree with your observation.
What's your point?
Instead of a brick, stone or concrete box?
Probably got the idea from the fact that glass lets in light.
Oh hi stalker-Anon. My 'predictability' (I've actually only posted the question twice btw) is only in response to the pointless repetition of such a dull comment. I've yet to see anyone give a decent answer.
Ok Gimboid, although practical, functional and cost effective, the current trend of using acres of glass, steel and concrete are rather formulaic. I'd much prefer to see less of it in the city. A compromise between the modern contructive positives I've just mentioned and the city's history in its design would be better. 'New character' so to speak. At least One St. Peter's Square has dared to be different and, it makes Peter House stand out a little more.
One St Peter's Sq is a steel structure with glass and cladding panels of polished concrete. It is not made of stone. The majority of commercial buildings are built the same way. It is the quality of the cladding that differs.
I love it! The main reason being it's not a boring Ian Simpson design
Beetham and No 1 Deansgate are two of my favourite buildings in Manchester. Matter of personal taste though I guess.
I like the urbis centre so I take your point.Have you seen his design for Blackfriars in London? it is stunning. I suppose you have guaranteed tenants in London though and that is the big difference.No good building a ninety storey building on Oldham road is there.
Wow the Blackfriars building is impressive. Looks like it should be in Dubai though. Unfortunately there just isn't the need or money in Manchester for buildings like this and the walkie talkie/gherkin etc...maybe we could do a smaller version though
Ian Simpson always seems to design gorgeous buildings for every other city but Manchester. Lord Rogers and Lord Foster could do with a bit more loyalty to their native town too. 27 storeys is as some say too small. I thought by now Manchester would look like Chicago,not Watford. Do you remember the original plans for the labour exchange? and have you seen what they are building there now. No ambition just another chain hotel.Salford is building much more exciting stuff.Maybe Mcr could learn from it's baby Sister.
Fair point anon. To my mind Ian Simpson has lost his creative mojo - most of his output of the last few years looks like it was designed by an intern with a 'design an Ian Simpson building' CAD package. It would be good to see a decent Foster building in the city too. (Tho I think you'll find Lord Rogers is Italian.) Manchester has been blessed with a lot of mediocre architecture in the last few years, but things have been looking up lately in St Peter's Square, happily clad in stone or something like it, and now this - but why is 27 storeys too small? There's more to decent architecture than height. There is the beginning of a decent cluster of tall buildings here, something which Manchester's increasingly disordered skyline sadly lacks.
It's all vanity.