Daily Express Building, Manchester
Daily Express Building | |
---|---|
Express Building | |
General information | |
Type | Office and residential |
Architectural style | Futurist Art Deco Streamline Moderne |
Location | Great Ancoats Street, Ancoats, Manchester |
Country | England |
Coordinates | 53°29′06″N 2°13′53″W / 53.4849°N 2.2313°W |
Construction started | 1936 |
Completed | 1939[1] |
Renovated | 1960 (extension)[2] 1979 (two-storey extension)[2] 1983[2] 1993–95 (office conversion)[2] 2018 |
Dimensions | |
Diameter | 75,600 square feet (7,020 m2) |
Technical details | |
Structural system | Steel and glass (curtain wall) |
Floor count | Six-storeys |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Sir Owen Williams |
Civil engineer | Sir Owen Williams |
Designations | |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
Official name | Daily Express Building |
Designated | 2 October 1974 |
Reference no. | 1218285 |
The Daily Express Building, located on Great Ancoats Street, Manchester, England, is a Grade II* listed building which was designed by engineer Sir Owen Williams. It was built in 1939 to house one of three Daily Express offices; the other two similar buildings are located in London and Glasgow.
The pre-
Unlike the London and Glasgow Express buildings, the Manchester building was designed by the engineer for all three buildings, Sir Owen Williams.
History
The building was required to accommodate existing growth at the Daily Express during the 1930s. During this decade the Daily Express was the most circulated newspaper in the world with sales of up to 2.25 million.
The London building opened in 1931, followed by the Glasgow building in 1937 and the Manchester building in 1939. Although similar to both buildings, it was uniquely different with Williams acting as engineer and architect; the former two were both designed by Ellis and Clark. The Glasgow and London buildings were designed by chartered architects while Williams, although not a qualified architect, was a competent designer. The interior of the London building is lavishly decorated, but suffers from a poor and dense site. The architecture of the exterior and site of the Manchester building is regarded as superior which allows the building to shine. Williams kept the design simple, preferring curved corners, cantilever roof rails and a three-storey turret; all these features share more in common with a futurist streamline moderne design rather than art deco.[14]
Only 35 years after opening, the building was Grade II*-listed on 3 October 1974.[6][15] The initial client of the building, the Daily Express, left Manchester in the late 1980s,[16] possibly because other buildings in the area were in a poor state of repair.[15] However, after the Daily Express decided to leave the city, there was no new press which expressed interest in continuing the building's role as a printing centre, so instead this was discontinued; but printing does still continue in the area.[17]
Architecture
The building's corners are curved, taking inspiration from the 1930s streamline moderne movement. It features typical Art Deco motifs: rounded corners, setbacks and a simple contrasting clear and black glass curtain wall. The Express began printing there in 1938, having been on the same site since 1927. Construction had to take place in stages so publishing could continue without interruption.
Originally, it was possible for passers by to peer into the main hall to see the large newspaper printing press.[18] When the building was converted during the 1990s, the glass was made reflective so that outsiders could not see the interior of the building.[18]
Nikolaus Pevsner described the building as an "all-glass front, absolutely flush, with rounded corners and translucent glass and black glass" and "a most impressive sight from the street, particularly when lit up at night."[2]
The Express Building influenced
Recent history
The building has been extended four times in its history, the most recent being between 1993 and 1995,
See also
- Grade II* listed buildings in Greater Manchester
- Listed buildings in Manchester-M4
- The Man in the White Suit (1951 film) which features a shot of the building lit up at night
Notes
- Citations
- ISBN 9780415334051.
- ^ ISBN 0-300-09666-6.
- ^ Martin, Rob (27 January 2015). "Manchester's Modernist marvels". timeout.com. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- ^ "Manchester Architecture part three". Manchester Confidential. 21 April 2010. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
First time visitors to the city frequently wonder if it was built within the last decade
- ^ "The ascent of Manchester". The Daily Telegraph. 24 May 2002. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
For the first time since 1939, when Sir Owen Williams built his Daily Express building, it is possible to turn to Manchester not with a shudder but with keen anticipation.
- ^ a b Historic England (14 April 2002). "Great Ancoats Street, Daily Express Building (1218285)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 5 July 2008.
- ^ "Daily Express, Manchester". Engineering Timelines. Archived from the original on 4 February 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
- ^ "Daily Express Building London: Fleet Street". e-architect.co.uk. 6 March 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
The Express Building in Manchester (1939) is considered the best of the three due to its superior exterior design and better site and was the only one of the three to be designed by Sir Owen Williams.
- ^ "Manchester Express Building" (PDF). GVA Grimley. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
The building has been described by Sir Norman Foster as one of his top five favourite buildings in the world
- ^ "Top 5 Buildings". visitmanchester.com. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
- ^ "The Best Buildings in Manchester (as voted by you)". prideofmanchester. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
- ^ Historic England. "Daily Express Building - Manchester (1218285)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
- ^ "The Daily Express". Spartacus. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
- ^ a b "Daily Express Building, Great Ancoats St". Manchester Modernists Society. Archived from the original on 5 July 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
- ^ a b "TDEB" (PDF). CUBE. 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 April 2006. Retrieved 5 July 2008.
- ^ "Daily Express Building, Manchester". Andrew Goudie. 26 April 2007. Retrieved 5 July 2008.
- ^ "Ancoats and its building today". Manchester City Council. Retrieved 5 July 2008.
- ^ a b "About Ancoats - Buildings - The Express Buildings". ancoatsbpt.co.uk. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
- ^ "Sir Norman Foster - 'My time as a bouncer'". phaidon.com. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
- ^ a b "Express building is sold to US group for £20m". Manchester Evening News. 26 September 2006. Retrieved 6 July 2008.
- ^ "Express route to a richer life". Manchester Evening News. 8 October 2003. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
- ^ "Manchester's Express Building on market for £9.5m". insidermedia.com. 24 April 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
External links
- Daily Express, Manchester - Engineering Timelines article on the building