2009 Three Towers, Dalton Street, Collyhurst, Manchester
Architect: Union North
Client: Urban Splash
Structural engineer: Joule Consulting Engineers
Services engineer: Latham Miller
Quantity surveyor: Simon Fenton Partnership
Landscape architect: Gross Max
Contractor: Urban Splash Build
Contract value: £13.8m
Date of occupation: April 2007
Gross internal area: 140,000 sq ft, 13,000 sq m
The client, Urban Splash: The towers are a great example of how concrete buildings of this style can be turned around. In the initial design stages we worked closely with the architect to develop designs which included a new bright timber cladding, floor-to-ceiling windows in place of the old balconies and contemporary layouts.
Previous experiences of working together on the Midland Hotel in Morecambe meant that there was a strong relationship between us and Union North. The team worked solidly to develop ideas and Union North's approach to design is in synergy with the Urban Splash mission of taking derelict, disused or unloved buildings and turning them into real homes and communities.
The RIBA award reinforces our commitment to making best use of existing buildings whilst incorporating 21st-century design features that will appeal to wider audiences.
The judges: The project addresses the cost-effective refurbishment and re-emancipation of existing council tower blocks, an architectural and social problem of national relevance. Union North has taken three thoroughly unpromising 60s blocks and created a new sense of community with a strong visual identity and contemporary interior styling.
The external cladding solution creates a dramatic façade through the use of wood veneer panels and of an irregular glazing module. This provides a dynamic skin to the towers which also thermally upgrades the whole building.
Extra floor space has been created by the simple expediency of including formerly external balconies into the internal floor plan. This enables more pleasant living spaces to be created, combining what were separate kitchens and living rooms into single spaces.
