Coursework Assignment - Hilton Hotel

An assignment for the Feature Writing module of my third year. An open brief was given to write a 1000 word feature on hotels in Manchester - the angle was up to you. I chose to write about the Beetham Tower Hilton Hotel. It's (at the time of writing) the tallest building in the UK outside London. My feature is written in the style of a local paper as a debate using the views of local people.



“Manchester doesn’t really have a skyline apart from one or two 1960s buildings. So this is about trying to ‘create’ a skyline as a mark of change and regeneration,” muses Nick Fleming, director at Ian Simpson Architects, the practice behind The Beetham Tower, the marmite building (you either love it or hate it) adorning Manchester’s otherwise sparse skyline.

The controversial skyscraper has caused much talk about town since plans were announced for the half city centre Hilton Hotel, half residential building three years ago.

And now that it’s been here for four months the debate is still raging between everyone from architects to city workers to locals to those who have to drive past the North West’s tallest building on the M602.

“It supports the political and economical aspirations of Manchester, a city that is not relying on a Victorian past. It’s a physical representation of Manchester’s commercial ambitions. It changes perceptions of the place,” explains Fleming.

It is certainly challenging perceptions at least. Julie Mason, 34, who works for a city centre PR company is not a fan. “I don't quite get it, to me it seems too fragile and too out there. I suppose it stands out far too much from the architecture in Manchester and that's not always a good thing. It always looks to me like it is going to collapse and we all know that no one is ready for another tower to collapse,” she says.

And this is a common concern shared amongst many with New York’s World Trade Centre tragedy still fresh in everyone’s mind despite occurring five and a half years ago. Not to mention during high winds there is a whistling sound drifting throughout the building (which apparently sounds like the UFO sound effect used in films – Lost In Space anyone?) as well as the soaring tower having a 30cm sway either way in such blustery conditions. The former of which Ian Simpson himself assures us has been rectified.

And what about the use of the mammoth structure? The first half of the landmark tower is taken over by the Hilton Hotel boasting 279 rooms, a gym and swimming pool, 3 spa rooms, a restaurant and 2 bars – including Manchester’s only sky bar located on the 23rd floor.

Cloud23, the opulent bar situated at the top of the Hilton half of the tower has proved to be just as opinion splitting as the striking glass structure that houses it. Described by its PR machine as a “combination of cool ambience and cutting edge design,” the entrance to the bar is through the main hotel foyer where the lift whisks you up to the 23rd floor in a supersonic 15 seconds. As the lift doors open you are greeted by door staff and led to a table (it’s a table service type of bar) where you will find a breathtakingly spectacular view across Manchester, with even a glass floor where the building cantilevers out so you can look directly below you.

But not everyone is impressed with table service and an £8 cocktail wittily named after an association with Manchester’s rich history.

David Harris, 27, works for a construction company said: “I went there a few days ago with a group of friends and pre-booked a table so we wouldn’t have to queue. I’d been there a couple of times before on work nights out.

“The place does look special and feels exclusive, but in part the management team artificially creates this air of exclusivity by sometimes needlessly limiting the numbers and leaving vast areas of the bar empty.

“Unfortunately, the night we went there was an awful fog so as a result the main attraction was gone. And with the view gone the deficiencies shine through. The waiter service is nothing to write home about and the drinks take too long to come to your table.”

However 5th year architecture student Sarah Smith disagrees: “The view is amazing. The bar is contemporary and designed to feel expensive. The whole building is quite flirtatious, it flirts with feeling of danger with the cantilever looking unsteady and the bar flirts with the idea of money and success, an extension of people’s aspirations. People go there to be seen and are prepared to pay the price for that,” she argues.

The rest of the tower will be residential with many a celebrity from footballers to popstars said to have purchased an apartment. Ian Simpson bought the penthouse apartment for a reported £2.5 million and allegedly had 30m olive trees flown from Italy put in before construction workers put the roof on.

With the concrete tower blocks of 1960s such undesirable living spaces, the debate on the viability of high rise living, even when done so stylishly, is another concern for those not so keen on the modernisation of downtown Manchester.

55 year old Andy Thornton from Wythenshawe doesn’t think it’s a feasible solution. He says: “The so called ‘social revolution’ of the 60’s tower blocks destroyed the social fabric of society and left many families and individuals in desperation. I for one don’t want the horizon blocked out by individual buildings designed and built on the egos of over-rated ‘navvies’.”

However argues Fleming: “The trend is national. People don't want to commute. It's time-wasting and not very environmentally friendly.

“Every Tom, Dick and Harry is building a tower. When the Beetham went up investors bought off-plan. But because the prices have gone up so much now, the only way you can make money as an investor is by building the things yourself.

“We have all sorts of companies doing it on all sorts of scales. They're 10 a penny across London at 80-100m tall.

“And councils have changed planning policy to encourage more city centre living and to reduce traffic. All you have to do is prove that the local infrastructure can support a tower. And that also saves the countryside by reducing urban sprawl."

“It was a similar story back in late 1920s New York in downtown Manhattan when the Chrysler Building was erected. This acted as a catalyst to what has now made New York one of the most iconic international cities. It’s now time for Manchester to stand tall and be counted as a major city on an international scale,” enthuses Fleming.

And quite frankly, who can argue with that.