Gateway House, Manchester
{{Short description|Building in Manchester, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox building
| name = Gateway House
| native_name =
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| former_names =
| alternate_names = Piccadilly House
| image = Gateway House wavy facade.jpg
| image_alt =
| caption = Gateway House and Piccadilly Station approach pictured in 2011 before the 2017 refurbishment
| mapframe = no
| architectural_style = Modernist
| structural_system =
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| client =
| owner = Realty Estates
| current_tenants = empty
| landlord =
| location = Piccadilly, Manchester, England
| completion_date = 1969
| renovation_date = 2017
| height = {{convert|36|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| floor_count = 9
| floor_area = {{convert|12,861|m2|sqft|abbr=on}}
| architect = Richard Seifert
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Gateway House in Manchester, England, is a modernist office block above a row of shops designed by Richard Seifert & Partners and completed in 1969. It replaced a row of 19th-century railway warehouses on the approach to Manchester Piccadilly station. The building, which differed from much of Seifert's contemporary work in that it departed from the bare concrete brutalist style which had become his trademark, was nicknamed the "lazy S" and was reputedly designed as a doodle.
Reception
It is considered to be one of Siefert's most loveable buildings,{{citation |title=Gateway House |url=http://manchestermodernists.wordpress.com/2012/01/23/gateway-housestation-approach-piccadilly-rail-station-richart-seifert-partners1967-9/ |publisher=Manchester Modernist Society |access-date=12 September 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130208101009/http://manchestermodernists.wordpress.com/2012/01/23/gateway-housestation-approach-piccadilly-rail-station-richart-seifert-partners1967-9/ |archive-date=8 February 2013 }} commanding respect from Clare Hartwell, who described it as
{{cquote|a very impressive long, sweeping, undulating façade, the horizontals stressed throughout. One of the best office blocks in Manchester, its glittering serpentine shape well suited to the sloping site.{{sfn|Hartwell|2001|p=217|ps=}}}}
Future
The building was bought by Realty Estates in 2008.{{Cite news |title=Plans put forward for £35m revamp of Gateway House |url=http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/business/commercial_property/s/1460965_plans-put-forward-for-35m-revamp-of-gateway-house |publisher=Manchester Evening News |access-date=29 November 2011}} Hodder + Partners won a competition to redevelop Gateway House in 2009. The plans are for the landmark structure to be converted into a hotel at a cost of £20 million. An office block with ground floor retail space on Ducie Street and a gym behind the Seifert building would be the second phase of the development.{{citation|title=Hodder bags planning for £35million overhaul of Seifert's Gateway House|url=http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/daily-news/hodder-bags-planning-for-35million-overhaul-of-seiferts-gateway-house/8620531.article |publisher=Architects Journal|access-date=12 September 2012}} In December 2011, the £35 million redevelopment scheme by Hodder + Partners for Realty Estates, was given planning approval by Manchester City Council.
Despite planning approval, redevelopment has not started. In June 2014, the building was sold to international property group, LaSalle for £26 million.{{Cite web |title=Tishbi sells Gateway House for £26m |url=http://www.placenorthwest.co.uk/news/archive/16147-tishbi-sells-gateway-house-for-26m.html |work=Place North West |date=27 June 2014 |access-date=24 October 2014}} A new let was agreed with Waitrose and work could begin on renovating the building with a new hotel operator.{{Cite web |title=Aparthotel secured for Gateway House |url=http://www.placenorthwest.co.uk/news/archive/16712-aparthotel-secured-for-gateway-house.html |work=Place North West |date=15 September 2014 |access-date=24 October 2014}} Refurbishment commenced in October 2015 and was completed in early 2017.
A major redevelopment of the neighbouring Piccadilly Station and the surrounding area was proposed to complement the planned construction of the High Speed 2 (HS2) railway line to Manchester. The project would have involved the construction of a large new canopy over the HS2 platforms and the creation of a new entrance to the station.{{cite web|title=Mayfield SRF|url=http://www.bennettsassociates.com/data/projects/0902/project.pdf|publisher=Bennetts Associates|access-date=21 March 2015|date=2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402135952/http://www.bennettsassociates.com/data/projects/0902/project.pdf|archive-date=2 April 2015|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=Portfolio: HS2 Manchester Strategic Regeneration Framework|url=http://www.bennettsassociates.com/portfolio/1302/|website=Bennetts Associates|access-date=22 March 2015|archive-date=22 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150322203609/http://www.bennettsassociates.com/portfolio/1302/|url-status=dead}} As part of the HS2 redevelopment plans it was likely that Gateway House would be demolished.{{cite news|last1=Charlotte Cox|first1=Charlotte|title=Manchester politicians dismiss claims Piccadilly Station's 'Lazy S' building is 'iconic' in row about its potential demolition|url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/manchester-politicians-dismiss-claims-piccadilly-6466329|access-date=22 March 2015|work=Manchester Evening News|date=3 January 2014}} The construction of HS2 to Manchester was cancelled in October 2023.{{Cite news |date=3 October 2023 |title=HS2 West Midlands-Manchester line to be scrapped |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-66998692 |access-date=14 October 2023}}
References
Notes
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Bibliography
{{refbegin}}
- {{citation|last=Hartwell|first=Clare|series=Pevsner Architectural Guides|title=Manchester|year=2001|publisher=Penguin|location=London|isbn=0-14-071131-7}}
{{refend}}
External links
{{Commons category-inline}}
{{Manchester B&S}}
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Category:Buildings and structures in Manchester