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Stephen Levrant : Heritage Architecture
Hilton hotel, Deansgate, visual impact
appraisals, with computer model of proposed
building.
1: Chester Road.
Character:
Chester Road is a principal gateway to
the city from the south west, the route to the
Roman fort and vicus nearby, and leads into
Deansgate and the medieval cathedral quarter.
Bordering the Castlefield basin, an area which has
undergone a great change, and is moving through
a period of rapid Renaissance. At the edge of the
tentative the world heritage site and conservation
area. Previously an area which developed around
the first Bridgewater Canal terminus and wharves,
originally principally for coal, and later slates, stone
and other materials. Factories and Mills developed
adjacent to the canalside, with dense low grade
residential for the workers set further back…..
[cont]
The proposal:
The new tower takes its place among the
other contemporary buildings within the Castlefield area,
planned or proposed. Visibility is high, impact is
significant, and accentuated by the bend in Chester Road
which brings the new tower into sharp prominence after
leaving the Mancunian way. However the tall, slender
configuration, has much in common with the chimneys of
the past, and the relationship between the tower and the
office accommodation has a parallel in the mill-and-
chimney relationship.
[cont]