No. 1 Deansgate

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No. 1 Deansgate, Manchester viewed from Deansgate street level.

No. 1 Deansgate is the name and location of a medium-rise apartment building in central Manchester, England. It is the tallest all-steel residential building in the United Kingdom^{[citation needed]} and one of the most expensive addresses in Manchester.^{[citation needed]} The building was completed in 2002, and is situated at the top of Deansgate close to Manchester Cathedral.

[edit] Background

The building, characterised by a distinctive glass frontage and sloping roof, was built as part of the major redevelopment project that took place in the years following the 1996 IRA bombing. No. 1 was designed by Ian Simpson Architects, with engineers Martin Stockley Associates. Simpson's designs now dominate either end of Deansgate, with No. 1 and the equally imposing Beetham Tower forming prominent glass 'bookends' to the thoroughfare.

[edit] Design and construction

The 60m high building consists of 14 floors which provide 84 apartments, including eight penthouses. These are all above an open pedestrian area 16 metres high, which is supported by inclined tubular columns in a manner reminiscent of Rotterdam's De Brug building. The comparatively lightweight structure is principally constructed of steel, the skeleton balanced by precise weight ratios to ensure its stability.

The external treatment is juxtopposed to the concrete Brutalist architecture of the late 20th century. On the upper floors an almost cubist form of architecture is suggested. The 20th century appearance is further offset by louvred glass sloping walls.

Critics of the design have suggested the building has the air of a municipal, public, civil building. This same charge, though, could be levelled at any 18th century Palladian building.^{[citation needed]}

Four penthouse suites were sold for £1.5m each in 2002, the most expensive residences sold in Manchester at the time.