Gateway House in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

, England, is a

modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

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 Manchester Piccadilly is the principal railway station in Manchester, England. Opened as Store Street in 1842, it was renamed Manchester London Road in 1847 and became Manchester Piccadilly in 1960. Located to the south-east of Manchester cit ...

. The building, which differed from much of Seifert's contemporary work in that it departed from the bare concrete

brutalist Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by Minimalism (art), minimalist constructions th ...

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, commanding respect from Clare Hartwell, who described it as

Future

The building was bought by Realty Estates in 2008. 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. In December 2011, the £35 million redevelopment scheme by Hodder + Partners for Realty Estates, was given planning approval by

Manchester City Council Manchester City Council is the local authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. Manchester is the sixth largest city in England by population. Its city council is composed of 96 councillors, three f ...

. Despite planning approval, redevelopment has not started. In June 2014, the building was sold to international property group, LaSalle for £26m. A new let was agreed with

Waitrose Waitrose & Partners (formally Waitrose Limited) is a brand of British supermarkets, founded in 1904 as Waite, Rose & Taylor, later shortened to Waitrose. It was acquired in 1937 by employee-owned retailer John Lewis Partnership, which still se ...

and work could begin on renovating the building with a new hotel operator. A major redevelopment of the neighbouring Piccadilly Station and the surrounding area has been proposed to complement the planned construction of the

High Speed 2 High Speed 2 (HS2) is a planned high-speed railway line in England, the first phase of which is under construction in stages and due for completion between 2029 and 2033, depending on approval for later stages. The new line will run from its m ...

(HS2) railway line to Manchester. The project would involve the construction of a large new canopy over the HS2 platforms and the creation of a new entrance to the station. As part of the HS2 redevelopment plans it is likely that Gateway House will be demolished. Refurbishment commenced in October 2015 and was completed in early 2017.

References

Notes Bibliography *

External links

{{coord, 53.4784564, -2.2318447, format=dms, type:landmark, display=title Buildings and structures in Manchester Office buildings completed in 1969 Modernist architecture in England