That's great to hear! I actually do real tours - photo walks - but that's a bit different from the video. I really enjoy doing them, though the editing and research takes a lot of time and effort!
I don't visit the city centre much since lockdown days (I live in Tameside) so your videos give me an excellent tour of the ever-changinig city skyline. I do find city development and architecture, past and present, fascinating. Thank you! P.S. dwellings, maybe another alternative for 'unit' names?
Many thanks for your positive words! Yes, I find it fascinating too, always have done, since I was a small child! Dwellings - that makes me think of Anglo-Saxon houses from the 8th century, but it's a possibility!
Fantastic work as always aiden . I’ve been following your work since I discovered your website in the early 2000s & is nice to know somebody has the same passion for Manchesters buildings as i do . As a kid I would stand on Littleton road fields & look at the Manchester skyline in awe , sunley tower , cis , the Arndale tower along with highland house I was in awe of them all , it was & still is my New York . We moved away from Manchester a long time ago & I’m lucky enough to live in the Peak District now . I’m back & forth to Manchester at least monthly & most most of my family are still there . As a kid in the 80s & 90s I used to long for taller towers to be built so for me it’s exiting to see such rapid change , changing rapidly week by week . Thanks for documenting all this it’s great to see & get the info. I purchased the air balloon photo from you in the early 00s & still have it today Cheers Jono
Fantastic to hear from you, many thanks for your positive feedback. Yes, I've been enthusiastic about the architecture of Manchester since I was a child. I did a project at primary school and photocopied a photo of Highland House and stuck it in my exercise book, with some handwritten commentary. I also included a drawing of a bus and I said 'buses are like buildings on wheels'. Glad the air balloon photo is there still! Many thanks!
Very good to hear that. I love exploring the city myself and I hope that comes across. If other people are encouraged to explore for themselves, that's great!
Happy new year Aidan - another fantastic video! Since watching your channel I feel so much more in tune with the breakneck development happening in our city - it is changing so quickly that it can sometimes feel a bit disorientating when in a part of town one hasn't visited for a year or two, but now I have a much better handle on what is happening. I think you should speak to Joshi Hermann at The Mill - I bet they would be really interested in running a guest feature from you about the changing city, and you may end up with lots of new subscribers!
That would be nice, to be featured on a platform like The Mill - or the Post in Liverpool. What he has achieved is incredible. I tend to focus very much on my own projects and not so much on other media.I'm not very good at self-promotion. So I'm very happy if the viceos help to track and record what's happening and we can look back at them in future, like photos of the Empire State Building under construction.
For the Particular Baptist Church project, I think that is a great compromise for new development. Keep the way the beautiful old church makes you feel while also melding it into modern (and NEEDED) quality housing. Keep some character while not living strictly in the past, two huge thumbs up!
Yes, I agree, I think it's a great project. I thinkt the developers contacted me because they thought I'd like it, which I do. I looking forward to seeing it taking shape.
I live in Cheshire these days but love your channel on Manchester construction. I want to move back to the city in 5 or 6 years so it'll be interesting what the city is like when I come back.
On the Solter Tower I actually quite like the design especially compared to more generic large towers that we often see. I also have a feeling it would look more striking and compelling once completed over the visualisations as well, however the black cadding and "leaning" might feel imposing. Great video as alwats Aidan!
Thanks so much for the positive feedback. I agree I think the Soller Tower design is good. It will become a major landmark. We can see how it will look on those pages from the planning documents. Hopefully the issues surrounding the partial demolition can be resolved.
The Outram, canal side apartments on Store Street have quite the story. Originally it was supposed to be the 1st shared ownership development in the city centre (4 years too late) and was going to be 100% shared ownership. Unfortunately due to rising costs, Clarion the housing association pulled out of the deal in 2022. When you mentioned that it would be BTR I found it odd as it’s such a small number of apartments however, it makes sense as the only way they can recoup the cost for viability. They have promised to still deliver 20% as affordable housing, although I doubt this will be shared ownership anymore and is more likely to be affordable rent to better marry up with the new BTR aspect. Great video as always Aidan, I was checking your channel lately waiting for your next video and you did not disappoint! I got very giddy when I saw this one was 20 minutes! Please keep the longer formats coming 😊.
Many thanks for this information, I haven't been following this. It's great that people can add to the information in the video. I'm glad to hear you like the longer video, though longer videos take a great deal of extra time and effort. I think I will still keep mainly to 10 minutes, but I want to post a video every week, so you'll still have 20 minutes but split in two! Many thanks for your encouragement and I'm very glad to see there are also females also watching my videos!
Great to see you are getting so many well-deserved views. You bring up a number of excellent and thought-provoking points. I do think that calling the "units" at the Fairfax "homes" is a bit of a stretch. Are they really going to fit 448 "homes" in that building? What are they? Rented bedsits? I agree with you. They should stick to the term "units". I think it is noteworthy that, unlike most of the building sites, the visualizations look great because there's none of the ubiquitous graffiti and litter.
Many thanks for your positive feedback and thoughtful comments. That editorial was really just me thinking aloud, I wasn't sure what people's reaction would be but it seems positive. In each video, I'm going to include a 'quick editorial' on some topic from now on, for instance, should lost buildings be reconstructed, as in Germay, and is there too much use - or too little use - of red - or brown - brick in modern buildings. The visualisations look good but I'd like to see renderings done in a variety of weather conditions and from many viewpoints. There's another topic for an editorial! Yes, I agree about 'homes' but in The Fairfax, a BTR development, I still think it's possible to make a small rented apartment a 'home', or at least feel like one!
I'm going to include more background information on topics relevant to construction. I do have an educational background and I'm very interested in history, mainly local history.
The Irwell footbridge was damaged in early autumn. The metal slats forming the walking surface being deemed unsafe. There's no real news on when it will be repaired.
Many thanks for the information. It's incredible how many bridges around Manchester have stood for 200 years or more and that one is relatively new and has already developed a defect!
The additional platforms are just an idea at the moment. I think it's just improved access, a new ticket office and other improvements. The additional platforms would transform the station.
What are your thoughts on some European countries (like Germany) that build new buildings in the same style as their old buildings? Do you think we should do more of that in the U.K.? Would Manchester look better with modern buildings that are red brick and Victorian/industrial style?
Many thanks for these thought-provoking questions. In a nutshell, yes, I think the UK should consider rebuilding old buildings like in Germany. As for red brick many modern buildings in Manchester and in Liverpool are actually constructed in red brick, I think maybe too many. I'm going to deal with these questions in short editorials, part of my new format of video.
Excellent and informative vlog. Sorry for the traders in Chorlton, but the shopping centre's demise is no great loss. Architecturally unappealing and largely unloved by the locals, it's been a slow death. It really should have been flattened many years ago. Any plans to make a video about Capital and Centric's renovation of Talbot Mill?
Many thanks for the positive feedback. Let’s see what is going to replace it! I’ll take a look at Talbot Mill and see if I can include it in an upcoming video.
It is still in the planning process, the wheels grind slowly. It's at the consultation stage. You can see the status of any planning application on the Manchester City Council planning portal. Click on this link pa.manchester.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=SBFDUMBCJUK00&activeTab=summary
Yes, but on a prime site like this, development is almost inevitable. I think they will move into modern unit on an out of town trading estate - lower costs but less character. I went in there one time it has an old-fashioned charm.
An odd, and maybe astute, trivia observation. A Danish guy I know when talking about English cities said that he was surprised that Manchester was so small. I said it was no London or NYC for sure but a fair size, he responded that you only have to get to around five floors up and open countryside is seen around the city. He said that was not the case when he is in Liverpool as all you see is water and urban all around from around five floors. It never occurred to me, so I looked on Google Maps. I know Liverpool has a larger footprint than Paris. He was right, the Liverpool footprint must be around 1.5 miles larger before any real open green is seem.
On the Liverpool side, you can't see fields because the terrain rises to the east of the city. Looking towards the Wirral, you can see a little of the trees, but beyond are the Welsh Mountains. In Manchester the hills to the north and east seem very close. You can't really see open countryside, there are open green spaces within the conurbation. Interesting point!
I really like your idea of a "code of merit". While there will be differences in taste, there are buildings that most people agree have merit. What are the elements that make a building attractive to most people even 10, 20, 50 years on when they are no longer shiny an new? Why do people like the Sydney Opera House, 30 St. Mary Axe, or even your favourite Civil Court of Justice, while other buildings built during the same time period are loathed or only tolerated? I don't know the answer, but I think couple of possibilities are the amount of window space (affects both internal an external desirability) and visual interest, which can be accomplished both through deviation from a standard (bland) boxy design and façade ornamentation. The buildings at 18:22 (not sure what it is but stunning Victorian architecture) and 10:02 (No. 1 St. Michael's) are good examples of this. I think that both buildings will still be attractive to most people 100 years from now. I look forward to hopefully seeing a video you do addressing this
Yes, I'm going to work on the Code of Merit idea and use it as a benchmark. Window area - yes, it could be. But the windowless tower 33 Thomas St in Manhattan en.wikipedia.org/wiki/33_Thomas_Street was praised by the NYT! The builidng at 18:22 is the Corn Exchange in Manchester city centre, damaged by the 1996 IRA bomb. It's been refurbished twice. Built in 1903. Very good point though, how will buildings look in the future. That could be included in my Code of Merit. Many thanks!
I'm all for change. But some change is a bit lacking in character. Humans like things which are organic and flowing rather than straight lines. Straight line were tried in the 60s as something new, but it was quickly found to be soulless. That's why Victorian buildings are timeless. The attention to detail gave each building some character. So it is nice to see the new buildings all being different and individual. But they still have too many straight lines.
That's a very good point, but it would be impossible to construct buildings today that would be as ornamented and complex as the buildings from the pre-Modernist era. The first modernist buildings - with straight lines - appeared in the 1920s. In the 60s the style took hold and is still the preferred architectural style of today. The only recent building to have a traditional style is the Trafford Centre. Many thanks for your comment.
@@TheSadButMadLad I agree with you on this. Every architectural style has an era. We've now had modernism for 100 years and it's time to move beyond that and I think we have the technology (like 3-D printing, and CAD) to do that now. Buildings with curves are usually more attractive. Buildings with ornament are usually more attractive and this doesn't have to be expensive. Decorative cladding with a repeated design could be enough to make a difference.
I'm sorry to have to say this, but at the beginning of the video he says he is at Piccadilly Station, when he is actually at the long defunct Grand Central Station, now known as G Mex.
No I was at Piccadilly Station, not the former Central Station. Next to Central is the Bridgewater Hall but next to Piccadilly is the Fairfax construction site, which we see in the video. 😊
This video is a bit longer than usual. Let’s see how it performs. Many thanks for your comments and maybe correction 😊
This is the real advantage of RUclips, valuable and informative channels like this. Really appreciate the rundown of Manc building projects 👌🏼
That's great, many thanks for your comment, I really appreciate it!
My mother comes from Manchester. It is nice to keep up to date with your tours. It is like a virtual homecoming for me. Thank you for the trouble.
That's great to hear! I actually do real tours - photo walks - but that's a bit different from the video. I really enjoy doing them, though the editing and research takes a lot of time and effort!
I don't visit the city centre much since lockdown days (I live in Tameside) so your videos give me an excellent tour of the ever-changinig city skyline. I do find city development and architecture, past and present, fascinating. Thank you!
P.S. dwellings, maybe another alternative for 'unit' names?
Many thanks for your positive words! Yes, I find it fascinating too, always have done, since I was a small child! Dwellings - that makes me think of Anglo-Saxon houses from the 8th century, but it's a possibility!
Fantastic work as always aiden . I’ve been following your work since I discovered your website in the early 2000s & is nice to know somebody has the same passion for Manchesters buildings as i do . As a kid I would stand on Littleton road fields & look at the Manchester skyline in awe , sunley tower , cis , the Arndale tower along with highland house I was in awe of them all , it was & still is my New York . We moved away from Manchester a long time ago & I’m lucky enough to live in the Peak District now . I’m back & forth to Manchester at least monthly & most most of my family are still there . As a kid in the 80s & 90s I used to long for taller towers to be built so for me it’s exiting to see such rapid change , changing rapidly week by week .
Thanks for documenting all this it’s great to see & get the info.
I purchased the air balloon photo from you in the early 00s & still have it today
Cheers Jono
Fantastic to hear from you, many thanks for your positive feedback. Yes, I've been enthusiastic about the architecture of Manchester since I was a child. I did a project at primary school and photocopied a photo of Highland House and stuck it in my exercise book, with some handwritten commentary. I also included a drawing of a bus and I said 'buses are like buildings on wheels'. Glad the air balloon photo is there still! Many thanks!
Marvellous weather. Great video.
I really like this type of weather. Unfortunately it stopped raining after about half an hour! :(
Really enjoyed another great video. I Love walking round all these places you visit as you inspire my lunchtime walks. Thanks again.
Very good to hear that. I love exploring the city myself and I hope that comes across. If other people are encouraged to explore for themselves, that's great!
@ yes I get my steps in and like to check out the changes with all the new buildings. I’ve lived in the city until 1999 in Granby Village.
Happy new year Aidan - another fantastic video! Since watching your channel I feel so much more in tune with the breakneck development happening in our city - it is changing so quickly that it can sometimes feel a bit disorientating when in a part of town one hasn't visited for a year or two, but now I have a much better handle on what is happening. I think you should speak to Joshi Hermann at The Mill - I bet they would be really interested in running a guest feature from you about the changing city, and you may end up with lots of new subscribers!
That would be nice, to be featured on a platform like The Mill - or the Post in Liverpool. What he has achieved is incredible. I tend to focus very much on my own projects and not so much on other media.I'm not very good at self-promotion. So I'm very happy if the viceos help to track and record what's happening and we can look back at them in future, like photos of the Empire State Building under construction.
For the Particular Baptist Church project, I think that is a great compromise for new development. Keep the way the beautiful old church makes you feel while also melding it into modern (and NEEDED) quality housing. Keep some character while not living strictly in the past, two huge thumbs up!
Yes, I agree, I think it's a great project. I thinkt the developers contacted me because they thought I'd like it, which I do. I looking forward to seeing it taking shape.
I live in Cheshire these days but love your channel on Manchester construction. I want to move back to the city in 5 or 6 years so it'll be interesting what the city is like when I come back.
That's great, many thanks for your positive words! Keep watching AidanEyewitness!
On the Solter Tower I actually quite like the design especially compared to more generic large towers that we often see. I also have a feeling it would look more striking and compelling once completed over the visualisations as well, however the black cadding and "leaning" might feel imposing. Great video as alwats Aidan!
Thanks so much for the positive feedback. I agree I think the Soller Tower design is good. It will become a major landmark. We can see how it will look on those pages from the planning documents. Hopefully the issues surrounding the partial demolition can be resolved.
Excellent video.
The Outram, canal side apartments on Store Street have quite the story. Originally it was supposed to be the 1st shared ownership development in the city centre (4 years too late) and was going to be 100% shared ownership. Unfortunately due to rising costs, Clarion the housing association pulled out of the deal in 2022.
When you mentioned that it would be BTR I found it odd as it’s such a small number of apartments however, it makes sense as the only way they can recoup the cost for viability. They have promised to still deliver 20% as affordable housing, although I doubt this will be shared ownership anymore and is more likely to be affordable rent to better marry up with the new BTR aspect.
Great video as always Aidan, I was checking your channel lately waiting for your next video and you did not disappoint! I got very giddy when I saw this one was 20 minutes! Please keep the longer formats coming 😊.
Many thanks for this information, I haven't been following this. It's great that people can add to the information in the video. I'm glad to hear you like the longer video, though longer videos take a great deal of extra time and effort. I think I will still keep mainly to 10 minutes, but I want to post a video every week, so you'll still have 20 minutes but split in two! Many thanks for your encouragement and I'm very glad to see there are also females also watching my videos!
Great to see you are getting so many well-deserved views. You bring up a number of excellent and thought-provoking points. I do think that calling the "units" at the Fairfax "homes" is a bit of a stretch. Are they really going to fit 448 "homes" in that building? What are they? Rented bedsits? I agree with you. They should stick to the term "units". I think it is noteworthy that, unlike most of the building sites, the visualizations look great because there's none of the ubiquitous graffiti and litter.
Many thanks for your positive feedback and thoughtful comments. That editorial was really just me thinking aloud, I wasn't sure what people's reaction would be but it seems positive. In each video, I'm going to include a 'quick editorial' on some topic from now on, for instance, should lost buildings be reconstructed, as in Germay, and is there too much use - or too little use - of red - or brown - brick in modern buildings. The visualisations look good but I'd like to see renderings done in a variety of weather conditions and from many viewpoints. There's another topic for an editorial! Yes, I agree about 'homes' but in The Fairfax, a BTR development, I still think it's possible to make a small rented apartment a 'home', or at least feel like one!
Great work as usual Aidan, Happy New Year rkid! 🥳 🎉
Many thanks for your encouraging feedback. Happy New Year to you too!
Happy new year mate :)
Happy New Year to you too and thanks for watching my videos!
really enjoyed this history lesson ❤
I'm going to include more background information on topics relevant to construction. I do have an educational background and I'm very interested in history, mainly local history.
*Happy New Year.* 🍾🍷
@@johnburns4017Happy New Year to you too!
The Irwell footbridge was damaged in early autumn. The metal slats forming the walking surface being deemed unsafe. There's no real news on when it will be repaired.
Many thanks for the information. It's incredible how many bridges around Manchester have stood for 200 years or more and that one is relatively new and has already developed a defect!
Great video as always Aiden!
Many thanks - your comment is very much appreciated!
Still no additional platforms at Salford Central, so what's the improvement?
The additional platforms are just an idea at the moment. I think it's just improved access, a new ticket office and other improvements. The additional platforms would transform the station.
What are your thoughts on some European countries (like Germany) that build new buildings in the same style as their old buildings? Do you think we should do more of that in the U.K.?
Would Manchester look better with modern buildings that are red brick and Victorian/industrial style?
Many thanks for these thought-provoking questions. In a nutshell, yes, I think the UK should consider rebuilding old buildings like in Germany. As for red brick many modern buildings in Manchester and in Liverpool are actually constructed in red brick, I think maybe too many. I'm going to deal with these questions in short editorials, part of my new format of video.
Excellent and informative vlog. Sorry for the traders in Chorlton, but the shopping centre's demise is no great loss. Architecturally unappealing and largely unloved by the locals, it's been a slow death. It really should have been flattened many years ago. Any plans to make a video about Capital and Centric's renovation of Talbot Mill?
Many thanks for the positive feedback. Let’s see what is going to replace it! I’ll take a look at Talbot Mill and see if I can include it in an upcoming video.
Does anyone know anything about the potential approval of Viadux 2?
It is still in the planning process, the wheels grind slowly. It's at the consultation stage. You can see the status of any planning application on the Manchester City Council planning portal. Click on this link pa.manchester.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=SBFDUMBCJUK00&activeTab=summary
@ Thank you
Great video Aidan. I personally think the bulldozing of Stocktons is a shame. I like this barn-like structure.
Yes, but on a prime site like this, development is almost inevitable. I think they will move into modern unit on an out of town trading estate - lower costs but less character. I went in there one time it has an old-fashioned charm.
An odd, and maybe astute, trivia observation. A Danish guy I know when talking about English cities said that he was surprised that Manchester was so small. I said it was no London or NYC for sure but a fair size, he responded that you only have to get to around five floors up and open countryside is seen around the city. He said that was not the case when he is in Liverpool as all you see is water and urban all around from around five floors. It never occurred to me, so I looked on Google Maps. I know Liverpool has a larger footprint than Paris. He was right, the Liverpool footprint must be around 1.5 miles larger before any real open green is seem.
On the Liverpool side, you can't see fields because the terrain rises to the east of the city. Looking towards the Wirral, you can see a little of the trees, but beyond are the Welsh Mountains. In Manchester the hills to the north and east seem very close. You can't really see open countryside, there are open green spaces within the conurbation. Interesting point!
I really like your idea of a "code of merit". While there will be differences in taste, there are buildings that most people agree have merit. What are the elements that make a building attractive to most people even 10, 20, 50 years on when they are no longer shiny an new? Why do people like the Sydney Opera House, 30 St. Mary Axe, or even your favourite Civil Court of Justice, while other buildings built during the same time period are loathed or only tolerated? I don't know the answer, but I think couple of possibilities are the amount of window space (affects both internal an external desirability) and visual interest, which can be accomplished both through deviation from a standard (bland) boxy design and façade ornamentation. The buildings at 18:22 (not sure what it is but stunning Victorian architecture) and 10:02 (No. 1 St. Michael's) are good examples of this. I think that both buildings will still be attractive to most people 100 years from now. I look forward to hopefully seeing a video you do addressing this
Yes, I'm going to work on the Code of Merit idea and use it as a benchmark. Window area - yes, it could be. But the windowless tower 33 Thomas St in Manhattan en.wikipedia.org/wiki/33_Thomas_Street was praised by the NYT! The builidng at 18:22 is the Corn Exchange in Manchester city centre, damaged by the 1996 IRA bomb. It's been refurbished twice. Built in 1903. Very good point though, how will buildings look in the future. That could be included in my Code of Merit. Many thanks!
@AidanEyewitness Great journalism
Many thanks, that means a lot to me! Lots more in the pipeline!
From your point of view, what is Manchester’s greatest quality, its biggest flaw, and what does the city lack the most?
Excellent question. I'll have to think about this! I'll add my thoughts here soon.
I'm all for change. But some change is a bit lacking in character. Humans like things which are organic and flowing rather than straight lines. Straight line were tried in the 60s as something new, but it was quickly found to be soulless. That's why Victorian buildings are timeless. The attention to detail gave each building some character. So it is nice to see the new buildings all being different and individual. But they still have too many straight lines.
That's a very good point, but it would be impossible to construct buildings today that would be as ornamented and complex as the buildings from the pre-Modernist era. The first modernist buildings - with straight lines - appeared in the 1920s. In the 60s the style took hold and is still the preferred architectural style of today. The only recent building to have a traditional style is the Trafford Centre. Many thanks for your comment.
@@AidanEyewitness The Art Deco style of the 20s still has enough ornamental features to be interesting. The 60s lost everything.
@@TheSadButMadLad I agree with you on this. Every architectural style has an era. We've now had modernism for 100 years and it's time to move beyond that and I think we have the technology (like 3-D printing, and CAD) to do that now. Buildings with curves are usually more attractive. Buildings with ornament are usually more attractive and this doesn't have to be expensive. Decorative cladding with a repeated design could be enough to make a difference.
@@ians3586 CNC machines can carve statues so there is no reason not to use modern technology to make buildings looks beautiful again.
@@TheSadButMadLad Many thanks for your comments!
I'm sorry to have to say this, but at the beginning of the video he says he is at Piccadilly Station, when he is actually at the long defunct Grand Central Station, now known as G Mex.
No I was at Piccadilly Station, not the former Central Station. Next to Central is the Bridgewater Hall but next to Piccadilly is the Fairfax construction site, which we see in the video. 😊
My apologies Aiden. It is indeed Piccadilly!
That Chorlton development where the precinct is looks dreadful. I hope it turns out better than the renders.
We’ll have to wait and see. I’ll be keeping my eye on it!
The 47 story that’s supposed to go on Stocktons is a horrific proposal for the area it’s in.
That illustration really doesn't look very appealing. Let's hope it's just a first sketch of an idea.